Dieter F. Uchtdorf on learning to live in patience

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (b. 1940) served as a Seventy from 1994-2004, when he was called as a member of the Quorum of Twelve.  He has served as second counselor in the First Presidency since 2008.

"Waiting can be hard. Children know it, and so do adults. We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don't like to wait. Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them.

"Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

"Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace....

"I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort.

"There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. 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!"

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Continue in Patience," Ensign, May 2010, pp. 55-59
Click here to read the full talk

Messages like this are important reminders for all of us, as we strive to preserve proper perspective in our lives.

We all have things we want, things we desire, things we hope for, things we wish would change. In our sometimes selfish approaches, we want to control the timing as well as the outcome. But President Uchtdorf reminds us that ultimately, God is in charge of the timing. One of the most important lessons we learn is "to put our desires on hold for a time" while we "actively [work] toward worthwhile goals" and keep the positive, faith-filled attitude of a trusting disciple.

And the promise that accompanies this principle is perhaps the most important message of all: "Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace."