A private Hall of Fame ...

I received an e-mail from a friend recently with a quote from President Monson. In this quote, the Prophet talked about driving through New York with a friend on a cold wintry day and passing by an understandably deserted Yankees stadium. As he did so, his mind immediately drifted to the heroes of his youth - Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, and others - who had become legends of the sport and had their legacies safely enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.


Pres. Monson explains why those men deserved such honor ... and then asked a rather thought-provoking question: Who would we place in our own personal Hall of Fame? Which men and women would take a place in the hollowed rooms we reserve for those who have truly shaped and molded us?

I'm not going to share the people in my personal Hall of Fame right now. Maybe, someday, I'll feel comfortable sharing that. But in the meantime, I wanted to close this little post the way Pres. Monson ended his story. After asking what good it can do for us to build our own Hall of Fame, he says:

When we obey as did Adam, endure as did Job, teach as did Paul, testify as did Peter, serve as did Nephi, give ourselves as did the Prophet Joseph, respond as did Ruth, honor as did Mary, and live as did Christ, we are born anew. All power becomes ours. Cast off forever is the old self, and with it defeat, despair, doubt, and disbelief. To a newness of life we come--a life of faith, hope courage, and joy. No task looms too large. No responsibility weighs too heavily. No duty is a burden. All things become possible.

Sounds like a pretty amazing promise to me.