Spiritual strength, testimony, faith-none are the product of a moment; all must be nurtured, each comes quietly, almost imperceptibly. Impatience is characteristic of the spiritually immature. A mistake common to the spiritually inexperienced is the establishing of deadlines for the Lord. This is done by determining that they will submit themselves to a given ritual of spiritual activities for a specified period, by which time the Lord is to have manifest himself or his will to the prescribed degree.
This would be something akin to a parent giving a child a goal to grow a given number of inches in a prescribed period, promising rewards if they succeed and punishments should they fail. A good seed properly nourished will bring forth a rich harvest, but the season of harvest is of the Lord’s choosing-it will come “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will’ (D&C 88:68).”