Christ-like Attributes
I love the Doctrine and Covenants. I love how the Lord has made it so clear as to what we should do in life. I love this book because these revelations are written towards us, whereas in the Bible and Book of Mormon, there are a lot of symbols and parables that we have to dissect and learn from. But in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord speaks directly, outlining a lot of useful things.
In the 121st section of the D&C, there is a question posed in verse 34.
“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?”
The answer again is very direct, because it is something that is very important.
“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this lesson- that the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principals of righteousness.”
“That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man”
What does it mean to set our hearts upon the things of this world?
Later in this section, it states:
“We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.”
“Hence many are called, but few are chosen”
How can we, as a people be those that are chosen? How can we be in favor with God, and serve as righteous servants in his Kingdom?
There are the obvious choices that help us stay close to our Heavenly Father. But there are some things that I have learned are more important, and if we do these, everything else will fall into place.
We must develop Christ-like attributes. These will help us to be closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, because we will be like them. We will feel closer to him, which will help us to make choices to keep worthy to be servants in the Kingdom of God.
First, a person must have faith in Jesus Christ. As the Preach My Gospel manual explains,
“When you have faith in Christ, you believe in him as the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father in the Flesh. You accept him as your Savior and Redeemer and follow his teachings. You believe that your sins can be forgiven through His Atonement. Faith in Him means that you trust Him and are confident that He loves you.”
Faith is described in Alma as not having a perfect knowledge of things; therefore hoping for things that are not seen, but true
“Faith leads to action, including repentance, obedience, and dedicated service. When you have faith in Jesus Christ, you trust in him enough to follow His commandments- even when you do not completely understand the reasons for them.”
So, clearly, having faith in Jesus Christ lets us make up our mind ahead of time, because we don’t want to lose his guiding influence.
Second, one must have hope. Hope is essential to have faith.
“Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill his promises to you. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance…When you have hope; you work through trials and difficulties with the confidence and assurance that all things will work together for your good.”
President James E. Faust taught:
“Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have moved away from the hope of the gospel. Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down.”
If we have hope, life will be much better. We will be more optimistic and enjoy what we do. We can have hope because of what we believe. The Lord and his infinite example gives us hope. As we have Faith in Christ, we can have hope.
Third, we must be charitable and have Love toward others.
“Charity is the pure love of Christ. It includes God’s eternal love for all of his children. We are to seek and develop that kind of Love. When you are filled with charity, you find it easier to obey God’s commandments and do all you can to serve others and help them with what they stand in need of”
One must also have Virtue to keep your mind on track to be close to the Lord.
Virtue originates in your innermost thoughts and desires. It is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. Since the Holy Ghost does not dwell in unclean tabernacles, virtue is prerequisite to receiving the Spirit’s guidance. What you choose to think and do when you are alone and you believe no one is a strong measure of your virtue”
Virtuous people are clean and pure spiritually. They focus on righteous, uplifting thoughts and put unworthy thoughts out of their minds. They pray to resist temptation and do what is right. They quickly repent of their sins and wrongdoings. They Live worthy of a Temple Recommend.
I like the analogy of your mind being like a stage. However, only one actor can be on the stage at a time. If the stage is left bare, often thoughts of darkness and sin sneak on and start performing. It is your job to throw spiritual tomatoes and boo them off the stage by keeping your heart and mind and thoughts clean. You can do this by humming a favorite hymn or reciting a memorized scripture.
You must have knowledge to be a good servant. You need to know why you do what you do, to have the drive to keep going.
Study your scriptures, read and listen to General Conference talks, read church history. Do all that you can to become learned in the gospel, so that when you are put to the test, you will have the testimony to make it through the tough times.
Something I always hear is, “Patience is a Virtue”. I have just been elected the President of my FFA chapter at the High School, I have learned that I have to have patience. I have learned that, even as president, a lot of things are out of my control. I just have to remember that everything will work itself out.
