I’m glad I chose adversity as the first topic because I
realize how inevitable and important trials are in our journey here. But just
because I know they are needed this won’t always make them the easiest to
handle. I decided to focus on another one of my weaknesses, patience.
I found an old general conference talk titled ‘Patience in
Affliction’ given by Angel Abrea. He points out that it demands persistent
effort to develop patience as a personal attribute. In this talk he was not
talking about a passive patience which waits only for the passing of time to
heal or resolve things which happen to
us, but rather a patience that is active, which makes things happen. Patience in affliction and adversity means to
persist firmly and never abandon that which we know to be true, standing firm
with the hope that in the Lord’s due time we will gain an understanding of that
which we do not understand now and which causes us suffering.
“For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your
faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it,
ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” (1Peter 2:20)
Elder Neal A. Maxwell spoke on the topic of patience to BYU
students back in 1979. He said he chose the topic for his own personal reasons
because of his own continuing need to develop this attribute. It was great to
see that even apostles struggle with similar things that I do. He described
patience perfectly, “patience is not indifference. Actually, it is caring very
much, but being willing, nevertheless, to submit both to the Lord and to what
the scriptures call the “process of time.”
He noted that patience is tied very closely to faith in our
Heavenly Father. When we are stubbornly impatient we are suggesting that we
know what is best. We are showing that our timetable is better than His or
expressing that our ‘plan’ is better than God’s plan. Being impatient can be distracting to the
Spirit and will only make it harder to endure our adversities. Impatience is
tied to selfishness, whereas patience and faith work together.
I’m so glad I found this talk by Elder Neal A. Maxwell
because I now think of patience in a whole new light. I had always thought of
patience as the definition found in Preach My Gospel: ‘Patience is the capacity
to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry,
frustrated, or anxious’. This is a great definition but to be honest I had
always felt a little guilty because I’ve always had a problem with feeling
frustrated or anxious while trying to be patient. Knowing that patience is tied
to faith the way that Elder Maxwell explained gives me hope and a new
perspective. As much as I would like to dispute that impatience is tied to
selfishness, I cannot, because this statement is true. It’s because of this
statement that I want to be sure to develop this attribute as best as I can.
"Indeed, when we are unduly impatient with an omniscient God’s timing, we really are suggesting that we know what is best. Strange, isn’t it—we who wear wristwatches seek to counsel Him who oversees cosmic clocks and calendars."
- Neal A. Maxwell
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