ɪdʒəns/ Pronunciation Key[dil-i-juhns]. The constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind1. In Alma 32:43 we read, "Then, my brethern, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you." The Lord has promised us great blessings when we diligently seek to do what is right. He has provided a way for us, if we work hard and do our best, to accomplish all things. Diligence drives divinity.Stick to your task till it sticks to you;
Beginners are many, but enders are few.
Honor, power, place, and praise
Will always come to the one who stays.
Stick to your task till it sticks to you;
Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it too.
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile
Will come life's victories after awhile.
-Author Unknown 2
Bend at it
We must pray for understanding of what we must do to be diligent in our tasks. At times we may be required to do something we are not comfortable doing, or we may need to think outside the box for a solution. We must be prepared to be flexible with our time and talents. Let's be diligent and prayerful in all that we do. In D&C 103:36 it states, "All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith."
Elder F. David Stanley of the Quorum of the Seventy once stated, "Victory is brought to pass by one's personal diligence and commitment to hard work. While serving as a mission president, many times missionaries would say to me, 'But President, I want baptisms now.' My answer was then and always will be, 'You must work hard, be diligent, be humble, and exercise your prayers of faith.'"3 Diligence Drives Divinity.
Sweat at it
A Malagasy proverb says that nothing is so difficult that diligence cannot master it.4 Sometimes a task may require much physical strength. We must be willing to work hard, both physically and mentally, to accomplish the thing which we set out to do.
A few years ago I decided to try out for my high school's cheerleading squad. In order to try out for the team each candidate was required to learn a dance, a couple of cheers, and to demonstrate their kicks, jumps, and back-handspring. As I watched the other girls prepare for the auditions I realized just how much work needed to be done for me to make the team. It seemed that everyone was at a much higher level than I, and making the squad seemed next to impossible. After school each day I would go home and work, slowly but surely, to learn each step. The process was difficult for me, especially as I was recovering from a hip injury, but I was determined to do it. I spent countless hours on limited sleep working myself as hard as I could to accomplish my goal. The process was physically exhausting, but through my diligence and determination, I was able to successfully show my talent, and ultimately made the cheerleading squad. Diligence drives divinity.
Smile at it
Diligence is an important part of keeping the commandments. We must remember the blessings that will be poured upon us through our hard work and diligence. We should serve those around us, do our best, have a positive attitude, and make today the best day of our lives. Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us, and wants us to be happy. In D&C 88:63 we are taught "draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you." Diligence drives divinity.
We do not get to pick and choose when we want to live the gospel. We must actively and diligently strive to keep the commandments and walk in the ways of the Lord. D&C 84:43 states, "And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life." We will each be blessed in our diligence and grow stronger in our relationship with our Father in Heaven. "By your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life." (Alma 32:41) Diligence drives divinity.
Sources:
1 "diligence." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 24 Sep. 2008.
2 “Stick To Your Task.” Poetic Expressions. <http://www.poeticexpressions.co.uk/poems/
Stick%20to%20your%20task.htm.>
3 Stanley, F. David. Ensign. May, 1993.
4 “Quotes on Diligence.” Quite Impact. 2005. <http://www.character-in-action.com/character-
quotes/diligence.htm.>
9 comments:
Wow! What a great essay. I especially liked how you were able to liken the scriptures to your own life. Also, good use of repetition. As if the statement "diligence drives divinity" wasn't powerful enough, your repetition really brought it home.
:)
Rebecca, I really like the neat divisions that you take from the poem about diligence and ending each idea with the main idea of “Diligence drives divinity.” It would be cool to see what you mean more fully by this phrase in your introduction.
This is a great blog. It is well done in content, organization, and expression. I love the way that you used the alliterative title as a refrain after each section. Using the elements of the quotation for the section headers was also very effective. Will this become a McKay essay, or a Student Religion conference paper? The latter would be great, I believe.
Wow! Great use of sources; poems, quotes, dictionary, etc. Very impressive.
I really enjoyed your use of the "Stick to the Task" poem. It is one of my favorites and really drives home the message.
I loved the poem that you used and how you applied it to you essay. It worked great for organization and makes a catchy phrase for me to remember. Good Job!
The poem was amazing, and i think my favorite analysis was the "smile at it" part.
I really enjoyed the poem and how u began the essay with definition of Diligence. Very effective.
I really enjoyed the way you divided the paper up into different sections. It made it a lot easier to follow and more enjoyable to read. Great job.
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