President Monson taught:
“Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required”
The Lord tries us to be better people. In Mosiah, Chapter 23, verse 21 it says,
“Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith”
The Lord gives us challenges in which require patience so we can grow, and learn to lean on him.
The sons of Mosiah, before they could serve a mission, had to repent of all their sins, and it took a while. They wanted to serve the Lord, so they had the patience to fully repent of their sins, and were able to serve the Lord.
In Alma, a parable illustrates having patience really well
(read Alma 32: 40-43)
I know that if we pull through hard times, we will reap not only the physical, but more importantly, the spiritual rewards.
The next Christ-like attribute that we must have is Humility. We must be able to submit to the Lord and give him the Glory. If it weren’t for the Lord, we would be nothing. We must thank him for his blessings. Humility is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of spiritual strength.
Obviously, the opposite of Humility is pride. Pride is defined as putting more trust in yourself than in God and/or his servants. It also means putting the things of the world before God.
My favorite Scripture about being humble comes from Second Nephi
(2 Nephi 9:28-29)
We must realize that the Lord is who allows us to be successful, and give the Glory to him. We will enjoy being successful if we give the Glory to him and let him share it with us.
President Ezra Taft Benson said the next attribute next.
“I have often said one of the greatest secrets of the missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all the time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work—there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work”
Just like missionaries, we, as members must be diligent in the work of the Lord. That includes helping our fellow ward members and neighbors, helping in any way we can at ward service activities, and befriending those who need help and comfort. It also means fulfilling your callings as well as you can. If we do this, we will be blessed.
In Doctrine and Covenants, it states:
“Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.”
We must be diligent in the Lords work to receive the blessings which can come to us if we are “anxiously engaged in a good cause”
For me, this last one is the hardest. It is obedience. I don’t have as much of a hard time obeying God as much as my Grandma, or leaders. I get ideas in my head that my way is better, and I work daily to heed advice and take counsel from my elders.
To be able to be close to the Lord, we must keep the commandments and heed the counsel of our leaders. This is an act of faith. It is hard to do. As we obey though, our faith will grow and we will have an increase in Knowledge, wisdom, testimony, protection, and freedom. I would hope that we are all striving to be obedient to our leaders and the Prophet.
Elder L. Tom Perry stated:
“The discipline contained in daily obedience and lean living and wholesome lives, builds an armor around you of protection and safety from the temptations that beset you as you proceed through mortality”
Who doesn’t need a shield of protection to guard them? I would like to meet the person who doesn’t and take lessons from them.
What about us that struggle to obtain all of these Christ-like attributes?
Whether it is because of unresolved sin or conflict, or because we are unwilling to comply to some of the Lords rules, we can change. That is what I love about the Gospel. It takes people and shapes them, like clay, to be who they need to be.
While I was in Nauvoo, I was able to tour old Nauvoo, and go to the place where they would have made the Bricks for all of the homes there. I was able to obtain a brick and bring it home to remind me of a very important principal.
We are like the sand and clay that this brick is made of. Before we are shaped, we amount to nothing, we can do no good. But as we are shaped, by learning the ways of God, we are made into something, and we are able to be like bricks, and work with other people to make the church stronger. We must be shaped and put through the Lords refining fire to be as good as we can be, and when we are, we are added to the walls of brick that have already been laid by worthy church members, building up this kingdom, and we make it stronger, and harder for the adversary to tear down.
Let us be like the bricks. Be humble enough, and have enough faith to let the Lord shape us into who he knows we can be. Let us be willing to let the Lord do so. We must diligently work towards our righteous goals; we need to have hope that we can become a person the Lord is pleased with. To do this we must show Charity and Love towards others, and gain Knowledge, have patience and be obedient.
I know and pray that we can all be this kind of a person, and live closer to the Savoir and our Heavenly Father.
Amen.
=) I like the part about being bricks. It depicts us as being very close and connected with one another.
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