The Longsuffering of the Lord is Salvation

The first attribute of charity listed by Paul and Mormon is that it “suffereth long” (1 Corinthians 13:4, Moroni 7:45). I believe that this is the same thing as having “longsuffering,” an attribute used to describe the Lord. For example, in the Old Testament we read, “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). Paul referred to how God “endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath,” meaning, I believe, that He put up with the wicked for a long time. He also spoke how “Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering” (1 Timothy 1:16). Peter referred to the “longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,” meaning again, I think, that He suffered the wickedness of the people for a long time before they finally had to be destroyed (1 Peter 3:20). Peter also wrote to the Saints, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance…. The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation” (2 Peter 3:9, 15). That last phrase seems to suggest that because the Lord has longsuffering—He doesn’t punish sin immediately but patiently works with us—it leads to our salvation.

               The Book of Mormon refers often to the longsuffering of the Lord for us as He hopes for our repentance and turning away from our sins. Nephi wrote of the Savior, “And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men” (1 Nephi 19:9). He suffered not only physically in a terrible way, but He also suffers our sins for a long time as He seeks to lead us to righteousness. King Benjamin spoke to his people of “the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men” (Mosiah 4:6). Alma questioned the people of Zarahemla, “Have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?” (Alma 5:6) The Lord had suffered their sins for a long time—particularly the people of the wicked king Noah—and had helped them to ultimately overcome them and delivered them instead of simply destroying them at their first sign of rebelliousness. Alma also said this to the people of Ammonihah, “Yea, and if it had not been for his matchless power, and his mercy, and his long-suffering towards us, we should unavoidably have been cut off from the face of the earth long before this period of time” (Alma 9:11). The Lord is not quick to punish or destroy; He suffers long as He strives to help us to choose repentance. After Ammon’s missionary success he rejoiced in these words, “Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men?” (Alma 26:16) Alma, encouraging his son Corianton to repent, said, “Let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility” (Alma 42:30). He knew that despite Corianton’s serious sins, the Lord would show His longsuffering and forgive him. And that is exactly what happened as Corianton repented and became a great missionary. And Mormon, hoping for the preservation of his people, wrote, “When I, Mormon, saw their lamentation and their mourning and their sorrow before the Lord, my heart did begin to rejoice within me, knowing the mercies and the long-suffering of the Lord, therefore supposing that he would be merciful unto them that they would again become a righteous people” (Mormon 2:12). He knew that despite the terrible wickedness of the people, if they repented the Lord would be merciful towards them because of His longsuffering.  

               What I noticed in all these references is that longsuffering when describing the Lord always refers to His attitude towards us. It does not mean that He has suffered physically for a long time—though the Savior of course did in mortality—but it references His feelings towards us when we are in sin. And so, as we seek to have charity and to “suffer long” it does not mean that we must have some certain amount of physical pain and suffering and to bear that for a long time; rather, it means that we should be longsuffering towards others in their sin and weakness. It means that we are patient towards those who make mistakes, forgiving easily with a hope that they can still change and become better, knowing that the Lord likewise shows longsuffering towards each of us in our sins. This is the invitation that Alma gave the people of Gideon and to us: “And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things” (Alma 7:23). The longsuffering of the Lord leads to our salvation, and as we show longsuffering to others in their weakness and sin, we can help bring them and us to salvation.