Pres. Monson was a great storyteller. And his stories always lead us toward following and acting more like Jesus Christ, who’s greatest gift is to try again. In the April 1987 Sunday morning session, he told this story. You’re going to need a handkerchief for this one:

John is twenty-six years of age and is handicapped, in that it is difficult for him to coordinate his motions. At a youth conference in Kungsbacka, Sweden, John took part in a 1500-meter running race. He had no chance to win. Rather, his was the opportunity to be humiliated, mocked, derided, scorned. Perhaps John remembered another who lived long ago and far away. Wasn’t He mocked? Wasn’t He derided? Wasn’t He scorned? But He prevailed. He won His race. Maybe John could win his.

What a race it was! Struggling, surging, pressing, the runners bolted far beyond John. There was wonderment among the spectators. Who is this runner who lags so far behind? The participants on their second lap of this two-lap race passed John while he was but halfway through the first lap. Tension mounted as the runners pressed toward the tape. Who would win? Who would place second? Then came the final burst of speed; the tape was broken. The crowd cheered; the winner was proclaimed.

The race was over—or was it? Who is this contestant who continues to run when the race is ended? He crosses the finish line on but his first lap. Doesn’t the foolish lad know he has lost? Ever onward he struggles, the only participant now on the track. This is his race. This must be his victory. No one among the vast throng of spectators leaves. Every eye is on this valiant runner. He makes the final turn and moves toward the finish line. There is awe; there is admiration. Every spectator sees himself running his own race of life. As John approaches the finish line, the audience, as one, rises to its feet. There is a loud applause of acclaim. Stumbling, falling, exhausted but victorious, John Helander breaks the newly tightened tape. (Officials are human beings, too.) The cheering echoes for miles. And just maybe, if the ear is carefully attuned, that Great Scorekeeper—even the Lord—can be heard to say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21).

If John is all of us, then who are we? We are wayward sons, willful daughters. We are Saul the persecutor who became Paul the proselyter. We are Alma the Younger who turned his back on sinful practices and wasteful ways. They both found their place in the kingdom of God.

It behooves each of us to remember who he or she is and what God expects him or her to become. Our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity to competence, from failure to achievement. Our task is to become our best selves. God’s greatest gift to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.

When I compare his words to the words fed to us by the world, the handkerchief comes out again. Too many of us are feeling hopeless, unlovable, and forgotten. We allow sin and discouragement to feed us to a soul-crushing end. But let me repeat Pres. Monson’s phrase:

God’s greatest gift to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.

Wherever we are today we can change course and God will wait for us. And as Pres. Monson encourages:

But you and I do not run alone. That vast audience of family, friends, and leaders will cheer our courage, will applaud our determination as we rise from our stumblings and pursue our goal. The race of life is not for sprinters running on a level track. The course is marked by pitfalls and checkered with obstacles … Let us shed any thought of failure. Let us discard any habit that may hinder. Let us seek; let us obtain the prize prepared for all, even exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God.

Our Heavenly Father wants me, and He wants you. Our ancestors are watching over us, anxiously awaiting our return. Everyone knows this life isn’t easy. Not all of us know that Satan is doing his best to pull us farther off course. Using God’s greatest gift, we can change our course. We simply have to keep getting up, keep running, and keep trying.