Power In Patience

In the May 2010 General Conference - a semiannual event in which members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather to listen to counsel from modern prophets and apostles - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf related this interesting story:
In the 1960s, a professor at Stanford University began a modest experiment testing the willpower of four-year-old children. He placed before them a large marshmallow and then told them they could eat it right away or, if they waited for 15 minutes, they could have two marshmallows.

He then left the children alone and watched what happened behind a two-way mirror. Some of the children ate the marshmallow immediately; some could wait only a few minutes before giving in to temptation. Only 30 percent were able to wait.

It was a mildly interesting experiment, and the professor moved on to other areas of research, for, in his own words, “there are only so many things you can do with kids trying not to eat marshmallows.” But as time went on, he kept track of the children and began to notice an interesting correlation: the children who could not wait struggled later in life and had more behavioral problems, while those who waited tended to be more positive and better motivated, have higher grades and incomes, and have healthier relationships.

What started as a simple experiment with children and marshmallows became a landmark study suggesting that the ability to wait—to be patient—was a key character trait that might predict later success in life.

What an important and rare virtue patience is! We live in a world that promotes instant answers and instant gratification. We seem to forget that the best things in life are not things. We discard patience because the world teaches us to seek satisfaction in worldly things...and to seek it now!

Happy is the man or woman who can find joy in simple things. You don't need the latest cell phone, iPod or iPad to make you happy. Happiness is not found in gadgets but in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Patience allows us to more fully enjoy good times and better appreciate hard times. When we are patient, we endure with optimism. When we are impatient, we become bitter, angry, and selfish. President Uchtdorf described the impatient this way:

Impatience is a symptom of selfishness. It is a trait of the self-absorbed. It arises from the all-too-prevalent condition called “center of the universe” syndrome, which leads people to believe that the world revolves around them and that all others are just supporting cast in the grand theater of mortality in which only they have the starring role.

When we are patient, with ourselves and with others, we will feel greater love for everyone. When we wait patiently and purposefully for answers from God, we will develop wisdom. Patience qualifies us for tremendous blessings. 
Sometimes, we really do just have to wait.