by Elder Robert D. Hales
These are my favorite quotes from his talk from General Conference. Following the quotes from the talk I have left my own thoughts and testimony of the topic.
"The purpose of our life on earth is to
grow,
develop, and
be
strengthened through our own experiences. How do we do this? The
scriptures give us an answer in one simple phrase: we '
wait upon the
Lord.'
Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow
us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to
follow His Son. He already knows, and we have the opportunity to learn,
that no matter how difficult our circumstances, '
all these things shall
[be for our] experience, and … [our] good.'”
"What, then, does it mean to
wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word
wait
means to
hope, to
anticipate, and to
trust. To hope and trust in the
Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering,
keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end."
"To wait upon the Lord means planting the seed of faith and
nourishing it 'with great diligence, and … patience.'”
"As we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we discover that 'tribulation worketh patience' and we learn to 'continue in patience until [we] are perfected.'”
"Waiting upon the Lord means to '
stand fast' and '
press forward' in faith, 'having a perfect brightness of
hope.'”
"It means '
relying alone upon the merits of Christ' and 'with [His] grace assisting [us, saying]:
Thy will be done, O Lord, and not ours.'”
"As we wait upon the Lord, we are 'immovable in keeping the commandments,' knowing that we will 'one day
rest from all [our] afflictions.'"
"And we 'cast not away … [our] confidence' that 'all things wherewith [we] have been afflicted shall work together for [our]
good.'”
"We may not know when or how the Lord’s answers will be given, but in His time and His way, I testify, His answers
will come...Let us not give up on the Lord.
His blessings are eternal, not temporary."
“'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.'
He knows your sacrifices and your sorrows. He hears your prayers.
His
peace and rest will be yours as you continue to wait upon Him in faith."
"
Every one of us is more beloved to the Lord than we can possibly
understand or imagine. Let us therefore be kinder to one another and
kinder toward ourselves. Let us remember that as we wait upon the Lord,
we are becoming 'saint[s] through [His] atonement, … submissive, meek,
humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the
Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his
father.'"
"'
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.' May we wait upon Him by pressing forward in
faith, that we may say in our prayers, '
Thy will be done,' and return to Him with
honor."
This talk has meant a great deal to me, it was exactly what I needed to hear. As most of you know, I have been through much hardship in the last 10/11 months. You know what I learned the most from it? To never forget that your Heavenly Father is there for you, every step of the way. NEVER underestimate the power He has. He has healed the greatest pains in my heart that I have ever had to bear. He has blessed me with wonderful family and friends to help me through my toughest times. Each day I continue to count my many, MANY, blessings that He so willingly gives to me. He has poured out His perfect love to me each time I needed it and He has blessed me with the Spirit for comfort, strength and peace in my life. Even though my life seemed to have fallen a part in an instant, He has been the one to put it back together and give me much hope in my life. I testify to you this day that these words that have been said by an Apostle of the Lord is true. I do testify that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us with such a perfect love, none of us can even imagine. I also testify to you that no matter what you may be going through, He will be there for you every step of the way as long as you yield to Him and His Spirit.
Listen to the things these leaders of The Church have to say, for their is power and truth in their words.
Remember to always strive to keep the Spirit with you and to always look to the Lord whenever faced with hardship in your life. If you do this, He will bless you.
Be patient. Good things are to come. :)
You can find the full talk
HERE.
