“Teach ye diligently”; “work with diligence”; “labor diligently”; “seek me diligently”; “keep thy heart with all diligence”; “serve him with all diligence of mind.” The written and spoken words of prophets of old and modern times are saturated with the word diligence. It can and should be applied to every gospel principle, doctrine, and commandment. Dictionary.com defines it as “constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.” It may be difficult to understand how to apply diligence in so many facets of life. True diligence in everything we do requires us to put God first and shun the influence of the world.
Diligence can be described in many ways through any number of metaphors. Diligence can be described as standing firm in the decisions you have made. As said by my last EFY councilor, “those who will not stand for something will fall for anything.” Even if what you have committed to is imperfect, it is better to be stand for near-perfection than to fall for evil. In Lehi’s vision of the tree of life he sees “others pressing forward…until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.” These people are those who made right choices; but diligence is about constant, persistent exertion of willpower. Several verses later, in response to the mocking of those in the great and spacious building, “after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed… and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.” Diligence requires an unrelenting perseverance through the challenges we face. Fear and doubt are from Satan. Those who fell away were ashamed of their having received the fruit representing the love of God. In order to refrain from falling away as they did we must take on the attitude of Paul when he wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” It’s okay to face the world head on and declare your allegiance to the work of God, “for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.” God must be our foundation and our source of strength during times of trial. If we are diligent in effort he will make our burdens light.
Another part of standing diligently is standing as a witness of God. Alma the elder teaches us in Mosiah 18:9, “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.” Standing as a witness of God can also seem a little vague in application. My last EFY session director said that to stand as a witness of God means to display the positions of God in everything we do. This means that whenever someone sees us make a choice they should be able to assume that’s what Christ would have done, or what he wanted us to do. Standing as a witness of God is one way we can be diligent to God’s will.
A common phrase related to diligence is “endure to the end.” In first Nephi chapter 13 we are promised that “if [we] endure unto the end [we] shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb.” Most of us have gone through the initial saving ordinances and understand the basics of faith, repentance, and the other foundational principles of the gospel. Our next step is to be diligent and endure by seeking the will of God. It we do this we will, as the scripture said, be saved in the kingdom of the Lamb.
Diligence is also very important in more specific parts of righteous living. Nephi teaches in chapter 15 the importance of diligent behavior if you want to receive answers to your prayers: “ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.” Diligence is also important to have to Holy Ghost with you. Nephi testified that the Holy Ghost “is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him.” Diligence to the will of God will give us the power to receive answers to our prayers and divine inspiration from the Holy Ghost.
Diligence to God’s will is ultimately the effort to strive for eternal perfection. It is the ultimate goal and what we should be striving for always. If we are diligent and we will eventually be able to be described as Christ’s 12 Apostles “And, behold, they are righteous forever.” It is my hope and prayer that all who read this will strive to be more diligent in submitting to the will if the Lord.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Bibliography
http://www.quotationspage.com/
http://www.dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.scriptures.lds.org/
http://lds.org/ search
EFY notes
11 comments:
Your introduction really caught my attention and made me want to read more. I like the list of phrases that you began with to support the point that diligence is applicable to almost every other gospel principle. One example for your personal or family history could add depth to the essay also.
I like the frequent references to diligence in the scriptures. It demonstrates how important it is!
I agree with Dr. Hallen though, an experience or story would add a lot of depth to this blog, although I know stories aren't always readily available.
Also try to read through your blog before submitting it. There are a few grammatical and spelling errors.
"Those who will not stand for something will fall for anything"--I like how you tied diligence to having standards; I definately think they are related.
Thank you for your post, I especially enjoyed the scripture Mosiah 18:9, and your comments on it. That is a wonderful scripture to always remember.
I liked how you brought back your past experiences from EFY and that we need to exemplify Christ in all we do.
Those who will not stand for something will fall for anything. I hadn't thought of that before. But if you don't have the will power to decide to stand It makes sense that you might follow what anyone else says or does.
It is better to stand for near-perfection than to fall for evil. Being in the grey area striving for perfection is better than being in the dark. I like the comparison.
I like how you said that to stand as a witness of god we need to resemble the decisions he would do in our everyday lives. Great Job on your blog!
I liked your intro and how you kept the blog upbeat and optimistic good job!
I liked the imagery of "True diligence in everything we do requires us to put God first and shun the influence of the world."
we dont just "give the world less time than the Lord" or "dont get TOO into the world. but "shun" the world to be truly dilligent
your introduction to your blog was especially catching and draws the reader into the topic.
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