Diligence is defined as being hard-working, industrious, and persistent. It is the mark of a committed servant. However, sometimes we get more zealous than is healthy. These are the times when things need to be done in wisdom and order. The same advice was given to the prophet Joseph Smith when he was given the gift of translation subsequent to losing the 116 pages. Early in 1828, the prophet had suffered considerable anguish of mind and soul because he lost the gift of translation for a season. The scripture records that his mind became darkened (DC 10:2). When this period of repentance ended, the prophet was probably filled with desire to show his faithfulness and diligence. It was at this zealous time that the Lord counseled him, Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end (DC 10:4). Elder Neal A. Maxwell succinctly states, "There is a difference, therefore, between being 'anxiously engaged' and being over anxious and thus underengaged." (Conference Reports, Oct. 1976, p. 14)
"Slow me down, Lord! Teach me the art of taking minute vacations…of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to read a few lines from a good book…There is more to life than measuring its speed. Let me look upward into the branches of the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring values." (Author Unknown as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 211)
Neal A. Maxwell
"When we run faster than we are able, we get both inefficient and tired….I have on my office wall a wise and useful reminder by Anne Morrow Lindberg concerning one of the realities of life. She wrote, 'My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds.' That's good counsel for us all, not as an excuse to forgo duty, but as a sage point about pace and the need for quality in relationships." (Deposition of a Disciple, pp. 57-8)