The Gospel, according to a Nerd: Part 1

I'm kind of a nerd. And I'm totally ok with that. It makes for some pretty fun jokes. I really enjoy making really nerdy comments, or getting really excited over really nerdy things, and having people just kinda look at me. My main nerdy thing is definitely comic books, but there are others. I'm pretty well versed with the internet and all it's little jokes.
For the next couple days, I'd like to use my nerdy skills and try to relate them to the Gospel.

 So, first example: Mario Bros. What do you want to get in Mario? A mushroom. Why? Because the mushroom makes you big, thus more powerful, and it allows you to take two hits before death, rather than just one. But, are you ever just given the mushroom*? Does a Goomba or a Koopa Troopa just walk up to you and hand you a mushroom then say "Hey! Jump on me and flatten me!"? NO! You have to search for those little "?" or "!" boxes, then jump and hit them. Not all of them are going to be mushrooms (most will be just coins), but every so often, you'll get that mushroom, and it will make you bigger, and stronger. And, once you have that mushroom, maybe one of the "!" boxes will have a feather that, for some reason or other, turns you into a flying raccoon (I don't question the ways of Mario), or a frog suit that allows you to swim, or a flower that, again, for some unexplained reason, allows you to shoot fireballs. Either way, you get something cool. But wait there's more! Because in some of those "!" boxes are green mushrooms that give you extra life! All you have to do is search for those boxes and hit them!
Now, this is a surprisingly straight forward analogy. In life, we all have to look for those things that will make us better and stronger, and increase our faith and testimony. They're never going to just come to us, we need to do our part. And, even when we do find one of those things that will help us, it's still not going to just fall in our laps. We need to jump up, directly beneath it, and hit it with our fist while making a "BOING!" sound (ok, that's a bit of a stretch with the metaphor). We need to do something, though. There needs to be an action on our part to get that level up or extra life. Sometimes it's painful (as I'm pretty sure jumping and punching a seemingly metal box would be), but if we endure it well, we will be blessed.
So, be like Mario. Don't let those Goombas and Koopa Troopas get you down, just jump on them! (They're obviously metaphors for trials and temptations). And always be on the look out for those "?" or "!" boxes to help you toughen up, or even give you EXTRA LIFE!

*Obviously, in Super Mario Bros., 2, if you get Yoshi and he eats enough of those tomato looking berry things, he'll just kinda poop out a mushroom. That is a rare occurrence, and should not take away from my metaphor.