To Run and Not Be Weary

“And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings … shall run and not be weary” (D&C 89:18, 20). Seventy-five-year-old runner Matt Miller enjoyed a full measure of that promise when he set a new world record by running nearly 143 miles in forty-eight hours. “I feel to the extent that I do what Heavenly Father wants me to do, he will help me do what’s good that I want to do,” Brother Miller observes.

One thing he wanted to do was set a world record. On the quarter-mile track at Williams High School in Plano, Texas, Brother Miller started his run. Two days later the record for runners in the seventy to seventy-four age group was his.

A high priest in the Pontchartrain Ward, New Orleans Louisiana Stake, Brother Miller is a latecomer to the world of runners. He began at age sixty-six by taking a pet Chihuahua out for exercise. The dog tired before he did, so Brother Miller began leaving it at home. He ran his first competitive race in 1986. One thing led to another, and three years later he ran his first marathon.

In his relatively short running career, Brother Miller has made many new friends, many of whom have received a copy of the Book of Mormon from him. He refuses to run on Sunday and has had many opportunities to discuss the gospel, the Word of Wisdom, and the Book of Mormon.—Betsy Nagel, Metairie, Louisiana