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You may have noticed a trend.
When I’m at home I write more and more often.
Being at work nine hours has become extremely draining for me. I'd rather be shoveling snow that plowing through the blizzard of paper that is my job. And during this past week it has been more intense. I’m training my replacement. She’s a buyer and still has her full load to deal with, so each day I bring her over for an hour or so in order to introduce another major part of the job. I try to do it in a manner that she gets a little hands-on time as well as having a training session with real learning points.
Yesterday we attended the funeral of an acquaintance. He had been a welder at the shipyard in the nuclear area and according to all reports extremely talented. And extremely well liked. The chapel was full as well as the first overflow.
We sat behind the first counselor in the bishopric and his wife. He glanced back a couple times which got my curiosity up. We had earlier gotten up to put out additional chairs as the hall filled up. What was it this time?
Finally he leaned back and in a quiet voice said, “You know those times you asked me to speak at the prison? Don’t you think that counts for something?”
“Yes,” I responded.
“You remember that we canceled the Sunday of the Christmas program?”
“Yes.”
“And that we put the Christmas program on the following Sunday and pushed back the schedule?”
“Yes.”
“Dan was supposed to…”
“Where is this going?” I said.
“We need speakers tomorrow – will you give a five minute talk?”
I spoke for seven…

Below is the talk that I put together while taking a break from preparing my priesthood lesson. So as it turned out the Gospel Doctrine instructor and the High Priest Group instructor spoke today in Sacrament Meeting. We are the Minute Men.

In the closing chapters of Second Nephi the prophet writes of the Doctrine of Christ:

“And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.
“And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.”

In his talk entitled “Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure,” Elder Robert D. Hales tells the story of a marathon runner by the name of John Stephen Akhwari.

Mr. Akhwari represented Tanzania in 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
“A little over an hour after the winner had crossed the finish line, John Stephen Akhwari … approached the stadium, the last man to complete the journey. Though suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration, and disorientation, a voice called from within to go on, and so he went on.”
Bloodied and bandaged from a fall early in the race, Akhwari hobbled through the final lap in Olympic Stadium, crossed the finish line, and collapsed.
“Afterwards, it was written, ‘Today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in human spirit, a performance that gives meaning to the word courage.’
“For some, the only reward is a personal one. There are no medals, only the knowledge that they finished what they set out to do.”
Bud Greenspan had interviewed Mr. Akhwari and asked the question perhaps on the lips of every one of the remaining few in the stadium that night: why he would complete a race he could never win? To which Akhwari replied,
“You don’t understand. My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; my country sent me to finish the race.”

“He knew who he was—an athlete representing the country of Tanzania. He knew his purpose—to finish the race. He knew that he had to endure to the finish, so that he could honorably return home to Tanzania. Our mission in life is much the same. We were not sent by Father in Heaven just to be born. We were sent to endure and return to Him with honor.
“Dwelling in the world is part of our mortal test. The challenge is to live in the world yet not partake of the world’s temptations which will lead us away from our spiritual goals. When one of us gives up and succumbs to the wiles of the adversary, we may lose more than our own soul. Our surrender could cause the loss of souls who respect us in this generation. Our capitulation to temptation could affect children and families for generations to come.”

In the June 1989 Ensign President Monson – then Second Counselor in the First Presidency – authored the First Presidency message entitled “Finishers Wanted.”

One afternoon while on a break, President Monson went window shopping and paused in front of the window of a furniture store. A small sign that had been placed at the bottom right-hand corner of the window caught his eye. "FINISHERS WANTED."
What came to his mind was not those skilled in applying the final touches to furniture but those able and willing to complete what they set out to do.
President Monson wrote:

Times change, circumstances vary, but the true marks of a finisher remain.
Note them well.

They are: Vision, Effort, Faith, Virtue, Courage and Prayer

1. The mark of VISION.
It has been said that the door of history turns on small hinges and so do people's lives. We are constantly making small decisions. The outcome determines the success or failure of our lives. That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, to set a course, and at least be partly ready when the moment of decision comes.
True finishers have the capacity to visualize their objective.

2. The mark of EFFORT.
Vision without effort is daydreaming; effort without vision is drudgery; but vision coupled with effort will obtain the prize.
Needed is the capacity to make that second effort when life's challenges lay us low.
Stick to your task 'til it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.

3. The mark of FAITH.
Long years ago the psalmist wrote: "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes."
Recognize that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other.

4. The mark of VIRTUE.
"Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly."
This counsel from the Lord will provide staying power in the race we run.

5. The mark of COURAGE.
Have the courage…
To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow,
To run where the brave dare not go.
To right the unrightable wrong,
To try, when your arms are too weary,
To reach the unreachable star!
And you will, thus becoming a finisher.

6. The mark of PRAYER.
When the burdens of life become heavy, when trials test one's faith, when pain, sorrow, and despair cause the light of hope to flicker and burn low, communication with our Heavenly Father provides peace.

These, the marks of a true finisher, will be as a lamp to your feet in the journey through life.

And again from the prophet Nephi, in the thirty-second chapter of Second Nephi:
“If ye will receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do. Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ…”

Heavenly Father sent us here to be Finishers – with his help we will be.

That we with Paul may say:
“I have fought a good fight,
“I have finished my course,
“I have kept the faith…”
is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen