By: Ryan Chapman
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary diligence is defined as work “characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort” [1], and according to dictionary.com it means doing a task “constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything”[2]. Diligence is the process of striving for a goal and obtaining it through patience and time. I have known this to be true, especially when I am in school. The more I work and patiently try to do my best, the more successful I am. It is only through diligence and persistence that we can achieve out goals.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said, “What saves a man is to take a step, then another step.”[3] Once a goal or a task is placed in our sight, we must progressively move towards our goal and never stop our attempt to move forward. There will always be trials of some form in the way of achieving our goals; but that is what diligence is about. It is about enduring past the trials and crossing the bridges no matter how hard or long they are.
In our church we have an ultimate goal to one day return and live with our Father in Heaven. D&C 103:36 says, “All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith.”[4] The only way that we can obtain our eternal glory is to faithfully and diligently follow the commandments of the lord everyday of our lives, and endure any trials that come our way with great faith, knowing that they will pass by, and that they are trial sent to test our diligence and faithfulness to God. I have personally learned to take this to heart and apply it to my life. The knowledge, when a trial comes up, that the Lord is on my side and that he is constantly watching over and guiding me, is one of the best feelings in the world. It also helps calm me down in a stressful situation and helps me strive to live under the commandments of the lord, and to be diligent in following his counsels.
Elder Merrill J. Bateman describes diligence as the quest for truth, for good.[5] As LDS members we are always on this quest as we are trying to become Disciples of Christ and take upon us the light of him. In Moroni 7:19 it says, “Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.” [6] Notice that it says search “diligently”. If we are going to become like Christ, we must try with a desire to become more like him. We cannot fulfill this goal by just letting it be a low priority on our list of things to do. We must constantly be thinking of him in everything we do, and try to apply his counsels to our everyday lives.
Elder Jacob de Jager said, "When we have learned to act right, we must put forth the right effort. This is also called diligence, or “good works.” [7] The only possible way for us to be diligent is to be involved in good works and for right reasons. It is not possible to be diligent in bad things. Unless we are engaging and aiming for goals that are pleasing to our Heavenly Father, it is not possible to be diligent in the work. I have come to learn that when I engage in the right activities and diligently try my best and focus on the right goals, I learn so much more both mentally and spiritually, and all the trials that come in my path don’t matter in the large scheme of things. And I can bear witness that as we all are diligent in our works we will be blessed with great blessings. As it says I D&C 30:8 “Wherefore, give heed unto these things and be diligent in keeping my commandments, and you shall be blessed unto eternal life”.[8] In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Works cited
[1] www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diligence
[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diligence
[3] http://thinkexist.com/quotations/diligence/
[4] D&C 103:36
[5] Merrill J. Bateman, “Becoming a Disciple of Christ,” Ensign, Apr 2006, pg.16–23
[6] Moroni 7:19
[7] Jacob de Jager, “Know Your ‘Rights’,” New Era, Mar 1991, 4
[8] D&C 30:8
10 comments:
Wow! You have taught me an essential idea: "It is not possible to be diligent in bad things." That is a great key to setting priorities and staying on the strait path. I also like the words of St. Euxerpy and Elder De Jager. Would a personal experience add depth to this essay?
I enjoyed the way that you weaved word definitions with the points you wanted to make about what diligence entails.
Ryan- great job on your blog. I, too, think that it is one of the best feelings in the world to know that Heavenly Father will always be by my side when times get tough.
I enjoyed reading the many quotations in your blog because they served as excellent examples. You also took time to go in-depth and describe the quote.
very well documented. Has the scripture either written in or a reference in the bottom. I like how you have goals listed in there with diligences. It is a tool to help you be diligent.
I really enjoyed your second paragraph and loved how you showed that diligence was not just striving in some endeavor, but also giving service to others. Great blog.
I like the idea that we must always be moving toward our goal which is returning to our heavenly father. Great quotes.
I liked the quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, it helped illustrate the point you were making that diligence is an action.
I liked the quote. "Once a goal or a task is placed in our sight, we must progressively move towards our goal and never stop our attempt to move forward"
I already mentioned this in a comment somewhere else, but it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes.
"Never quit pushing,
For if you're not pushing, you're coasting
and if you're coasting, you're going downhill."
its just good mental imagery of why we always need to be striving forward diligently.
I like your definitions that you added in they really helped for the reader to understand the meaning of the words that you wanted to come across.
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