Heroic Lessons on Longevity, Truth, and Opposition

Credit: David Green

Recently, I had some time on a long flight to watch a National Geographic series with Chris Hemsworth, the actor known for his role as Thor in the Marvel comic movies. Over six episodes, the on-screen hero completed several extreme challenges in real life that were designed to test his limits and help him learn the key principles for a long and healthy life.

In the first episode, Hemsworth, who is afraid of heights, trained to walk on a crane perched high above a thirty-story building. As he trained, he learned about intentional breathing, positive self-talk, mindfulness and other practices that could help him control his anxiety and overcome his body’s natural stress response. After a rough start on the crane, he was able to use the principles he had practiced to calm his heart rate and even stop to take in the view.

In the following episodes, Hemsworth swam 250 meters in an ice-cold Norwegian sea, fasted for four days, climbed an 100-foot rope dangling from a cable car that was suspended over a large canyon, and navigated two days across an unfamiliar wilderness from memory. Along the way, he learned that exposing our bodies to extreme temperatures, like in a sauna, or something as simple as turning the water to cold for the last thirty seconds of a shower, can encourage our body to upgrade its defenses and power up repair systems in ways that can reduce the risk of disease and add years to our lives.

Fasting on a regular basis can clean out old and damaged cells from our bodies, sharpen our focus, and heighten our senses and perception. When we exercise, every flex of our muscles releases chemicals that prevent buildup of unwanted fat, suppress certain cancers, strengthen our minds against Alzheimer’s and dementia, and stimulate the immune system to work better and longer.

Ditching our cell phones and other screens to navigate to a new place without GPS, spend time in nature or adopt a healthier bedtime routine can build memory, problem-solving, and concentration. It reduces stress, improves sleep, and helps remove toxins from our brains.

Understanding the principles that govern physical longevity can help famous actors, and each of us, make better decisions and live longer and healthier lives. In a similar way, we can enjoy greater peace in our lives, the fruits of greater wisdom, and deeper and more meaningful relationships with God and one another as we learn the principles that govern spiritual, intellectual, and social/emotional health and prosperity. All of these principles are known to our Heavenly Father and can be revealed to us as we seek to learn by study and by faith.

One of the principles that inspired a feeling of gratitude as I watched the show on the plane is that there are absolute, eternal laws that govern the universe and the way the world works. This is to say that true principles are true regardless of how many people believe them or even if no one does.

Elder Andersen has taught, “Caught it today’s confusion, it is no wonder that so many consign themselves to the words spoken 2,500 years ago by Protagoras to the young Socrates: ‘What is true for you,’ he said, ‘is true for you, and what is true for me, is true for me.’”

“Blessed with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we humbly declare that there are some things that are completely and absolutely true. These eternal truths are the same for every son and daughter of God” (The Eye of Faith, April 2019).

Because eternal laws govern the universe independent of what you or I understand or believe, I don’t have to know exactly how exercise benefits my body, or perceive its effects working within me, to receive the benefits or blessings of going for a walk. And if I make a habit of going for a walk each day, those seemingly small blessings compound into a significant benefit to my health.

Likewise, we don’t have to understand exactly how prayer works or everything the prophets have taught or every bend along the covenant path to benefit from a sincere prayer, faithfully following the living prophet, and taking the next step in the plan for our salvation. If we make a habit of simple acts of faith, including daily scripture study and prayer, even when we may not perceive their effects in the moment, seemingly small blessings will compound into a firm foundation built upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another principle that impressed me as I watched the National Geographic series is the role of opposition in our lives. Lehi taught that “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things… Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other” (2 Nephi 2:11, 16).

We correctly understand that Lehi meant we would be enticed by righteousness or wickedness, happiness or misery, life or death, law or anarchy, good or bad. Chris Hemsworth faced a similar question in his study of a long and healthy life: would he be enticed to stay where he was comfortable or try to achieve something difficult and uncomfortable that would bless his life?

Popular opinion tells us that we should all aspire to a life of ease and comfort with lots of money and little work. If we can do this on a picturesque tropical island where it is always 72 degrees or sleep in every day or never be inconvenienced along the way, all the better.

Our own bodies would teach us something different. The life of ease, it turns out, clogs our arteries, dulls our decision-making, and makes us more susceptible to disease and death. It is the uncomfortable things—the stress, extreme temperatures, hunger, effort, and unfamiliar terrain—that renew our minds and bodies and develop our capacity to live longer, healthier lives.

In other words, the principle of opposition invites us to be enticed by opposition itself. We should not seek for trouble, but we can welcome opportunities to learn, to serve, to improve, and to be uncomfortable. In the same chapter Lehi taught about opposition, he teaches that “men [and women] are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). Joy is not reserved for some heaven or paradise after we die and it does not come from a life without challenges. Rather, joy is a fruit of the spirit for those who are worthy, a consequence of our sacrifice and obedient effort, and natural to the challenging and often uncomfortable process of coming closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sister Becky Craven asked in 2019, “There is a careful way and a casual way to do everything, including living the gospel. As we consider our commitment to the Savior, are we careful or casual?” Are we enticed by the life of a disciple or another, more casual lifestyle?

Finally, I found both reassurance and warning in the observation that few of the benefits highlighted in the National Geographic series had anything to do with what we have done in the past. Chris Hemsworth got no extra credit for being strong already. The benefits of fasting or the sauna could only be realized in real time as he endured a hunger pang or began to sweat.

Thankfully, we don’t have to take on extreme challenges to learn that there are certain eternal truths that govern our physical, mental, spiritual, and social health and longevity; that we can be enticed by the benefits obtained through the opposition in our lives; and that we benefit more from what we do now than the state of being we have previously obtained. Perhaps then we, like Thor, can choose to run towards our problems and not away from them—because that’s what heroes do.