In our readings this year in the Book of Mormon, something stood out to me that hadn’t before (funny how that works, eh?). After Nephi breaks his bow and the family repents for murmuring, Nephi makes a comment regarding how the Liahona works (you can review the story here).

And it came to pass that I, Nephi beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them,” (1 Nephi 16:28).

The ball with pointers (the Liahona) has often been used by the authors of the Book of Mormon and teachers today as a type and symbol for the Holy Ghost and the word of God in our life. We regularly speak of the importance of faith and diligence but I don’t think I ever noticed the third component. I found myself asking, “what did Nephi mean by the word ‘heed’? Faith would suggest trust and reliance on the direction from the Liahona and diligence might suggest the effort we put into following its instructions–so perhaps heed suggests the completeness of our obedience. In sports we would call that the ‘follow through.’

Each of us have different areas where our follow through might be lacking. May the Lord give us eyes to see where we can improve.

Questions to Consider

• How would I describe to the Savior my faith, diligence and heed to his teachings?
• What can I do to follow through better on my obedience?