Patience.

I'm really very pleased with this, so I figured I'd put it here. It's my talk for church, on patience.

This past wednesday at institute, we went over two of President Uchtdorfs talks from this past conference, one of them being his talk titled 'Continue in Patience'. I enjoyed it so much, during class I underlined all that stood out to me, then, when I went home that night I looked over it again before going to bed. The next afternoon I read it again, underlining and absorbing more of his words.

Then that evening, I got a phone call from a Tucson number I didn't know. I was in the middle of feeding the boys dinner, and for a split second I thought about just letting it go unanswered. But I didn't. I answered, curious to see who it was, and as we all know, curiosity killed the cat.

It was Brother Drake. And as soon as I found out it was him, I knew why he was calling. And the topic? Patience. And more specifically, patience when waiting for blessings. A topic designed especially for me? Probably.

So, needless to say, I'm going to be taking a lot from President Uchtdorfs talk on patience.

First, isn't it wonderful to be able to KNOW that blessings will undoubtedly come? To have the privilege, and really, the blessing in and of itself, to know that we aren't enduring all these hardships for nothing. If we are living righteously, and doing what we know the Lord has asked of us, everything will be okay. Blessings will come.

When we do something nice for someone, a friend, a family member, a neighbor, we don't call them everyday afterward, asking when they're going to do something nice in return. So why should we live obediently, then become impatient when we do not receive immediate blessings from our Heavenly Father? We know we will be blessed, but who are we to demand when?

Alright. What is patience? Why do we need it? In his talk, President Uchtdorf says that "Patience-the ability to put our desires on hold for a time-is a precious and rare virtue." he also says "...without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect." I'm going to repeat that. "...without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect."

Since a huge reason we're here on Earth is to be tested, to do our best to obey and please God, and to eventually become like Him, a perfected being, patience seems to be of some importance. Without it we cannot become perfect. We cannot please God.

Think about that for a minute.

Patience. A seemingly small, almost frustrating virtue. One that I'm sure many of us can remember being upset with at one time or another. That little virtue is really not so little at all, and it is so necessary in our lives that without it, we're stuck.

When I was little, my mom taught me a song from some old tv show or something, about patience. She used to get me to sing it all the time. My grandparents thought it was cute. I have a very vivid memory of singing it for my grandma loudly in a restaurant, but anyway.

The words to the song are:

Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry.
If you get impatient, you only start to worry.
Remember, remember, God is patient too,
and think of all the times when others had to wait for you.

Even though this is just a small childrens song from years ago, it teaches something so important. Have patience. Slow down. If we rush things, we'll only worry ourselves, and miss out on so much. God is patient with us, so we can and should be patient with ourselves, with timing, with others.

Neal A. Maxwell said: Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less”

If we want to become like God, we must learn to master the virtue of patience.

Going back to President Uchtdorfs talk, he says this: "Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can-working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"

When living each day, enduring trials and experiencing life here on earth, we must do it with the right mindset. We cannot trudge through it, constantly noticing the bad, noticing the negative things that seem to happen all around us, and even to us. Though that seems easy, and maybe in some strange way satisfying, how does that benefit anyone? We certainly don't grow from grumbling. We make it easier for ourselves to sink lower and lower, becoming more bitter and negative with each unpleasant experience that tries us. Waiting out those times is not good enough. Like President Uchtdorf said, patience is not simply enduring. It is enduring WELL.

President Hunter once said:

“While waiting for promised blessings, one should not mark time, for to fail to move forward is to some degree a retrogression. Be anxiously engaged in good causes, including your own development. The personal pursuit of hobbies or crafts, the seeking of knowledge and wisdom, particularly of the things of God, and the development and honing of skills are all things that could productively occupy one’s time.”

We must look around us and find joy. We must notice the tender mercies the Lord has put all around us, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. We must busy ourselves with good activities, to help us grow. When waiting for something, what better way to pass the time than bettering ourselves, spiritually, emotionally, or even physically?

