"Do you want to play a game?"

On Saturday I have to do a 5 km run...for those that know me you are probably laughing right now. When I signed up for it a month and a half ago I had every intention of training so that I would get better at running. However when I noticed that September was far spent, I kick up a fuss and told my companion that I couldn’t run. To which she replied you could run if a cheetah was chasing you...very thought provoking thank you Sister Stoker. Would I give up my comfort for my life? I find this is just like in the Book of Mormon when King Lamoni says to Alma that he would give up all his sins to know God. Sinning is never happiness but I find that we can become comfortable in our sins. So the name of this blog is from a quote a movie called Saw. Don’t judge me for watching a terrible slasher movie. But it inspired me because it in captures the choice between change and death through hopelessness. In this movie there is this creepy old guy who has a life threatening disease and is angry at people that don’t make the most of their lives so what he does is he kidnaps them and puts them in this life or death situation where they have to endure self inflicted pain to escape in a limited time frame or be killed or trapped forever. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is made of two parts. First the Savoir Jesus Christ overcoming spiritual death in the Garden of Gethsemane which enables us to repent of our sins and return to our Heavenly Father to live forever. Second overcoming physical death by being resurrected after being crucified so one day we can overcome this as well. When we sin we are trapped just like the people in Saw and just like me and my hypothetical cheetah, but have you ever noticed how hard it is to run when you are carrying lots of things?

I love in the book of 2 Nephi 2:27 how it explains:

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

I love this because life is not hopeless. Heavenly Father has given us a choice and a way to escape these problems. It hurts to change but I know through Jesus Christ we can build up our (spiritual) muscles through exercising daily (prayer)and we can give over our (spiritual) baggage so that we will be able to escape those eternal life threatening things. To quote Aaron Edson “the pain will go away some day but the strength will stay with you.”So choose life! Run you’re hardest! Don’t give up! Because there is someone at the finish line who loves you very much and has given up everything including his life to help you train for this challenge. I know when you do choose life it will easier to run from Cheetahs, lol.