Attribute #9 - Perseverance

Tom and Ida White family - 1926

Perseverance: Steady persistence; continuance in a state of grace

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.

D&C 127:4
Let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts.

1972 - Ida at her 85th birthday celebration surrounded by many of her great-grandchildren

Ida Martha Smith White

1887 - 1984

One of my favorite memories of Great-Grandmother White was spending a Thanksgiving together when I was a sophomore in college. At the time she was over 90 years old, but she still wanted to be useful and help prepare the feast. She chose the task of crumbling the bread for the stuffing, and I can still see her sitting at the table with a large bowl carefully tearing and rubbing the bread so there would be no large chunks in the stuffing. She persevered gracefully to the end of her mortal life.

1983 with great-great-grandson Weston

1962 Tom White with great-granddaughter Rebecca

My great-grandfather was an invalid for many years, and Grandma took great care of him, and then she was a widow for almost two more decades. She had plenty of opportunities to practice perseverance. I feel she exemplified this definition of perseverance shared by Elder Zivic:

"To persevere means to maintain the ability to endure, to carry on, to continue in the same state without weakening or perishing. It is being able to go on in the face of pain, oppression, discouragement or suffering, without being defeated." 

               

Ida and her children in 1965 - I'm guessing this was taken at Tom's funeral.

We reviewed a type of "persistence" (tenacity) a few days ago. It's probably not surprising that Ida is Elizabeth's granddaughter. I'm sure her example of holding on to faith and truth was passed down to her posterity. I hope it continues on through the next generations!

5 generations Thanksgiving 1983

4 generations Thanksgiving 2018 with 3 of the people above

Do you think we'll all live long enough to get a 5 generation picture?

Some talks to review later:

Perseverance (James E. Faust)

Perseverance: The Key to Success (Claudio D. Zivic)

Watching with all Perseverance (David A. Bednar)

Of course, Christmastime gives us plenty of opportunities to steadily move forward, with the example of the wise men, shepherds, Joseph and Mary, and of course, our Savior, to encourage us. Keep following the star (which is that tall skinny block on the cube)!

The creator of this minimalist nativity is one of my favorite, living, examples of perseverance.

Last year's attribute - Forgiveness