Suffering Patiently May 30

Good afternoon everyone!
Sorry I'm sending this off so late, but everything here in London is
slow moving or closed for Memorial Day so I didn't get to use a
computer at the library. And I hope all of you on this email list who
are not full-time missionaries have spent/are spending as much time as
you can with you families. Be grateful for your family members, you
never know how much you miss them until you can't see them every
single day. But enough about that, I hope it is bright and sunny
wherever in the world you are 'cause it is so nice here in London
(except for this exact moment because it decided to cloud up and that
not cool)!! It's been at least 75 every day this past week and Elder
Parks and I have been working enough sweat up on the bikes to make the
whole state of California green again! But I can't complain, I'd
rather be blazing hot and sweeting than freezing cold and dying. And
missionary work always picks up in the spring and summer, it's
awesome! There's so many people to talk to, and most of them seem to
be nicer, than usual, so yay sunshine!

So I read something this past week that I wanted to share with all of
y'all. In Preach My Gospel (a book to help missionaries be better
missionaries) I read this sentence about patience, "Patience is the
capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without
becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious." And I thought that was a
pretty great statement, but I wanted to know what the definition of
endure was. So I looked it up and it means to suffer patiently. I had
a profound thought at this point, and that is that we are not promised
we will live a life free of trial or adversity, in fact we are told
just the opposite. But the world's definition is much different from
the Lord's. The world would have you "suck it up" and push through it
just hoping you'll make it through. On the other hand, Heavenly Father
asks us to hold out just s bit longer; keep trusting in His plan, keep
being faithful and it will all be alright very soon. The world tells
you to trust in yourself, while Heavenly Father asks you to trust in
Him. Just as it says in Proverbs" Trist in the Lord with all thine
heart and lean not to thine own understandings". I would much rather
follow the wisdom and counsel of a loving, all-knowing God rather than
the reasoning and thinking of a person such as myself. But that's just
me.

As we "suffer patiently" we are promised reward without measure and
comfort without end, but we are require to suffer; whether that be
great or small is all part of Father's plan for us. If you are willing
to humbly recognize the trials and temptations "that so easily beset
you" as a growing opportunity, life will be much more pleasant. As it
says in the scriptures, "For after much tribulation come the
blessings." Heavenly Father cannot reward us after 5 seconds of
tribulation, otherwise we wouldn't be able to grow at all! We are here
on earth to grow, and the only way to grow is to face opposition. The
strongest trees in the world endure the worst storms and the most
bitter cold and blistering heat. So it is with each of us. The
strongest people are those who have been put through the worst trials
and the most painful afflictions.

As a missionary it is essential to have patience. I recently read back
over a favorite scripture of mine in the Book of Mormon. For those of
you who don't know it I'll break it down. There are 4 sons of a
righteous king who go about the land preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ and helping others to live like Christ. Much to the displeasure
of their father, the king, these 4 brothers go to share the gospel
with a people known as the Lamanites. In today's world, it would be
the equivalent of me going to preach about Jesus Christ to ISIS. For
14 YEARS, these brothers toil and labor and do everything they can to
bring these people to know their savior and redeemer. They are beaten,
stoned, imprisoned, whipped, starved, and tormented in every physical
way possible. But by the end of their 14 years of service, they
baptize tens of thousands (maybe even more) of these wicked people and
help them know their savior. You and I are not required to endure such
hardships. We are only asked to "suffer patiently", to trust in the
Lord's plan, to trust in Jesus Christ and believe that all will be
well in the end and wait for His promised blessings. Do not be so
quick to look at all your trials but be quicker to count your
blessings. I've tried it myself and I know it brings a smile to my
face each time and allows me to press on even in the toughest of
times.

I love you all,
Elder Crow