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 or so, 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. 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. I remember when I was preparing
to be trained as a fighter pilot, we spent a great deal
of our preliminary military training in physical exercise. We ran and we ran
and we ran some more. I began to notice something
that, frankly, troubled me. Time and again I
was being passed by men who smoked, drank, and
did all manner of things that were contrary to the
gospel and, in particular, to the Word of Wisdom. I remember thinking,
"Wait a minute. Aren't I supposed to be able
to run and not be weary?" I asked myself, was the
promise true or was it not? The answer didn't
come immediately. But eventually I learned that
God's promises are not always fulfilled as quickly or
in the way we might hope. Patience means staying with
something until the end. It means delaying
immediate gratification for future blessings. The work of patience boils down
to this: keep the commandments; trust in God, our
Heavenly Father; serve Him with meekness
and Christlike love; exercise faith and hope in
the Savior; and never give up.