Perseverance

1/30/2021 

President James E. Faust in his April 2005 conference talk titled Perserverance said "One of the important things I learned was that if I faithfully persevered in my Church callings, the Lord would open up the way and guide me to other opportunities and blessings, even beyond my dreams." I have witnessed this in my own life. Oddly enough, it seems each time there is a large trial in my life I am serving in Young Women's. A calling like this creates a close knit group with the other women you are serving with and in my case helped me to get to know the young women that would later become one of the biggest blessings in my life. During both of these trials I was in a great need of babysitters and those young women stepped up to the plate gracefully. When the trials came up it may have seemed easier to ask to be released but by persevering I was able to serve them while being blessed in turn. 

Another truth President Faust expresses is "Sucess is usually earned by persevering and not being discouraged when we encounter challenges." It reminds me of the man in the book "Think and Grow Rich", who found a vein of gold in his mine. He and his brother mined it and broke even with the cost of the equipment to do so when the vein dried up. They kept drilling looking for more only to give up. The man who bought the mine later found large amounts of gold only three feet from where the brothers stopped looking. If only the brothers hadn't been discouraged and instead brought in someone with more experience to help them. 

Jeff Sandefer quotes a successful junk dealer in his "Are Successful Entrepreneurs Born or Made?" Booklet who says "Perseverance is far more important than skill or talent. You have to have a mindset that never gives up, no matter how tough it gets." 

Knowing exactly what you want, aligning yourself with God, and having the perseverance to achieve it will make you wildly successful in this life.