If we are enduring, we might as well endure well, make the best of our situation, and keep our faith growing strong, knowing that when the Lord sees fit to give us blessings, He will. He knows what is best for us. We always hear people talk about our time versus the Lords time, and how we have to trust in Him, and know that His timing, ultimately will result in the joy and happiness we are so desperate to find.

Neal A Maxwell also says: "Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe—rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance”

Heavenly Fathers plan is a marvelous thing, something that we can just barely begin to grasp. We should try to sit back and take in its intricate, yet simplistic beauty, and rejoice in the fact that it truly is the Plan of Happiness, created for us, and that we never have to be alone, and that we are surrounded by opportunities to grow, and to better ourselves, and become more like Christ.

Here is a story from President Uchtdorf:

I remember when I was preparing to be trained as a fighter pilot. We spent a great deal of our preliminary military training in physical exercise. I’m still not exactly sure why endless running was considered such an essential preparatory part of becoming a pilot. Nevertheless, we ran and we ran and we ran some more.
As I was running I began to notice something that, frankly, troubled me. Time and again I was being passed by men who smoked, drank, and did all manner of things that were contrary to the gospel and, in particular, to the Word of Wisdom.
I remember thinking, “Wait a minute! Aren’t I supposed to be able to run and not be weary?” But I was weary, and I was overtaken by people who were definitely not following the Word of Wisdom. I confess, it troubled me at the time. I asked myself, was the promise true or was it not?
The answer didn’t come immediately. But eventually I learned that God’s promises are not always fulfilled as quickly as or in the way we might hope; they come according to His timing and in His ways. Years later I could see clear evidence of the temporal blessings that come to those who obey the Word of Wisdom—in addition to the spiritual blessings that come immediately from obedience to any of God’s laws. Looking back, I know for sure that the promises of the Lord, if perhaps not always swift, are always certain.
Just like President Uchtdorf, we may see times when it seems like we aren't benefiting from what we've been asked to do by the Lord. It may seem like the commandments we're struggling to understand just limit us and make our lives more difficult. It may even seem like others around us are benefiting from NOT obeying the commandments. But we know Heavenly Father loves us, and knows everything. Heavenly Father isn't going to ask us to do something that doesn't help us. Whether that help comes immediately, or in the future, it will come. Heavenly Father isn't going to have us do something that hurts us rather than strengthens us, He wants us to be happy. Truly happy. And He is the one who knows how we can achieve that true happiness. We must view things with an eternal perspective, with steadfast faith in the Lord, and know that everything WILL be okay.

Times get hard. What are we supposed to do when we feel we can't take much more? We must remember that the trials in our life will not last forever. Alma 13:28 says:

We must remember that we will not be tested with anything we truly aren't able to handle, and we must remember that we never need to be alone. Heavenly Father is always there, just waiting for us to ask for help, just as it says in Luke 11:9.

There's a story in the Bible, about a father who asked Jesus Christ to heal his son. I'm going to read from Mark 9:23-24


This story isn't really specifically about patience, or having patience while waiting for blessings, but I think it can be tied into our lives anytime we are struggling. If we are struggling to have patience, as long as we do our part, and try our very hardest to be patient and live the way we know we should, the Lord will make up the difference. In anything. He won't do it for us, but He won't leave us alone either. All He asks is that we try.

I know that if we are patient, and have faith that the Lord knows much better than we do, we will receive blessings from the Lord when the time is right. We will find so much joy and satisfaction in knowing we were patient, and I know that we will experience that much more, and grow that much stronger after going through that waiting and enduring. I am so grateful for this Gospel. For a Heavenly Father who knows each of us personally, who knows what we need and when we need it. A Heavenly Father who is there for us, ready, and willing to help us, as soon as we ask it of Him.

Jeffrey R. Holland said:

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help, and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come till heaven. But for those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God, and believe in good things to come."

I know that everything we go through here on this earth CAN and WILL be worth it in the end, as long as we follow the example of our loving, perfect older brother. He knows exactly what we're going through. EVERYTHING will be good and just in the end.