“And moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.” (Mosiah 1:16). Lehi and his family were led by the Lord according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto Him. To give heed unto the guidance of the Lord is to look out for and pay attention to and obey the promptings that He gives us. To give heed does not require that we understand perfectly why the Lord is asking us to do the things that He wants us to do. To give heed does not require that we are in perfect agreement with the Lord or His plan for us. To give heed does not require that we know with perfect certainty how to accomplish the things which He commands us to do. We just have to listen for, pay attention to, and follow the whispers of the Spirit to the best of our ability and we can be certain that the Lord will take care of the rest. To give diligence to the guidance of the Lord means to give careful, steady, earnest and energetic effort. In fact, the root word of diligence meant to esteem highly or to love. To give diligence to the guidance of the Lord does not require us to be perfect, to have resounding success, or even to succeed at all. In the Parable of the Talents, if the servant who had been given one talent had exercised all diligence in endeavoring to multiply the single talent he had been given and yet had failed spectacularly and had not managed to gain even a single shekel more, he would have had an entirely different conversation with his master. Diligence is failing ten times and trying again an eleventh time. Diligence is Moses walking into the Red sea until he is up to his knees, and then to his chest and then to his neck and still walking forward anyway. Diligence is Peter falling into the Sea of Galilee and then getting back on top of the water and walking again. To give heed and diligence requires exactly as much as we have, and not a single mite more. It doesn’t matter if we understand what the Lord is asking us to do, or if we do what He tells us to do and we look like fools doing it. As long as we give heed and diligence, we know that we will be on the right track and that eventually it will all make sense and will be for our good and for God’s glory.
