The Many Major and Minor Mistakes of Man

It's Olympics time again! Watch even just a few minutes on television or the Internet and you realize that these are no ordinary human beings. Each athlete pushes the envelop of his or her sport. They are the quintessence of near perfection. But as the saying goes, nobody is perfect. And a bronze, or no medal at all, indicates some kind of error, some kind of misstep, or that, ever so unfortunate, someone else is faster, stronger, or just a hair better than you are.

But even for the Olympian, the old adage is also true: It isn't whether you win or lose it is how you play the game. Perhaps we can change that statement to read: It isn't whether you win or lose but that you tried, and that you tried your very best! There is triumph in trying! The ultimate medal is the personal reward that you get when you know you gave it your all.

But there are also unspoken players in each Olympic Games. The attention is all on the athletes, but the respect also must go to the coaches and judges. These men and women are also at the top of their game, for an entirely different reason. It is their expertise and skill set that also sets them apart from the entire human race. Quite frankly it is their knowledge and skills that got the young athletes to the Olympics in the first place, and ultimately decides who really is the best of the best.

The Olympics reminds us that the pursuit of perfection is possible and that intense practice is necessary. But the Olympics also teach us something else that is very important and often overlooked. The Olympic games teach us that by listening to coaches and judges we can overcome mistakes.

Like everything else in life, there are major and minor mistakes that athletes make. There are many major and minor mistakes that we all, as mortals, make. It is humanly impossible to avoid making mistakes, period. But that isn't where the focus should be, because that equates to too much pressure. The focus on mistake making should really be on these three ideas in this statement: How do i learn from my mistakes, correct my mistakes, and make as few mistakes, next time, as possible. That is how the Olympic Athletes do it and that is how we can do it.

We have a unique kind of coach and judge or coaches and judges in our lives. Prophets and Apostles are the divine authority on earth. Believe that. Believe that, and like the coaches and the judges of the Olympics,respect that. And know that these men only have your best interest at heart. They love you and advise you, on behalf of Jesus Christ, because they, including the Savior, and our Heavenly Father, want to see you succeed!

So the next time a coach or judge points out a mistake, thank him and "receive it with gladness" because that is the sure road to perfection.