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How can I learn to be more patient?

How can I learn to be more patient?

Prepare Yourself Spiritually

Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without being angry, frustrated, or anxious. We can develop patience by seeking to do God’s will and accepting His timing, trusting that He will fulfill all of His promises to us. As we learn to be patient in small things, we prepare ourselves to face larger trials with patience.

Resources to Help You Prepare

These resources are to help you prepare for the “Learn together” section of the meeting.

Questions to Ponder before You Teach

What experiences have taught you about patience (including both major trials and less dramatic experiences)? What has helped you to develop patience? How has patience blessed your life?

What influences do the young men face in today’s society that may lead them to become impatient? What do the young men need to understand about the attribute of patience? How will it help them in their future?

What can the young men do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to this doctrine.

Teaching in the Savior’s Way

The Savior asked questions that caused others to think and feel deeply. He was sincerely interested in their answers and rejoiced in their expressions of faith. He gave them opportunities to ask their own questions, and He listened to their experiences. What questions can you ask that will help the young men feel deeply? How can you show that you are interested in their answers during the lesson?

Video: “Prepare to Teach”

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Meeting Outline

1. Counsel Together and Share Experiences

Led by a member of the quorum presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

Lead a discussion about items such as the following:

  • Our quorum: Who is missing today? What visits do we need to make? Who should we invite to an upcoming activity? Who needs our help and prayers?

  • Our duties: What assignments do we need to make? What assignments have we fulfilled? How have we invited others to come unto Christ, and how can we invite others now?

  • Our lives: Remind the quorum of the discussion from the last meeting. What experiences have we had with applying what we learned? What experiences have we had in the past few weeks that strengthened our testimonies of the gospel?

If possible, discuss these items beforehand in a quorum presidency meeting.

2. Learn Together

Led by a leader or teacher or a member of the quorum; approximately 25–35 minutes

After studying the above resources and following the inspiration of the Spirit, you may select one or more of the activities below to help quorum members understand the doctrine.

  • Write on the board a few questions about Job—What kind of man was Job? What tested his patience? What does he teach us about patience? Read Job 1; 19:25–26 as a quorum, and discuss answers to the questions. What do the young men learn from Job’s example that might help them be more patient? How did his faith in the Savior help him face his trials with patience?

  • Write on the board the headings Patience and Impatience. Give each young man one of the scriptures about patience suggested in this outline. Invite the young men to take turns reading their scriptures aloud, discussing what they teach, and writing on the board the blessings of patience or consequences of impatience. What additional blessings and consequences can they add to their lists? Invite each young man to write on a piece of paper a situation that would require patience (encourage them to include not only major trials but also day-to-day irritations or inconveniences). Have them exchange papers with another young man, write a response that would show patience, and then share with the quorum what they have written.

  • Share the story of a father’s patience from Elder Robert C. Oaks’s talk “The Power of Patience,” and invite the young men to share any stories they have about patience. Give each young man a small section of this talk that you think might be helpful. Invite him to read and summarize it to the quorum. What do they learn from this talk that inspires them to trust the Lord and His timing? What are some reasons we are impatient? How can we overcome this tendency?

  • Show the young men several Mormonad posters from recent issues of the New Era or Liahona. Divide the quorum into small groups, and invite them to create their own Mormonad on the topic of patience. They could start by finding a scripture on patience (such as those listed in this outline) and think of a creative way to present it on a poster. Ask them to share their posters with the quorum and explain what patience means to them. (As part of this discussion, you may want to share with the quorum the definition of patience found at the beginning of this outline.)

  • Show the video “Continue in Patience,” and invite the young men to discuss what they learn about patience from the video. What are some situations in which the young men become impatient? Invite each young man to read one section from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s talk “Continue in Patience,” and ask him to summarize for the rest of the quorum what he learned from the section he read. How can President Uchtdorf’s counsel help the young men become more patient?

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3. Plan to Act

Led by a member of the quorum presidency; approximately 5–10 minutes

  • Ask the young men to discuss any feelings or impressions they had during the meeting. What was meaningful to them? Is there something they can do personally or as a quorum to apply what they have learned?

  • Give the young men a few minutes to record what they will do in the coming weeks to act on their impressions. Invite them to share their ideas.

  • Remind the young men that they will have the opportunity to share their experiences at the beginning of the next meeting.