As I watched the Olympics these past couple of weeks, I found myself cheering for different athletes and not all of them from my country. I was watching long track speed skating and there was an athlete from a country where speed skating is as huge there as baseball and football are here. He was under tremendous pressure to win. In fact the power company was offering a certain amount of discount for every gold medal he won to the people back home. I cheered harder for him than the US athletes and was thrilled when he won. Many times during the games, tears came to my eyes as athletes’ dreams were realized. It didn’t matter what athletes and where they were from. I was reminded of the Book of Mormon scripture found in 4th Nephi 1:17.
“There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.”
In the past they have always asked that the nations of the world observe an Olympic truce – having no wars or the like during the time of the games. It is a time where we can get a peek at what a Zion people could be. In Gospel Doctrine this year we are studying the Old Testament. Recently we had a lesson on the City of Enoch. It’s the same idea. They were so righteous and had no class system between them. Everyone shared and no one was put down or elevated.
Yes, in the games there are winners of the various medals. But to me, it was just as impressive to see an athlete finish a race or even just to get to the Olympics in the first place as it was to celebrate those who made it to the medal podium. Sometimes I found the stories the media put together about the athletes’ lives far more interesting and enjoyable than the actual competition. It helped me to relate to the person competing and made the victory mean more.
Are there things we can do in our daily lives to maintain that unified, no-ites feeling in between Olympic Games? I think so. It’s all about keeping an eternal perspective and remembering that everyone is our brother or sister, and then treating each other accordingly. If we could do that, there would be less road rage. Crime rates would go down. Maybe even the number of people who take their own lives would lessen. People would feel loved and appreciated and of worth. In the eyes of Heavenly Father, we are all Gold Medalists and the great thing is we don’t have to compete with anyone else to win. So, let’s treat everyone we meet as though they’ve won Gold, not necessarily with the parade many returning athletes will get, but with simple kindness and courtesy.
