My mom, a Crossfit coach, often quotes this exercise shirt slogan, “I don’t know what I’m training for, but I hope it never comes”. It really echoes the human tendency to hope for ease while desiring to be prepared. Recently, I decided to start working out. This is the first time in my life that I have worked out voluntarily. I used to use #relatable culture as a shield to justify my laziness, turning it into a joke and just “a normal part of who I am”. Yet, as I have started working out, I have been surprised how much it has affected me both mentally and spiritually. Don’t worry, I’m not turning this into an exercise blog, but I have found great spiritual strength and spiritual application in exercising.

I believe this spiritual strength is because a big reason we are on this earth is to learn how to take care of and control our physical bodies. I think this is part of why we get a mood boost when we exercise. We are doing as God intended by being wise stewards over our physical well being. Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School said, “in people who are depressed, neuroscientists have noticed that the hippocampus in the brain—the region that helps regulate mood—is smaller. Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression”¹. Though I do not have depression, I can confirm that my mood has improved quite a lot. In fact, my latest method of determining how long to exercise is based on my mood and mindset. Now I work out until I feel sufficiently humble and not anxious about the things I can’t control. This usually takes about 15 minutes. What a fast way to make me come to my senses! Taking care of our physical bodies is part of why we are here on earth, and doing so makes us happier and puts us in a better mindset. 

God often gives temporal things to teach us spiritual things and He created all things spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the earth.² The scriptures teach us that all things denote there is a God, that the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it witness that there is a Supreme Creator.³ For example, God gave us earthly families in part to teach us about our heavenly family, and gave us seeds to teach us about the spiritual seed of faith. Therefore, I would say that physical health can teach us a lot about spiritual health. In fact, the book of Mormon says multiple times that we “exercise” faith. To learn more about spiritual exercising, let’s look at some of the things I have observed from my experience with physical exercise.

Exercising will make you sweat; it will get the phlegm out of your lungs, and it will make you excrete various other things that the body needs to get rid of. Often, the things the body gets rid of while exercising are being gotten rid of so they can be renewed—out with the old, in with the new. But working out does not just make your body get rid of things, it also makes you crave good things. Some of the good desires that come as a byproduct of working out include drinking more water, eating healthier, and showering or cleaning ourselves. Similarly, when we begin to exercise faith in our daily lives, we will naturally begin to get rid of things not helpful to us, as well as dust off the cobwebs of things we need to remember and renew. Perhaps we will recognize we need to repent of some prideful thoughts or action. Maybe we will realize we have been neglecting family history work or some other good thing we should do. Exercising faith will draw you to these good things. Like working out makes us feel like we need to shower, exercising faith will make us crave cleansing. As is stated in the fourth Article of Faith, faith will lead us to repentance. Coming unto Jesus Christ will fill us with the desire to repent of our sins, renew our covenants, and become more like Him. 

Another benefit to working out is that I feel much more awake and alert after I have exercised. This can be likened to how studying the gospel and exercising faith brings us greater awareness of who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. This is the knowledge that will naturally make us more alert and attentive to the decisions we make throughout the day, just as exercising makes us more alert and energetic. Being more awake and alert after working out can also be likened to how we can come to know the truth of the gospel. It may at first seem counterintuitive if someone tells you that exerting energy by exercising will give you more energy throughout your day, yet it is true. Many people similarly think that the gospel is something that can be observed from afar in order to come to know if it is true or not, but that is not how God designed this world. We must walk by faith, and in order to truly understand how energy comes from exerting energy, you have to do it. This is why commandment keeping and commitment making are necessary parts of coming to know Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ is something that you can only come to know through action; it cannot be fully known without putting in effort, but those who put in the effort will find that their efforts are multiplied. They will find themselves rejuvenated and able to do more than they ever thought possible. 

People are odd. We often make fun of the people that have what we wish we had or those that do what we wish we did. We will often try to make it look like we are the ones that are in the right, even when deep down we are jealous. I did this all the time when I was a kid. Whenever my best friend and I had two similar, but different things, I would say, “I like mine better”. Then she would say, “well I like mine better”, and I would retort, “good!” Yet, I remember in these interactions, I was almost always jealous of what she had. In a way, I think this is what I was doing with exercising, and I think a lot of people do this with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I used to always say that exercising just wasn’t for me and that I was happy the way I was. My pride wouldn’t let me admit that I knew I was not doing something I should be doing. I already had pretty high self confidence before I started working out, but since I started to work out, my confidence has deepened. I feel good that I no longer have to turn my laziness into a relatable joke or try to explain why exercising is “not for me”. Similarly, the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. It can be difficult to start, but we cannot let our pride get in the way. Everyone should exercise physically and spiritually. Whether we want to admit it or not, we can improve, and doing so will bring greater self confidence.

Much of the world of exercising seems to be about looks. This can often discourage people or encourage people depending on how they feel about the way they look. However, looks can be deceiving. I happen to have a very high metabolism. I am one of those often envied people that can eat whatever they want without gaining any weight or changing how I look at all. I look pretty much the same whether I am working out consistently or not. Before I started taking my exercise seriously, I would often be complimented on my thin waist, yet every time I would get a compliment like that, I couldn’t help but question how healthy I really was, specifically how healthy my heart was. I knew I had done absolutely nothing to earn my high metabolism. Much in the way looks can be deceiving in the world of working out, others may seem like they are spiritually healthy even if they have some real issues going on internally. It is not our place to assess where other people are, nor is it good for us to compare ourselves to those around us, whether physically or spiritually. We must all remember that it is not about how we look, it is about our heart. Someone could be genetically more stout even if they exercise frequently and the results of their effort might not be seen until they are old and still have a healthy heart. Similarly, everyone is given circumstances they cannot change, but God will suit his mercies unto the conditions of the children of men.⁴ Before we get discouraged about how we look to the world either physically or spiritually, we should remember this scripture, “look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”⁵ 

