Diligence

I listened to a talk this morning from a long time ago by John Longden on diligence.  He spoke in particular about being diligent in the temporal work that we have and suggested that too many of us are afraid to earn more than we are paid.  He spoke about Thomas Edison who was known for his persistence and hard work, giving an anecdote of how on his 72^nd birthday Edison reluctantly agreed to take a little time off from his work so his friends could celebrate with him.  He suggested that we need this kind of work ethic today and that the scriptures are full of references to our mandate to work.  There are indeed many teachings throughout the scriptures that suggest that God expects us to be diligent in physical work. 

              In the garden of Eden the Lord said this to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19).  Brother Longden pointed out that this commandment lasts until we leave mortal life and there’s no “retiring” from it.  Paul spoke about the need to work to earn one’s own way in life when he wrote to the Thessalonians: “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.  Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12).  In our day of entitlement this is a bold message: only those who work should be able to eat and enjoy the fruit of work.  In our dispensation the Lord said something similar in the Law of the Church: “Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer” (D&C 42:42).  In another verse the Savior encouraged us: “Let every man be diligent in all things. And the idler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways” (D&C 75:29).  Simply put, the Lord expects us to work. 

              The Lord of course is our perfect example of diligent work.  We don’t know a lot about His daily acts, but I think there are clues that suggest how hard He worked.  One of these is in when He was in the ship in the night with the apostles and the great storm came.  We read, “And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep” (Matt. 8:24).  What is surprising is that He was able to sleep at all in such a terrible storm, but it must have been that He was so exhausted from His service to the people that He couldn’t help but fall asleep.  Another clue that we get is when He said to Mary: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17).  This was approximately three days since He had died, and we know that in this period He went to the Spirit to organize the missionary forces there.  He was apparently so diligent—even after completing the greatest act of all time—that He had not yet been able to visit the Father.  That’s the kind of service He rendered throughout His mortal ministry, and His diligence in doing what the Father asked should inspire us to have more diligence in all aspects of our lives.