Patience and Faith

When Alma and his people at Helam were brought under bondage to the Lamanites, Mormon gave this commentary: “Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith. Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his trust in him the same shall be lifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people” (Mosiah 23:21-22). We sometimes speak of those who “try our patience” with a negative connotation, but here we learn that the Lord will deliberately try our patience and our faith, giving us the opportunity to put our trust in Him and be refined. James wrote of this when he said, “The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:3-4). In other words, as our faith is tried we develop patience, and these two virtues inevitably go hand in hand as we seek to become like our Father in Heaven. Paul said in one of his epistles, “We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5). These saints had patience and faith through their tribulations and so they were counted worthy of the kingdom of God. The writer of Hebrews encouraged us, “That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12). If we want to inherit the promises of the Lord we will be required to show forth both patience and faith through our mortal challenges.

                After the Lamanites and Amulon subjected the people of Alma to bondage, they continued to patiently put their trust in the Lord. When they couldn’t pray to the Lord vocally, they “did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.” As the Lord heard their prayers and made their burdens light without taking them away, “They did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.” In other words, they were willing to wait as long as necessary to be delivered by the Lord from their afflictions, and eventually “so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage” (Mosiah 24:12,15-16). When their souls had become so refined that they were willing to wait upon the Lord indefinitely, in that moment He no longer needed to try their patience and faith and so He at that point miraculously delivered them. Though this group had not been there in Zarahemla when King Benjamin gave his final address, they seemed to have understood well this principle he taught that we must yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19). We will certainly all have many opportunities in our life to show forth patience and faith and submit to the trials the Lord allows to come upon us in mortality. We can patiently wait for the promised blessings or deliverance with faith that in the future He will redeem and bless us. I love these words of Isaiah: “And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him” (Isaiah 8:17). Indeed we may feel that at times He hides His face from us as we face trials and wonder why we are not more soon delivered, but we can with patience wait on Him, knowing that those who put their trust in Him will be “delivered out of [their] trials, and [their] troubles, and [their] afflictions, and [they] shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 38:5).