Diligence

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“Setting goals is a worthy endeavor. We know that our Heavenly Father has goals because He has told us that His work and glory is ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39).

“Our personal goals can bring out the best in us. However, one of the things that derail our efforts in making and keeping resolutions is procrastination. We sometimes delay starting, waiting for the right moment to begin—the first day of a new year, the beginning of summer, when we’re called as bishop or Relief Society president, after the kids get into school, after we retire.”

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf  |  The Best Time to Plant a Tree

Topics: , , ,

“It is interesting to me that one of the central elements of the word character is created by the letters A, C, and T. As we already have seen in the examples of Christ’s character from the New Testament, the nature and consistency of how one acts reveals in a powerful way his or her true character.”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  "The Character of Christ", Jan 25, 2003

Topics: , ,

“In the gospel race there are no losers, only quitters.”

Stephen E. Robinson  |  Believing Christ

Topics: ,

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”

Abraham Lincoln

Topics: , ,

“Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods.”

CS Lewis  |  Mere Christianity

Topics: , ,

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.”

Winston Churchill

Topics: , , , , ,

Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

“Therefore, what we insistently desire over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell  |  “According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts,” Conference October 1996

Topics: , ,

“To be a witness of God does not consist in engaging in propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.”

Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard

Topics:

“A quick reading of the Book of Mormon, a few prayers, a shallow attempt at repentance, a casual regard for the covenants we’ve made – of course that is not enough. The scriptures use over and over again the word “steadiness” to describe faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. When faith and repentance and diligent efforts to live the commandments have gone on long enough that virtue garnishes our thoughts unceasingly, then the doctrine of the priesthood, the truthful answers to the questions that really matter, will distill upon us as the dews from heaven. That’s been my experience with seeking the confirmation of truth by the Spirit of God. I have at times sought it by singular effort, in times of great need, and it has come. Investigators have that experience when they reach the point where they must know if the Book of Mormon is true. But far more often for me, I notice its presence in quiet confirmations at times when all I seem to have done is to plod on in diligence, doing the simple things–searching the scriptures with a prayer in my heart and with more concern for others and therefore less time for pursuits that let Satan, the father of lies, entice me. It’s in periods of that steadiness that I notice, almost in the way you are surprised at your wet shoes from the dew formed on the grass overnight, and look up and realize the Holy Ghost has been enlightening my mind and enlarging my heart.”

Elder Henry B. Eyring  |  Going Home, BYU Devotional Address, November 1986

Topics: ,

“If prayer is only a spasmodic cry at the time of crisis, then it is utterly selfish, and we come to think of God as a repairman or a service agency to help us only in our emergencies. We should remember the Most High day and night – always – not only at times when all other assistance has failed and we desperately need help. If there is any element in human life on which we have a record of miraculous success and inestimable worth to the human soul, it is prayerful, reverential, devout communication with our Heavenly Father.”

Howard W. Hunter  |  “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” Ensign, November 1977, p. 52

Topics: ,

“Perseverance means to continue in a given course until we have reached a goal or objective, regardless of obstacles, opposition, and other counter influences…Perseverance is a positive, active characteristic…It gives us hope by helping us realize that the righteous suffer no failure except in giving up and no longer trying.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin  |  "Never Give Up", Ensign, Nov. 1987, 8

Topics:

“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”

John Quincy Adams

Topics: ,

“Neutrality is a nonexistent condition in this life. We are always choosing, always taking sides. That is part of the human experience – facing temptations on a daily, almost moment-by-moment basis – facing them not only in good days but on days we are down, the days we are tired, rejected, discouraged, or sick.”

Tad R. Callister  |  The Infinite Atonement

Topics: ,

“When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him–when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life–you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do. When you spiritually stretch beyond anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you.”

Russell M. Nelson  |  "Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives"

Topics: , ,

Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the LDS church

“First of all, if in the days ahead you not only see limitations in those around you but also find elements in your own life that don’t yet measure up to the messages you have heard this weekend, please don’t be cast down in spirit and don’t give up. The gospel, the Church, and these wonderful semiannual gatherings are intended to give hope and inspiration. They are not intended to discourage you. Only the adversary, the enemy of us all, would try to convince us that the ideals outlined in general conference are depressing and unrealistic, that people don’t really improve, that no one really progresses. And why does Lucifer give that speech? Because he knows he can’t improve, he can’t progress, that worlds without end he will never have a bright tomorrow. He is a miserable man bound by eternal limitations, and he wants you to be miserable too. Well, don’t fall for that. With the gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the strength of heaven to help us, we can improve, and the great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  |  “Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You”

Topics: , ,

“At times all of us are called upon to stretch ourselves and do more than we think we can. I’m reminded of President Theodore Roosevelt’s quip, “I am only an average man but, by George, I work harder at it than the average man.”

James E. Faust  |  “I Believe I Can, I Knew I Could,” Ensign, November 2002, p. 50

Topics: ,

“The companionship of the spirit of the Lord is an antidote for weariness, . . . for fear and all those things that sometimes overtake us in life.”

George Albert Smith  |  Teachings of Presidents of the Church, George Albert Smith, p. 119

Topics: ,

“All of us, young and old, will do well to realize that attitude is more important than the score. Desire is more important than the score. Momentum is more important than the score.”

Marvin J. Ashton  |  "Who's Losing?" General Conference, October 1974

Topics: , ,