(Isa. 8:17; Eccl. 3:1–7; D&C 64:31–32; 88:68.)
Attentive doctors, nurses, therapists, a loving spouse, parents, children, and friends comfort us when we are ill and speed our recovery process. There are times when, no matter how independent we may be, we must entrust others with our care. We must surrender ourselves to them. Our caregivers are those who assist in the healing process.
The Lord is the ultimate caregiver. We must surrender ourselves to the Lord. In doing so, we give up whatever is causing our pain and turn everything over to Him… .
As we put our faith and trust in the Lord, we must battle our pain day by day and sometimes hour by hour, even moment by moment; but in the end, we understand that marvelous counsel given to the Prophet Joseph Smith as he struggled with his pain of feeling forgotten and isolated in Liberty Jail:
“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:7–8)… .
When pain, tests, and trials come in life, draw near to the Savior. “Wait upon the Lord, … look for him” (Isa. 8:17; 2 Ne. 18:17). “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa. 40:31). Healing comes in the Lord’s time and the Lord’s way; be patient.
Our Savior waits for us to come to Him through our scripture study, pondering, and prayer to our Heavenly Father… . As we are strengthened and healed, we can then lift and strengthen others with our faith.
(Robert D. Hales, Ensign, Oct. 1998, 18–19.)
Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we were to close the doors upon sorrow and distress, we might be excluding our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. The sufferings of our Savior were part of his education.
(Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1973], 98.)
No pang that is suffered by man or woman upon the earth will be without its compensating effect … if it be met with patience.
(James E. Talmage, as quoted in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972], 98.)
No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.
(Orson F. Whitney as quoted in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1973], 98.)
To appreciate this story, you have to realize that it occurred when he was nearly eighty and had bone cancer. He had bone cancer so badly in his hips that he could hardly move. The pain was great… .
He had the responsibility for the welfare farm. An assignment was given to weed a field of onions, so Dad assigned himself to go work on the farm… . I have met several people who were with him that day. I talked to one of them on the phone, and he said that he was weeding in the row next to Dad… . He said that the pain was so great that Dad was pulling himself along on his stomach with his elbows. He couldn’t kneel. The pain was too great for him to kneel. Everyone who has talked to me about that day has remarked how Dad smiled and laughed and talked happily with them as they worked in that field of onions… .
After all the work was finished and the onions were all weeded, someone said to him, “Henry, good heavens! You didn’t pull those weeds, did you? Those weeds were sprayed two days ago, and they were going to die anyway.”
Dad just roared. He thought that was the funniest thing. He thought it was a great joke on himself. He had worked through the day in the wrong weeds. They had been sprayed and would have died anyway.
When Dad told me this story, I knew how tough it was. So I asked him, “Dad, how could you make a joke out of that? How could you take it so pleasantly?” He said something to me that I will never forget, and I hope you won’t. He said, “Hal, I wasn’t there for the weeds.”
Now, you’ll be in an onion patch much of your life. So will I. It will be hard to see the powers of heaven magnifying us or our efforts. It may even be hard to see our work being of any value at all. And sometimes our work won’t go well.
But you didn’t come for the weeds. You came for the Savior… . I promise you that if you will be patient and diligent, you will have the blessing of knowing that you are doing what the Lord would have you do. And you will remember that while you’re in that onion patch, you are not there for the weeds. (That will be important sometimes when the weeds don’t come out easily.) You will feel the approval of God.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isa. 40:31).
Dad never got better. He just got worse. So you might say, “Well, he waited upon the Lord, but he couldn’t run and he couldn’t walk.” But that was true only in this life. There will be a day for you and me when, whatever difficulties and limitations we have here, we will have that promise fulfilled for us. We will be lifted up as on eagles wings if we have waited upon the Lord… .
One night when I was not with him and the pain seemed more than he could bear, he somehow got out of bed and on his knees beside it—I know not how. He pled with God to know why he was suffering so. And the next morning he said, with quiet firmness, “I know why now. God needs brave sons.”
(Henry B. Eyring, To Draw Closer To God [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 101–103, 116.)
Since the Lord wants a people “tried in all things” (D&C 136:31), how specifically will we be tried? He tells us, I will try the faith and the patience of my people (see Mosiah 23:21). Since faith in the timing of the Lord may be tried, let us learn to say not only, “Thy will be done,” but patiently also, “Thy timing be done.” …
In the agonizing atoning process, Jesus let His will be “swallowed up in the will of the Father” (Mosiah 15:7). As sovereigns, choosing to yield to the Highest Sovereign is our highest act of choice. It is the only surrender which is also a victory! …
So, brothers and sister, given what Jesus died for, are we willing to live with the challenges allotted to us? (See Alma 29:4, 6). Trembling is sometimes both permissible and understandable… .
We are to … finish the work we personally have been given to do; to be able to partake of a bitter cup without becoming bitter … to let our wills increasingly be swallowed up in the will of the Father; to acknowledge … that, indeed, “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7).
(Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 2001, 59–61.)
In all the important decisions in our lives, what is most important is to do the right thing. Second, and only slightly behind the first, is to do the right thing at the right time. People who do the right thing at the wrong time can be frustrated and ineffective. They can even be confused about whether they made the right choice when what was wrong was not their choice but their timing… .
Indeed, we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing… . In our service in the Lord’s church we should remember that when is just as important as who, what, where, and how… .
People who do not accept continuing revelation sometimes get into trouble by doing things too soon or too late or too long. The practice of polygamy is an example… .
This principle [of timing] applies to revelation … and to all of the most important events in our lives: birth, marriage, death, and even our moves from place to place… .
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ prepares us for whatever life brings… .
If we have faith in God and if we are committed to the fundamentals of keeping His commandments and putting Him first in our lives, we do not need to plan every single event—even every important event—and we should not feel rejected or depressed if some things—even some very important things—do not happen at the time we had planned or hoped or prayed… .
Plan, of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you through no matter what happens. Anchor your life to eternal principles, and act upon those principles whatever the circumstances and whatever the actions of others. Then you can await the Lord’s timing and be sure of the outcome in eternity.
(Dallin H. Oaks, Brigham Young University 2001–2002 Speeches [Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Publications & Graphics, 2002], 188–92.)
Patience is another form of self-control. It is the ability to postpone gratification and to bridle one’s passions. In his relationships with loved ones, a patient man does not engage in impetuous behavior that he will later regret. Patience is composure under stress. A patient man is understanding of others’ faults.
A patient man also waits on the Lord. We sometimes read or hear of people who seek a blessing from the Lord, then grow impatient when it does not come swiftly. Part of the divine nature is to trust in the Lord enough to “be still and know that [he is] God” (D&C 101:16).
A priesthood holder who is patient will be tolerant of the mistakes and failings of his loved ones. Because he loves them, he will not find fault nor criticize nor blame.
(Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1986, 47.)