The 4 Minute Mile

We had regional stake conference this weekend, and while all the talks (including the ones by President Packer and President Uchtdorf) were good, my favorite was the one our Stake President gave during the Saturday evening adult session. He talked about the Olympics and the amazing level of athleticism each of the Olympians displayed. Then he noted that same level of performance that warranted a gold medal 20 years ago probably wouldn't even qualify the athlete for the team anymore. He went into great detail about the year the sprinters broke the 4 minute mile mark. Most commentators said it was physically impossible to run the mile in under 4 minutes, but one runner vowed to break the record. He broke it during the qualifying run, but he also came in dead last in his heat. Suddenly running a 4 minute mile simply wasn't good enough. Our Stake President related that to our lives and spiritual achievements. He challenged us to examine our level of commitment and to increase our spirituality each year, just as the trials of the world increase. The same level of spirituality that was able to buffet families from the temptations of the world 20 years ago will probably not be enough to make it today. We need to continue to strech a little further and improve ourselves.