Seminary Graduation Talk 2009
At Belmont Racing Park, just 30 minutes to the east of us here in NYC, there is a statue of a horse named Secretariat. Secretariat was the best racing horse ever. I want to tell you a little bit about this horse and about horse racing, but as I tell you this, I want you to listen very closely with your spiritual ears because there is a lot we can learn here.
The greatest distinction a racehorse can earn is to win all three races in the Triple Crown series. Only 11 horses have ever accomplished that in over 150 years that The Triple Crown has existed. Secretariat only raced for about a year, but in 1973, towards the end of his racing career, he was positioning himself to do just that.
In the Kentucky Derby, the first race of the series, Secretariat set a track record that still stands to this day. More remarkable than setting that record was how he did it. Usually in sprint races, horses will accelerate and reach their maximum speed during the first ¼ mile. They spend the rest of the race maintaining speed and sometimes slowing. Track timers showed that Secretariat accelerated consistently throughout the entire race so that each successive ¼ mile that he ran was faster than the last. He didn’t reach his peak in the first part of the race like most horses, he kept getting faster and faster throughout the race. That means that after he won that race, he still hadn’t reached his maximum speed.
Secretariat at the 1973 Kentucky Derby
The second race in the Triple Crown series is the Preakness Stakes. When that race started, Secretariat was the last horse to break out of the gates, but by the first turn, he had gone from last to first place. He won that race by 2.5 lengths (about 20 feet).
Secretariat at the 1973 Preakness Stakes
By this time, he was getting considerable attention. He was named the Horse of the Year (one of the youngest horses to receive that title). He was featured in the news. He was on the cover of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. People who didn’t care about horse racing, were suddenly excited about it because of what this horse was accomplishing.
For the Belmont Stakes, the last race in the Triple Crown series and the super bowl of horse racing, close to 70 thousand people showed up at Belmont Park in 1973 to watch Secretariat race. He was so well-favored that most people didn’t bother place bets that day. He was the sure bet. Secretariat did not disappoint. He won that race by an incredible 31 lengths (83 yards), setting a world record that still stands today.Secretariat at the 1973 Belmont Stakes
I’m telling you this because there are few things that are true of racehorses and particularly Secretariat that are also true about everyone in this room and I believe we can learn from being reminded of them.
• First, the value of a horse starts with its pedigree. Racehorses are selectively bred. Their ancestors and their records of success in large part dictate the worth of a horse. Even before it is born or races, a horse that comes from a line of proven racehorses is valued at a high price. In fact, the Belmont Stakes was yesterday (6/5/09). The winner of that race was a horse named Summer Bird. Summer Bird is a descendant of Secretariat. Before he ever set foot on a track, great things were expected of him because of his bloodline.
We are descendants of God. We are literally his spirit children. There is no pedigree line more distinguished or that carries more potential than that. Because of our unique heavenly pedigree, we are valued at a high price and we have in our spiritual genetic makeup the potential to be like Him. Descendants of racehorses have the potential to be great racehorses. Descendants of God, have the potential to be gods. Scripture Mastery John 17:3. Eternal life is knowing God because God is in us and to know who we are and what we are capable of, we have to understand the nature of God.
• Second, racehorses only race for a small portion of their lives. After a few years of prep, most horses will only race 2-3 years and spend the rest of their lives breeding and passing on their genes. Horses live normally between 20-30 years. So a great emphasis and importance is placed on what they can accomplish in those few years of racing. During that short race period, it would be unwise for a trainer to let the horse take a break or to stray from its practice and nutrition regiment. Taking a horse off-pace would greatly threaten its ability to perform as it is meant to.
We are currently in our own mortal Triple Crown series. As children of God, our mortal tests and trials make up only a small portion of our entire existence, but great emphasis is placed upon what we make of our time here. So we need to ask ourselves, “Knowing that our purpose on earth is to get a body, learn as much as we can, make the right decisions that will help us realize our potential as children of God, what are we prioritizing, what are we doing, what are we saying, what are we studying, how are we spending our time that is helping us to accomplish that?” I want you to take a moment and very seriously think about how you spend a typical day…Now compare that with your knowledge that we have a small window of time to accomplish all that we need to in mortality. Ask yourself, “Do my actions align with my testimony? Am I making the most of my time here?” In answering that question and in safely and righteously navigating the short time that we have here, I want to point to the scriptures. Scripture Mastery 2nd Tim 3:16-17. I point to the scriptures because the scriptures point to Jesus Christ, whose atonement we need to successfully navigate this life. Accessing that power in our short mortality is what will help us to realize our potential as children of God.
• Third, behind every good racehorse, there is a lot of support. Racehorses are supported by owners who invest a lot into their care, comfort and health. Racehorses usually have a staff of skilled individuals who see to it that they are getting the proper exercise, are sheltered from extreme elements and receiving the right practice and nutrition. Racehorses also have a jockey or team of jockeys whose job it is to know the horse’s strengths and weaknesses and use that knowledge to guide the horse strategically in its races.
We are surrounded by so much love and support. It comes from family, friends, teachers, neighbors and church leaders. We are not alone. Where people or systems fail us, we always have the Holy Ghost, our spiritual jockey, whose job it is to know us and to give us the guidance we need to strategically use what we have in our mortal race. We have the example of those who have gone before us in the scriptures and we need to constantly and consistently be tapping into that support. When speaking to the priesthood in the last Gen conference, Pres Monson said, “Crash courses are not nearly so effective as the day-to-day reading and application of the scriptures in our lives. Become acquainted with the lessons the scriptures teach. Learn the background and setting of the Master’s parables and the prophets’ admonitions. Study them as though they were speaking to you, for such is the truth.”
• Here’s my last point that we can learn from racehorses. I want to go back to Secretariat for a second. He lived more than 15 years after his racing career ended and then was put down after he contracted a hoof disease. After he died, they did an autopsy on him to see if there was anything physiologically that made him such an effective racehorse. They found that his organs were all intact and normal and in large part unremarkable, except for his heart. A normal horse’s heart weighs between 7-9 pounds. Secretariat’s heart weighed 22 lbs. He had everything else that any other horse was born with. He had strong legs and healthy lungs, but the thing that made him so incredible, actually the thing that made him able to use those god-given blessings to the best of their ability was this massive organ that was able to pump more blood, more nutrients and more oxygen throughout all of his body.
The analogy here is obvious. We are all born with certain God-given characteristics and opportunities. We all are born with the light of Christ and the ability to choose the right, but it is only when our hearts are pure, when our hearts are strong, when our hearts are healthy, loving, charitable and Christ-centered that we are making the most of what we have. It is so important that we train our hearts to power the good that is in us. The size and quality of our spiritual hearts determines how effective we will be during our mortality.
I want to end with a prayer in the form of hymn lyrics:
Lord, accept our true devotion.I have a testimony that as we continually seek to study and apply what we learn in the scriptures, we will increase out spiritual stamina, we will better position ourselves to overcome the opposition of the world and grow closer to our potential as children of God. We have been told that the scriptures are here for our profit and learning. Again, I point to the scriptures because the scriptures point to Jesus Christ whose atonement we need to successfully navigate this life. As long as we are engaged in seeking out the word of God, He will never leave us and we will win the race.
Let thy Spirit whisper peace.
Fill our hearts with fond emotion,
And our joy in thee increase.
Never leave us, never leave us.
Help us, Lord to win the race.
Never leave us, never leave us.
Help us, Lord to win the race.
