About three months ago my Grandma, Alice, passed away. Her life was one of hard work, determination, and dedication. Her diligence set an example for all who knew her; especially her diligence to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She loved her Savior and kept His commandments. This post was written for her.
Dear Grandma,
Last I spoke to you I was doing an internship, advocating for traditional family values at the state capitol! It was such a wonderful experience. It taught me so much about standing for what I believe. I have so much more respect for you: having to stand alone after you joined the Church. It requires a lot of diligence to continue on a path that isn't praised by the media or the latest social, political or academic trends. I love this quote by President Thomas S. Monson: "Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well."
The past couple weeks I've decided to study the principle of diligence. I guess I chose to study diligence because of something Hans told me last week -- oh ya! He got home from his mission in Chicago a couple weeks ago. He isn't much different except all of the good things about him are even better! You should see the brightness in his eyes. Anyways, we were discussing faith in overcoming sin and bad habits. I was discouraged because I had failed many times at overcoming frustrating habits. Hans explained to me that I didn't have faith because I didn't have the diligence to want to keep trying. That scared me because I've always considered myself a woman of faith...think again Samantha!
So first I chose to figure out what the word "diligence" means. The Oxford English Dictionary says it is "constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken". Synonymous to diligence are the words dedicated, persistent, faithful, consistent, responsible, determined, devoted. However, those words must be coupled with a qualifier...dedicated to something, persistent towards something, faithful to something, etc. President Henry B. Eyring has said that "it begins with [...] learning to know whose service [we] are in and for what purpose. When that goes down into [our] hearts, it makes all the difference."
I also studied the first few chapters of Nephi because that's where I am in my scripture study. I never saw before just how diligent that man was. The biggest example to me was when he and his brothers went to get the scriptures from Laban and failed twice. Instead of giving up, Nephi continued. "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father, I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
There was one night this week when I faced a mountain of discouragement. I wish I could say that I applied the principle of diligence. Instead I went up to my room, sat in my closet and sobbed. Every negative and discouraging thought entered my head. The next day during my scripture study I learned of two important tools that Heavenly Father has given us to remain diligent (whether we are alone in closets or surrounded by people): prayer and gratitude.
The first tool given to us is prayer. Hans shared this about his experience with prayer while serving a mission:
"In my experience prayer is a time for me to align my will with God's will. When I want something, but I know that God wants something else then I know I need to pray and I pray until my will becomes God's will. When I've prayed, I've learned it's not trying to convince God. Rather it is a time for serious self-introspection. It's when God helps me repent. I came to find out the Book of Mormon is true and that I really needed to invest in my mission. I came away from a particularly hard moment and realized that I didn't know if the Book of Mormon was true and I didn't know if this was what God wanted me to do for the next two years [serving a mission]. So I read the Book of Mormon and I prayed. And I asked God with a sincere heart if it was true and he told me. Because He told me, I can't deny it. There isn't a stronger witness that you can have. Sight doesn't compensate, sound doesn't compensate. God told me the Book of Mormon is true. If I were to say otherwise than I know I would be lying. It is part of who I am. And that was communicated through prayer."
It is when we pray that we come to know what the Lord expects of us. It is when we receive peace, comfort and knowledge to continue working towards our goals.
The second tool is gratitude. Mom shared with me how gratitude helped her on her mission in Japan:
"For the first nine months of my mission I worried and stressed about everything. And then I got a Japanese companion who spoke no English. Just understanding her was exhausting all the time because I had to function completely in Japanese. I remember writing a letter to the Mission President and realizing that there wasn't anything he could do and my stressful letters probably stressed him out. Stressing about it isn't going to get anything done. And so I just wrote happy letters and focused on the positives. I remember what a difference it made in me. I quit being stressed. You don't think about stressful things if you just let them go. And choose. From that time on I chose what I saw in the world, I chose whether I was going to be stressed or happy."
One of the things that really impressed me about you, Grandma, was how even during the last couple months of your life you focused on the most positive things: singing, visiting those in the care center, spending time with family. I am very grateful for your example. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said, "Our loving Heavenly Father knows that choosing to develop a spirit of gratitude will bring us true joy and great happiness." He knows that remaining diligent requires gratitude -- otherwise the "miserable moments" really would keep us in our closets.
Lastly, I realized the past two weeks how much Heavenly Father loves me. I am his daughter. And, "this is the Lord's Church. He called us and trusted us even in the weaknesses He knew we had. He knew the trials we would face. By faithful service and through His Atonement, we can come to want what He wants and be what we must be to bless those we serve for Him. As we serve Him long enough and with diligence, we will be changed. We can become ever more like Him."
Your granddaughter loves you always,
Samantha
That was beautiful Sam. I am so glad you share these thoughts with all of us.
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