Just One More

"Just one more!"  I can hear those three words being said to me during a wrestling practice.  It was my freshman year of high school during the after school wrestling workouts.  Every time that I was struggling, those three words were repeated many times.  There is one instance that I particularly remember. 

This instance while I was doing pull ups.  After doing as many pull ups that I could (that number is isn't important), I lifted with all my might, and went no where.  "Just One More," said one of the people with me.  I exerted all of my strength, but still couldn't pull myself up.  The person with me held up my legs and told me to do a couple more pull ups.  I pulled as hard as I could, and because he was supporting some of the weight, I got a couple more in.  After that, I was totally exhausted.

Sometimes in life we feel that we are pushed beyond what we can handle.  Sometimes we are.  But it's during those times when the Savior is holding us up.  That's when we feel we can't do it ourselves, so the Savior comes to our assistance and gives us a boost.  Zeniff, in the Book of Mormon, knew he needed to rely on the Lord for strength.  In his time of need he said, "Yea, in the strength of the Lord we did go forth..."  (Mosiah 9:17).  When we can't do it on our own, we shouldn't give up.  We just need to look for the Lord's hand in our life.  Once we do, we'll be surprised how often he really is there. 

Greed Makes You Poorer

What's better than a great tasting Chinese Buffet?  I'll have to think pretty hard to come up with something.  I was privileged to go to a great tasting Chinese Buffet the other day.  The food was great, but of course, the finale is the fortune cookie.  More specifically, the fortune that it contains.  One fortune per customer is the usual rule of thumb, but one of the people that was with me decide to press his luck with two fortunes:  The first one had a good fortune.  The next one said, "Ignore previous cookie." 

This rather humorous experience teaches us a lot about being greedy.  When we are greedy, we shoot ourselves in the foot.  Greed is a part of all of us.  Our job is to overcome that.  We want to be able to keep our fortune that we receive. 

Paul, in a letter to the Corinthians, gives them advice as to what to be greedy for.  He writes, "But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."  (1 Cor. 12:31).  We should be greedy for the best things.  Instead of always wanting money, or other temporal matters like that, we should always want to serve others, read our scriptures, and pray to our Father in Heaven.  We should strive to be greedy for the best gifts, and once we have them, we will have no more desire to do evil.