I gave a talk in church on 6/29/25. Since I put so much time and effort into typing out the thoughts for the talk, I like to put it into a blog post.
The problem with my talks is I don’t prepare exactly what I’m going to say. I prepare more of an outline and try to “let the spirit guide.” I enjoy this way of speaking.
On a sidenote, I know I’ve mentioned before my overwhelming fear with public speaking. It has gone from overwhelming to manageable. The last time I spoke in church I decided to wing it and try to speak without any preparation. I only used personal experiences and stories that time speaking but still filled 15 minutes. 6/29/25 was my first time speaking since that time “winging it” a few months ago. I think trying that made the mental fear of speaking in church a lot easier. After going in with no notes or preparation at all it and everything working out fine, surely if I prepare a little it will all work out, right?
I guess I’m gaining some confidence.
Anyways, I wanted to share the thoughts I put together from this recent talk.
The topic I was assigned was “Developing Patience in Turmoil.”
Beth was speaking ahead of me so I knew my introduction was going to be extra flexible. I had something planned just in case, but I expected to either use something I heard from Beth’s talk or something unplanned. I went with something slightly unplanned. As I’d just walked up from the pews with my girls, removing Ivy from my lap just before walking up, I made a comment about the aptness of my topic given I was brushing fishies and other snacks from my clothes as I walked up. Patience in Turmoil was a good topic for me to consider.
From here, I’ll just put my notes from my talk, which give a rough feel for what I said that day in church.
So… turmoil.
As I pondered this topic I really focused on that word – turmoil. What a word.
What is turmoil? What does turmoil look like?
“Turmoil refers to a state of great commotion, confusion, or disturbance. It can describe a situation marked by uncertainty, agitation, or a lack of order. It can also refer to inner turmoil, which is a state of emotional distress or conflict.”
As I started thinking about this word, more and more circumstances, thoughts, stories, and examples kept coming to me:
Me and my girls trying to go to the zoo. Crying, screaming, lost keys, searching.
Turmoil – church with little ones. The pew we have commandeered in this our new ward has become a place of turmoil from the hour of 9:00am-10:00am every Sunday.
Turmoil – a 7-hour drive to California with children. Patience.
Turmoil – an aunt, mentor, and best friend dying of cancer. Patience.
Turmoil – parents dealing with a daughter struggling at school.
Turmoil – a good friend who’s 12-year-old daughter is dealing with a serious health issue. He just took her to Colorado for treatment.
Turmoil – Mayo clinic down the street from us, how many people are dealing with turmoil there right now?
Turmoil – a 14-year-old girl I coached this season whose father dies of an unexpected heart attack in the middle of a basketball season leaving her and her mother alone.
Turmoil – Sister Ogle’s talk last week, turmoil in the unknown of church, if we should go, if we belong.
Turmoil – a teenager that feels like they don’t belong.
Turmoil – depression, sadness, uncertainty.
Turmoil – worrying about how you’re going to pay the bills.
Turmoil – not getting invited to the party.
Turmoil – missing your best friend.
Turmoil – a young boy that wants to come back to church but can’t give up all the bad habits he’s developed.
That last one was me 10 years ago. Some of the others are me now. Some of the others are friends and loved ones of mine. Some of the other examples, I’m guessing, are you, in the audience.
Turmoil. Turmoil. Turmoil.
As I prepared for this talk, I really thought about this word. Turmoil. There are an infinite number of ways to experience turmoil. And here’s the thing, because you’re here on this earth, you’re experiencing turmoil. I know you are. I am. We all are. That’s part of this life.
When I’m preparing a talk, I like to consider the message I can give that might help one person. But with this word, turmoil, there is too much variety, and yet we’re all experiencing it.
It’s going to get a lot more turbulent in the coming years. We better get used to living in turmoil.
*Phew. Depressing right? Yeah. I know. I really brought the mood down. Thank you for coming to hear me speak. Have a great Sunday….
Just kidding. Let’s try to get uplifted.
Let’s get back to my topic. Another word DEVELOPING.
I thought about this word a lot too. Developing. How do you develop anything? You have to practice.
You can only develop patience in turmoil if you’re practicing, meaning, living in turmoil. What an interesting concept. We don’t want to be in turmoil. We are constantly trying to make sure we’re not in turmoil. That means when life throws turmoil at us, we should use it. Don’t waste turmoil. Don’t waste opportunities to grow, and practice, and learn, and be better.
So we’ve established we’re all living in turmoil, what do we do with it? Let’s get into the happy part of this topic.
Patience.
Ultimately patience is a peace around things we can’t control. Patience is trust in God. Patience is an inner calm.
I have a blog I post spiritual thoughts to weekly. When I received my topic, I opened my computer to start formulating thoughts for this talk. I was reminded of a document I’ve had open on my computer for weeks, a blog post I’ve been working on titled “Was Satan Impatient?” I think it’s fascinating if you read and study Satan’s story in the scriptures closely, I believe there is evidence that he was extremely impatient to come to earth. I don’t think he trusted God’s plan. He thought he knew better, and he wanted to do things his way on his timeline.
Now we’re not Satan but, sound familiar?
Patience. Patience. I will use the word peace synonymously with patience. I think peace is patience.
What can we do to have patience when everything around us is so hard, and we just want it to be better NOW?
Real life strategies to develop patience:
Meditation. I meditate for 10 minutes every day, no excuses. This often entails lying flat on the ground while two young girls literally crawl on top of me, slap, and otherwise torment me. Sometimes I get 10 minutes of actual quiet, prayerful, thoughtful, breathing and stretching time. Rarely. I started practicing meditation almost exactly one year ahead of Ivy being born. No coincidences. I think I needed to start that practice to be able to develop the patience I’d need to be a dad.
