"They were patient in all their sufferings."

"Wherefore ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men.  Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold thus saith the Father, ye shall have eternal life." -2 Nephi 31:20.  

....

I've been reading the Book of Mormon again and have currently just finished Alma 20.  Ammon's brothers served in a different mission area than him and "happened... to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and stiffnecked people" than Ammon. Verse 29 notes though "they were patient in all their sufferings." 

This morning I listened to another talk from Neal A. Maxwell entitled, "If Thou Endure Well".  This part really struck me:

"Brothers and sisters we're not simply to exist to the end, rather we're to persist in following the example of the son of the living God.  Quite a different emphasis than we sometimes think of in connection with enduring. 

No wonder then, as a wise man wrote, 'there is no disappointment we endure one half so great as that we are to ourselves.' (Philip James Bailey, Sharing the Care.)  Especially I think, for Latter-day Saints.  Where we have great expectations, and then must endure the difference between what we could be and what we are and to try to make of that some useful 'divine discontent'  rather than corrosive affliction of the self.

This quality about which we're speaking therefore is graceful endurance and it includes becoming and growing.  It includes, but is not limited to, hanging on for one moment more.  It is as has been observed, a circumstance in which 'all virtues at the testing point take the form of courage.' (C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters)  And then after you and I have passed breaking points without breaking, our virtues take the form of endurance.  Besides, this life is not lineal it is experiential.  It is not really chronological, though we use clocks and calendars and wristwatches.  It is essentially experiential.  Someone said it well, 'we live in deeds, not years, in thoughts, not breaths, in feelings, not figures on a dial and we really should count times, by heart throbs.' (Phillip James Bailey)." - Neal A. Maxwell

 

The Priceless Virtue of Meekness

Today, I listened to one of my favorite talks about meekness by, Neal A. Maxwell entitled, "Meekly Drenched in Destiny". I could listen to this talk a million times over and still find gems in it that I didn't hear before. I love the whole quote, especially the last two lines! 

What is crucial?

 What matters most? 

It's not what we often think or are led to believe. It's definitely not what the world paints as important. It's not the house we live in, the money we make, how popular we are, or how many degrees we have...

 What's crucial is a heart that is sincerely seeking the Lord, striving to follow our Savior in word and deed, a heart that is genuinely humble and teachable, willing to go and do whatever the Lord might ask, to serve Him with all the energy and strength of their soul. 

In the end... nothing else matters. Your job, the opinions others have of you (good or bad), your education, your circle of friends or lack of friends, your property, your possessions, and even your position in the Church don't matter! They simply don't matter!

I've written about meekness before in these two articles: Learning Meekness - Finding Rest and Learn and Rest

I think most people want to be free of unnecessary stress, a sanctuary away from the voices and noises of this world!  I think most people want peace in this life, to not have cares or worries that weigh them down with anxiety or fear. 

I believe the answer is far more simple than we realize!!

I think what Neal A. Maxwell is saying in his talk is for us to take the focus off our self and fix our eyes on Christ. If our energy is invested in the right place for the right reasons, then no matter what happens, our faith will be strong and we'll always run to and rely on the Source of all peace, the Source of all rest, Jesus Christ. We'll seek His words, seek His Spirit, seek His will, seek to show Him gratitude, and find ourselves nestled deep within the sanctuary of His heart. There we find rest, there we find peace.