I learned pretty quickly that consistency and dedication are key. Both spiritually and physically, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward.⁶ Growth takes constant effort. Far too many people decide that the seed of faith is bad because it did not grow, yet they forgot to water it. Working out is not a once a week deal, neither are the things we are asked to do to grow spiritually. We are asked to do specific things daily, such as study the scriptures, pray, and repent. Just like physical exercise, studying the scriptures, praying, or repenting once a week is better than not at all, but it is not enough for you to see much improvement. What about exercising for 1 minute daily? Still not going to see much improvement, right? Same goes for scripture study. If you are not reading at all, starting with one verse is great, but it is not going to give you all the blessings that a more dedicated study would. I started exercising with an easy, 7 minute workout, then increased it to 12 minutes, then I increased the difficulty. Always remember that, “[Christ], who will, in the long run, be satisfied with nothing less than absolute perfection, will also be delighted with the first feeble, stumbling effort you make tomorrow to do the simplest duty….every father is pleased at the baby’s first attempt to walk: no father would be satisfied with anything less than a firm, free, manly walk in a grown-up son….God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy.”⁷ If you want to see results, whether physically or spiritually, you have to be consistent and dedicated. 

After having worked out for a little while, I went on a hike with a friend. We had been on hikes together before but this was the first time I was really able to keep up. One of the things that came of my exercise was (obviously) added strength. When I consistently work out, I don’t feel tired when I go up the stairs and I can go on steeper and longer hikes more easily. It was easier for me to strengthen my legs in the comfort of my bedroom before going out to climb a mountain. Everyday life is not easy. There are always family members to care for, chores to be done, and money to be made and paid. While these things can often seem trivial, everyday life can become our training ground for when larger trials come our way. It is our job as Christians to turn to Christ in all things, and as we turn to Him for the smaller trials of daily life, the stronger our connection with Him becomes. This makes it so that when a more difficult trial comes our way, we already have a bond with Christ that can allow Him to strengthen us more as we go through the growing pains of mortality. 

Before this year (2020), I never really considered sacrifice to be a gospel principle. Yet, after reading Joseph Smith’s Sixth Lecture on Faith⁸, and going through the temple, I can see that sacrifice is one of the most important principles of the Gospel. What lecture six and the temple have taught me is that sacrifice brings confidence. I was reminded of this principle when I started working out. The more time and effort I put into exercising, the more confident I feel. The same is true spiritually. The more willing we are to sacrifice our time, talents, sins, and desires, the more confidence we will have before God and in our ability to understand and follow His will. Nothing feels better than confidence before God. In a smaller way, it felt great when my Mom asked if I had been working out because she noticed that my arms looked more toned. I know my mom is probably way stronger than me, but because I have been sacrificing my time and will by exercising, I feel more confident in myself and I have no doubt that my mom is proud of the progress I have made. So it is with our Heavenly Parents. When we make sacrifices for our good, we show God that we are putting effort into becoming like Him and we gain confidence that He is pleased with us. With sacrifice, there is usually pain. It hurts to really push yourself when working out, but being pushed is the only way to improve. I have found that it is a lot easier to exercise when I accept the fact that it has to be done, I promised I would do it, it will hurt, and it will be for my good. There is great joy in the gospel, but we will not always be spared from pain. Yet, Christ has descended below any pain or trial we could ever experience and made it so we will never be alone. “How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him?”⁹ CS Lewis put it this way, “Christ warned people to ‘count the cost’ before becoming Christians. ‘Make no mistake,’ He says, ‘if you let me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life, whatever inconceivable purification it may cost you after death, whatever it costs Me, I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect—until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less.’” ¹⁰ God does not just ask us to give up our sins, He often asks us to give up our good desires for something that, unknown to us, will be better in the long run. In reality, He asks us to give Him everything. I take great comfort in knowing that all pain is temporary. The saints of God must be tried in all things,¹¹ yet God shall wipe away all tears¹² and all these things will give us experience and be for our good.¹³ It might seem strange, but exercising has really increased my testimony of the need for acceptance of sacrifice and pain in the process of growth, both physically and spiritually. Since pain in life is inevitable, we need to build a tolerance to pain by increasing our strength the way we do when we exercise. So while we might not know what we are exercising for, and we might hope it never comes, we will be called to run spiritual marathons. It could be heartbreak, cancer, divorce, poverty, or the death of a loved one. It will hurt, but I testify that Christ has run and finished your marathons. He will tell you what exercises you need to do to prepare, and, if you want Him to, He will be right beside you when you run your spiritual marathons, strengthening you and promising joy ahead.

---

¹ Dr. Michael Craig Miller, Harvard Health. Exercise Is an All-Natural Treatment to Fight Depression. 2013, www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression

² Moses 3:5

³ Alma 30:44

⁴ Doctrine and Covenants 46:15

⁵ 1 Samuel 16:7

⁶ Mikhail Gorbachev

⁷ CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, quoting George MacDonald, http://www.samizdat.qc.ca/vc/pdfs/MereChristianity_CSL.pdf

⁸ Joseph Smith, Lecture Sixth The Law of Sacrifice https://lecturesonfaith.com/6/

⁹ Elder Jefferey R Holland, Missionary Work and the Atonement https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2001/03/missionary-work-and-the-atonement?lang=eng

¹⁰ CS Lewis, Mere Christianity, http://www.samizdat.qc.ca/vc/pdfs/MereChristianity_CSL.pdf

¹¹ D&C 136:31

¹² Revelation 21:4

¹³ D&C 122:7