November 2013 Liahona

spiritually. Upon returning from mymission, I had the opportunity to playbasketball for a well-respected coachand author at a college in California.This coach was very serious about hisplayers being in shape before the startof the basketball season. One of histraining prerequisites before any of uscould touch a basketball on the practicecourt was to run a cross-country coursein the hills near the school in a specificand very aggressive time. I remembermy very first attempt at running thiscross-country course immediately uponmy return from the mission field: Ithought I was going to die.It took weeks of serious trainingin order to finally beat the time thatthe coach set as a goal. It was a greatfeeling to not only be able to run thecourse but also to accelerate down thestretch to the finish line.To play basketball successfully, youneed to get into good shape. Being ingood physical condition comes at aprice, and that price is dedication, perseverance,and self-discipline. Spiritualendurance also comes at a price. It isthe same price: dedication, perseverance,and self-discipline.A testimony, like your body,needs to be in shape if you want itto endure. So how do we keep ourtestimonies in shape? We cannot getour bodies into good basketball shapeby simply watching basketball ontelevision. Similarly, we won’t be ableto get our testimonies in shape bysimply watching general conferenceon television. We need to study andlearn the fundamental principles ofthe gospel of Jesus Christ, and thenwe must do our very best to live them.That is how we become disciples ofJesus Christ, and that is how we buildan enduring testimony.When we face adversity in life andour desire is to emulate the attributesof Jesus Christ, it is essential to bespiritually prepared. Being spirituallyprepared means we have developedspiritual stamina or strength—we willbe in good shape spiritually. We willbe in such good shape spiritually thatwe will consistently choose the right.We will become immovable in ourdesire and ability to live the gospel. Asan anonymous author once said, “Youmust become the rock the river cannotwash away.”Because we face challenges everyday, it is important that we workon our spiritual stamina every day.When we develop spiritual stamina,the false traditions of the world, aswell as our personal daily challenges,will have little negative impact on ourability to endure in righteousness.Great examples of spiritual staminacome from our own family histories.Among the many stories from ourancestors, we will be able to findexamples that demonstrate the positivecharacteristics of endurance.A story from my own family historyillustrates this principle. My greatgrandfatherJoseph Watson Mayneswas born in 1856 in Hull, Yorkshire,England. His family joined the Churchin England and then made their wayto Salt Lake City. He married EmilyKeep in 1883, and they became theparents of eight children. Joseph wascalled to serve a full-time mission inJune of 1910, when he was 53 yearsold. With the support of his wife andeight children, he returned to hisnative England to serve his mission.Joseph Watson Maynes (right) with his companion, Gilpin S. Woolley80