D&C 58

I have thought a great deal lately on the importance of patience. Not just patience only, but patience in affliction. As the saints were beginning to gather in Zion, the Lord revealed -

"...blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven." (Doctrine and Covenants Section 58:2)

You can sense that the Lord with some subtility, is telling the saints that there is going to be tribulations in Zion for He continues -

"...Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation." (Doctrine and Covenants Section 58:3)

And then He states again -

"For after much tribulation come the blessings..." (Doctrine and Covenants Section 58:4)

And after suggesting that there is yet to be tribulation, he warns -

Remember this, which I tell you before, that you may lay it to heart, and receive that which is to follow.
6 Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come..." (Doctrine and Covenants Section 58:5 - 6)

Elder George Q. Cannon suggested -

"...the Saints should always remember that God sees not as man sees; that he does not willingly afflict his children, and that if he requires them to endure present privation and trial, it is that they may escape greater tribulations which would otherwise inevitably overtake them. If He deprives them of any present blessing, it is that he may bestow upon them greater and more glorious ones by and by." (Millennial Star, 3 Oct. 1863, p. 634.)

Tribulation seems to provide the saints with opportunities for spiritual growth and character development,humility, faith, empathy, patience, courage, gratitude, and a repentant heart. The Prophet taught in his Lectures in Faith -

"A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life." (Lectures in Faith, 6:7.)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught -

"The testing processes of mortality are for all men, saints and sinners alike. Sometimes the tests and trials of those who have received the gospel far exceed any imposed upon worldly people. Abraham was called upon to sacrifice his only son. Lehi and his family left their lands and wealth to live in a wilderness. Saints in all ages have been commanded to lay all that they have upon the altar, sometimes even their very lives.

As to the individual trials and problems that befall any of us, all we need say is that in the wisdom of Him who knows all things, and who does all things well, all of us are given the particular and specific tests that we need in our personal situations. It is to us, His saints, that the Lord speaks when He says: ‘I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.

‘For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me.’ (D&C 98:14–15.) . . .

But sometimes the Lord’s people are hounded and persecuted. Sometimes He deliberately lets His faithful saints linger and suffer, in both body and spirit, to prove . . . that they may be found worthy of eternal life. If such be the lot of any of us, so be it.

But come what may, anything that befalls us here in mortality is but for a small moment, and if we are true and faithful God will eventually exalt us on high. All our losses and sufferings will be made up to us in the resurrection." (In Conference Report, Oct. 1976, pp. 158–60; or Ensign, Nov. 1976, pp. 106, 108.)

I enjoy President Brigham Young's optimism with -

"If the Saints could realize things as they are when they are called to pass through trials, and to suffer what they call sacrifices, they would acknowledge them to be the greatest blessings that could be bestowed upon them..." (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 345).