Endure To The End

  When I think of the word "endure" I immediately think of running a race. In order to finish a race we must have endurance and stamina. Starting the race is not merely enough, but our goal is to cross the finish line by enduring till the end of the race. And so it is with life.  When we have entered the strait and narrow path by our faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, it is like we are starting the "race of life." Baptism is only the beginning of our new lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. We must then give our all to stay on the path for the rest of our lives. The way that we do this is by continually exercising faith in Jesus Christ, repenting daily of our sins, and heeding to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Once we have been forgiven of our sins, we should try every day to remain free from sin so that we can always have the Holy Ghost with us. In the covenant of baptism, we promise our Father in Heaven that we will obey His commandments for the rest of our lives. If we fall short, we must repent in order to retain the blessings of the covenant.

 Elder Jeffrey R. Holland teaches us that when things don't look promising ahead, we must always look forward.

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead."

  
 When Jesus was ministering among the people in the Americas he taught, " “Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.” (3 Ne. 15:9.)
   When Nephi was teaching his brethren about baptism, he said that when we are baptized, it is only the gate. And that we must “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ . . . and endure to the end,” for the rest our lives.. THEN we are promised by God, “Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:20).