9

Persevere

Ponder:How do we learn to continue working on a task until it is done?

“Only a Stonecutter” (No video? Read the next page.)

Discuss:How do we learn to keep going even when it is difficult? How does trust in the Lord affect our ability to persevere?

Read:Statement by President Faust; Hebrews 12:1; Doctrine and Covenants 58:4 (on the right)

“Perseverance is demonstrated by those who … don’t give up even when others say, ‘It can’t be done.’”

James E. Faust, “Perseverance,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 51

“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

Hebrews 12:1

“After much tribulation come the blessings.”

Doctrine and Covenants 58:4

Practice:Work together to learn this pattern to persevere and overcome challenges:

• As a group, read each step in the pattern below.

• Turn to someone in the group. Ask each other if there is some duty or task facing them that is very hard.

• Help each other go through the four steps below, talking about the difficult duty or task.

• Commit to each other that you will persevere—that you will keep going until the duty or task is well done.

➊

Keep a Positive Attitude

List your blessings.

➋

Remember to Work Together

Ask friends, peers, group members, and others for help.

➌

Replace Fear with Faith

Avoid doubt. Remember the Lord has all power. Call upon Him and accept His will.

➍

Move Forward with Patience and Courage

Never, never, never give up; endure with faith.

“Don’t fall victim to the temptation that ensnared Laman and Lemuel. When they received the awesome assignment to obtain the plates of Laban, the record indicates that they murmured, saying that it was a hard thing which they had been commanded to do. And they lost their opportunity and their reward. Rather, let your attitude be that of their brother, Nephi: ‘I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded’ (see 1 Nephi 3:5–7).”

Thomas S. Monson, Teachings of Thomas S. Monson (2011), 54

Practice:Pick a challenge your family is facing. Use the pattern above and identify two or three ways you can move forward in faith, trusting that God will provide:

Commit:Commit to doing the following actions during the week. Check the boxes when you complete each task:

• Practice persevering in the ways you identified above.

• Teach this principle to your family.

• Continue to practice the previous foundation principles.

“Our responsibility is to rise from mediocrity to competence, from failure to achievement. Our task is to become our best selves. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.”

Thomas S. Monson, “The Will Within,” Ensign, May 1987, 68

Only a Stonecutter

If you are unable to watch the video, read this script.

ELDER HOLLAND: John R. Moyle was a pioneer from England who crossed the United States pulling a handcart. He settled in Alpine, Utah, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from the Salt Lake Temple.

Brigham Young called Brother Moyle to be the chief superintendent of masonry during the Salt Lake Temple construction.

To make certain he was always at work by 8:00 a.m. each Monday, Brother Moyle would start walking the 22 miles about 2:00 a.m. He would finish his work week at 5:00 p.m. on Friday and then start the walk home, arriving there shortly before midnight. Each week he would repeat that schedule for almost 20 years during the construction of the temple.

Once when he was home on the weekend, one of his cows bolted during milking and kicked Brother Moyle in the leg, shattering the bone just below the knee.

They did not have good medical help on the farm, so his family and friends took a door off the hinges and strapped him onto that makeshift operating table. They then took the bucksaw they had been using to cut branches from a nearby tree and amputated his leg just a few inches below the knee.

When the leg finally started to heal, Brother Moyle took a piece of wood and carved an artificial leg. First he walked in the house. Then he walked around the yard. Finally he ventured out about his property.

When he felt he could stand the pain, he strapped on his wooden leg, walked the 22 miles to the Salt Lake Temple, climbed the scaffolding, and with a chisel in his hand hammered out the declaration “Holiness to the Lord.”

(See also Jeffrey R. Holland, “As Doves to Our Windows,” Ensign, May 2000, 76–77.)