Endurance

I’ll admit that throughout most of my life I have thought that enduring to the end was something that applied only to the elderly.  However, I have found that I too must often endure many things.  Heavenly Father desires that we endure ALL things, as the Savior has, so that we may one day become as He is.  If we do not endure we cannot reach the promised blessings in this life or the next.  I have come to better understand that it is only through Christ and our reliance on Him that allows us to endure to the very end and obtain eternal life.

"Enduring to the end, or remaining faithful to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout our life, is a fundamental requirement for salvation in the kingdom of God.  This belief distinguishes Latter-day Saints from many other Christian denominations that teach that salvation is given to all who simply believe and confess that Jesus is the Christ.  The Lord clearly declared, "If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God."

President Dieter F Uchtdorf, October 2007 General Conference, "Have We Not Reason to Rejoice?" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/have-we-not-reason-to-rejoice?lang=eng

"Enduring to the end is a process filling every minute of our life, every hour, every day, from sunrise to sunrise.  It is accomplished through personal discipline following the commandments of God."

President Dieter F Uchtdorf, October 2007 General Conference, "Have We Not Reason to Rejoice?" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/have-we-not-reason-to-rejoice?lang=eng

"Patient endurance is to be distinguished from merely being "acted upon." Endurance is more than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstances; it is not only acceptance of the things allotted to us, it is to "act for ourselves" by magnifying what is allotted to us."

  Elder Neal A Maxwell, April 1990 General Conference "Endure It Well" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/04/endure-it-well?lang=eng&query=Endurance

"We learn to endure to the end by learning to finish our current responsibilities, and we simply continue doing it all of our lives. We cannot expect to learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult now."

 Elder Robert D Hales, April 1998 General Conference "Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/behold-we-count-them-happy-which-endure?lang=eng&query=Endurance

"Whatever your work may be, endure at the beginning, endure through opposing forces along the way, and endure to the end.  Any job must be completed before you can enjoy the results for which you are working."

Elder Russell M Nelson, April 1997 General Conference "Endure and Be Lifted Up" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/04/endure-and-be-lifted-up?lang=eng&query=Endure

"Each of you who really wants to endure to the glorious end that our Heavenly Father has foreseen should firmly establish some personal priorities.  When priorities are proper, the power to endure is increase.  And when internalized, those priorities will help keep you from "going overboard." ...Your responsibility to endure is uniquely yours.  But you are never alone."

Elder Russell M Nelson, April 1997 General Conference "Endure and Be Lifted Up"https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/04/endure-and-be-lifted-up?lang=eng&query=Endure

"Truly, brothers and sisters, in the strength of the Lord we can do and endure and overcome all things."

Elder David A Bednar, October 2004 General Conference "In the Strength of the Lord" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/in-the-strength-of-the-lord

"Part of enduring well consists of being meek enough, amid our suffering, to learn from our relevant experiences. Rather than simply passing through these things, they must pass through us and do so in ways which sanctify these experiences for our good."

Elder Neal A Maxwell, April 1997 Ensign "Enduring Well"  https://www.lds.org/ensign/1997/04/enduring-well?lang=eng

"Certain forms of suffering, endured well, can actually be ennobling. ...You and I are not expected to pretend chastening is pleasant, but we are expected to "endure it well."

 Elder Neal A Maxwell, April 1997 Ensign "Enduring Well"  https://www.lds.org/ensign/1997/04/enduring-well?lang=eng

"...Seek heavenly guidance on day at a time.  Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it's a cinch.  Each of us can be true for just one day - and then one more and then one more after that - until we've lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds, and righteousness.  The Savior promised, "Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life."

Presiden Thomas S Monson, April 2012 General Conference "Believe, Obey, and Endure" https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/believe-obey-and-endure?lang=eng&query=Endure+to+the+end