Wearing the Jersey

                            

                                                           

         As you can tell from previous posts, I love sports!!  Bear with me as I talk once again on a sports topic.  When I first made the high school basketball team, I was so excited.  I have been playing competitive basketball all my young life, all in preparation to one day play high school ball.  I didn't know at first how special it was to be on the high school team though, until the day our coach gave us our jerseys.  He said there are hundreds of kids in this school that would do anything to wear that jersey.  One of our coaches was a former alumni of our school who also played for the basketball team.  He said, I bled and sweat, and put my heart into that jersey, don't take it for granite.  It was at this time that I really felt the honor of wearing that jersey.

        As we went on throughout the season, I always tried to remember these things.  I always tried to remember that what I did represented our school, whose name I bore on my chest throughout that season.  On the front of the jersey read "ALTA"  four simple letters that represented years of pride, respect, and honor.  I knew that I must live up to the expectations that came with wearing it.  

       This idea has come to me again but in a far greater way as I have been on my mission and studied the gospel, let me explain.     

             As we are baptized into Christ's church, we make certain covenants, or promises.  One of these is to "take upon us the name of Christ." (Mosiah 5:8).  As I read this recently I thought back to my Jersey and how I took upon me the name of my high school and all that meant.  As I thought about taking upon me the name of Christ I realized it meant, taking upon me the responsibility to live up to the standard he set.  To try my best  to do and say as he would do and say.  To love and serve as he would love and serve.  This thought was a little overwhelming as I thought, I can never live up to that.  Then I remembered these reassuring words, 

"be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33)

      Just like the High school jersey there are many people who desire this Jersey, and unlike in basketball where only a few can have it, Jesus Christ invites all to come.  It does come with a requirement, we must be willing "to mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as a witness of god at all times..." (Mosiah 18:9)  

      "And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of god, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ." (Mosiah 5:9)

     May we all be faithful unto taking upon us the name of Christ, and doing all we can to bring honor to that name.

         

Defense wins championships!!

                                                   

        As many of you know, I love basketball.  I have played it ever since I can remember, it has always been a part of my life.  From Rec. basketball, to AAU, to highschool, to just watching my Lakers play on the T.V.  I have thought alot about the game of basketball and tried to see how it applies to the Gospel, so hear it goes. 

       In the sports world you hear the cliche alot that "defense wins championships"  and that good defense leads to good offense.  Many people say "well that is true but if you can't score a point you can't win"  that as well is true, you need to have a good balanced attack.  But like in the picture above, if you are able to get the other team to make turnovers it leads to easy lay-ups on the other end.  No matter how bad of an offense you have, lay-ups should be a guarantee.  It is all set up by the defense.  Too many times in basketball though, people get in the mind set of, we will save our energy on defense so that we will have more energy on offense, or we will just out shoot them.  Many times my highschool team just tried to get into a shoot out, and we played casual on defense.  While this worked sometimes, most of the time we were playing from behind, and it usually ended in defeat.  Another important thing to remember in the game of basketball is that it is a team sport and no one man can do it on his own.  He must rely on his teamates to help him out when he needs them.  All of this requires practice and development of different fundamentals, basketball is game of many elements, on defense you need to be able to develop good communication, court position, good defensive stance, hand placement, boxing out, and many other things.  Without all of these key elements you won't be effective.  Now to compare it to the gospel