Paul, who had suffered much, observed in his epistle to the Hebrews: "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Heb. 12:11).

Patience permits us to cling to our faith in the Lord when we are tossed about by suffering as if by surf. When the undertow grasps us, we will realize that even as we tumble we are somehow being carried forward; we are actually being helped even as we cry for help!

One of the functions of the tribulation of the righteous is that "tribulation worketh patience" (Rom. 5:3). What a vital attribute patience is, if tribulation is worth enduring to bring about its development!

Patience, in turn, allows us to have the needed experience, as noted in the stunning insight the Lord gave to the Prophet Joseph Smith: "All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" (D&C 122:7). Perhaps one can be forgiven if, in response to this sobering insight, his soul shivers just a bit.

James stressed the importance of patience when our faith is being tried, because those grueling experiences "worketh patience," and James said, in what was almost a sigh of the soul, "Let patience have her perfect work" (James 1:3–4).