Stopped first to go through the various deeds (8)
I believe the answer is:
desisted
'stopped first' is the definition.
'desisted' can be an answer for 'stopped' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'first' bit.
'go through the various deeds' is the wordplay.
'go' becomes 'ist' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'through' means one lot of letters goes inside another (I've seen this in other clues).
'the various' indicates anagramming the letters.
'deeds' with letters rearranged gives 'desed'.
'ist' going within 'desed' is 'DESISTED'.
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for desisted that I've seen before include "Chose not to do" , "Refrained from doing something" , "Stopped doing something" , "Refrained. abstained" , "Ceased, stopped trying" .)