Prayer. We have to be praying. Without prayer it is so easy to get quickly wrapped up into our day to day lives. We can be so focused on this earth that we forget where we came from and where we’re going. We should be praying multiple times a day to our Father and talking to Him like He’s our Father. We should be asking Him for help to be able to see the bigger picture and to have the patience we need to endure the trials and challenges we receive in this life.
Look at the world as a child. LINK Ivy recently started saying in every prayer, “Heavenly Father, thank you for everything we have. And thank you for everything we don’t have.” How often do you thank Heavenly Father for everything you don’t have? I’ve never done that. That is childlike patience. Be grateful for everything Heavenly Father has given you and everything He hasn’t.
An extremely impactful book I read when coming back to church was Visions of Glory. Something I learned from that book was to see the bigger picture. See that every person and every reaction you have, every pain and challenge is meant to change your very being into being more like God. By being on this earth, you are becoming God-like. This viewpoint, I think, can give us great patience especially when the people around us make life difficult. If you look at those people not as a hindrance but as someone sent here specifically to teach you something, that person becomes an essential and important element of your growth. There is power in this perspective.
In a similar vein – Another thing we can do is think infinite – think eternal.
In my personal opinion, the best talk President Nelson has given since becoming the prophet is Let God Prevail. I love this talk.
How does President Nelson describe her as she is grieving over her father’s approach to death? Miopic. Think about that – President Nelson, the nicest, kindest, gentlest, sweetest soul on this earth. His granddaughter-in-law’s father is dying, and he describes her as miopic or nearsighted. I don’t think there was any malice in those words, just love. In that talk, President Nelson says this,
“I am very proud of our precious granddaughter-in-law. During this heart-wrenching time in her life, dear Jill is learning to embrace God’s will for her dad, with an eternal perspective for her own life. By choosing to let God prevail, she is finding peace.”
I will add, she is finding patience in turmoil.
This is our ultimate strength in our battle to have patience in turmoil. Our greatest strength is to look beyond the troubling moment. Our greatest strength is to look beyond the earthly turmoil.
I think patience is a Godly virtue. Here is a philosophical quandary for you – if God knows the beginning from the end, can He have patience? If He knows the beginning from the end, it can’t be described as patience, right?
But here’s the thing, can WE know the beginning from the end…?
Your immediate gut-reaction answer, I’m sure, like me, is “no.” – we can’t know the beginning from the end.
Think about it. Can we know the beginning from the end? We can’t know all the details. We’re not omniscient. But do we know the end? We do know the end. We do know Jesus Christ died for us. We do know that ultimately God will prevail. We do know that we will leave this earth and return to a kind, loving, gracious Heavenly Father. We do know everything will be made right. Do you know that? I really want you to ask yourself that question, do you know these things to be true?
*Give those present time to ponder this question.
If you know these things to be true, what is there to fear? You can have all comfort through any turmoil. Does that make it easy? Of course not. This life isn’t meant to be easy. It’s meant to stretch us.
Now consider the great power of this knowledge.
I would also like you to consider the great power and responsibility in sharing this knowledge with others.
God has neither patience nor impatience. God has perfect faith. And that’s what He wants us to learn – to have perfect faith.
Quick aside – does God have patience with us?
As someone who was lost for so many years, and needed a lot of time to figure out just how much I needed God in my life – I will tell you resoundingly YES, God does have patience with us. He let me be lost until I was ready. God let me live in turmoil because that was what I chose. We don’t have to choose turmoil. Life will give us enough.
So much of the world chooses to live in turmoil. Some don’t know there is a better option. How many people do you know that seem so lost? Share your light with them. Share the knowledge you have – Of a loving Heavenly Father that you knew and know, of a Savior and brother who loves you.
We don’t have to choose more turmoil in our lives. Which leads me to…
A final thought – we must not mistake patience for complacence.
I feel like I have an interesting relationship with patience / complacence. My friends make fun of me for the happy-go-lucky, everything will work out the way it’s supposed to way I go about life. You know why I think that way? Because everything does work out. And everything will work out.
The way to develop patience in turmoil is to remember that it will ALWAYS work out. No matter how hard it is. Difficulty serves a purpose.
But we must not be complacent. Sometimes I fall into complacency.
Just because the world is in turmoil doesn’t mean we become complacent.
“There’s nothing I can do about evil in the world.” – there is.
“There’s nothing I can do to make a change” – there always is.
“Nobody is interested in the gospel anymore” – not true.
“There is no good in the world, it’s all backbiting, lying, and hatred.” – NOT true.
With your knowledge of eternity, you have power to change and shape this world and the minds, hearts, and outlooks of those around you.
Be positive. Be patient. Be loving. Be sincere. Be honest. Be like Christ.
What can we do amidst turmoil?
Don’t miss the mark. Why can we survive in turmoil? Jesus Christ.
Why can we push forward? Jesus Christ.
Why can we have faith? Jesus Christ.
Why is there no reason, ever, for us to fear? Jesus Christ.
Why is there no reason for us to give up hope? Jesus Christ.
Why can we cheer for joy, even amongst death, and emotional pain, and everything Satan can possibly throw at us? Jesus Christ.
Don’t miss the mark. Don’t forget that He did it. He died. He came back. You will come back. You will one day stand by Him. And you’ll know you’re on the winning team. You’ll know this whole life experience, all the pain, all the doubt, all the heartache – He felt it too. And what was its purpose? Its purpose was to make you something you can’t even imagine.
Will it be worth it?
When we kneel before Jesus Christ and thank Him, will we even remember the pain?
There is joy in pressing toward the mark. Don’t forget what you’re aiming for. Jesus Christ is the mark.
Patience ultimately is peace. We can only have peace in this world if we focus on Jesus Christ.
No Coincidences 