Faith and Diligence Together

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them." (1 Nephi 16:28). We can't know for sure how the Liahona worked but it seems likely that when the two pointers lined up, they pointed in the way the Lehi and his family should go, and if the two pointers got out of alignment, then they no longer had a clear direction. Nephi says that the pointers worked according to the faith and diligence and heed which they gave unto them. Faith and diligence are the pointers in our lives. When our faith and our diligence align, then we know we are going in the right direction. Faith without diligence is fantasy, daydreams, empty promises. And diligence without faith is drudgery, menial labor and vain repetitions. But when we combine our faith with our diligence, then we know we are fully committed and completely aimed in the right direction. That is why Nephi also mentions heed. We have to be constantly paying attention to our faith and our diligence to make sure they're always syncing up. We have to notice when we're simply going through the motions without really feeling it, or merely wishing instead of acting out our faith through our works. We can have a lot of faith, and also be very diligent, but if we have pointed our faith in one direction and our diligence in another, then we're going to get lost. But if we pay attention to both what we believe in and what we act on and make sure that they're lined up, then we know we will be headed in the right direction.