30 Yea, and there was continual peace among them, and exceedingly great prosperity in the church because of their heed and diligence which they gave unto the word of God, which was declared unto them by Helaman, and Shiblon, and Corianton, and Ammon and his brethren, yea, and by all those who had been ordained by the holy order of God, being baptized unto repentance, and sent forth to preach among the people.
Lehi and his family were given a device which they called a Liahona (which means “compass”) (Alma 37:38). This tool showed them where they should go, “according to the faith and diligence and heed” which they gave to it (1 Nephi 16:28, Mosiah 1:16). When they were “slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence,” then the compass stopped working for them, and “they did not progress in their journey” (Alma 37:41).
In the passage above, Mormon attributes the peace and prosperity of the Nephites to the “heed and diligence which they gave unto the word of God.” There is something proactive and energetic about that phrase. It doesn’t sound to me like they were just obeying the “thou shalt nots” or just staying out of trouble. Instead, they were giving heed:
- paying attention to God’s word,
- thinking about it,
- figuring out how to apply it to their daily activities,
and diligence:
- praying in faith,
- serving others,
- working toward worthy goals.
Today, I will remember the example of the Nephites, and I will strive to be proactive and energetic in obeying God’s word.
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