Christlike Attributes

The First Presidency message in this month's Ensign is "Developing Christlike Attributes" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. In his message President Uchtdorf wrote:

"To follow Christ is to become more like Him. It is to learn from His character. As spirit children of our Heavenly Father, we do have the potential to incorporate Christlike attributes into our life and character. The Savior invites us to learn His gospel by living His teachings. To follow Him is to apply correct principles and then witness for ourselves the blessings that follow. This process is very complex and very simple at the same time. Ancient and modern prophets described it with three words: 'Keep the commandments'—nothing more, nothing less" (October 2008, pg. 8 ).

He mentions that some of the Christlike attributes we need to develop during our lives are:

• knowledge
• humility
• charity
• love
• obedience
• diligence
• faith, and
• hope

President Uchtdorf teaches how:

"Christlike attributes are gifts from God. They cannot be developed without His help.

"The one help we all need is given to us freely through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Having faith in Jesus Christ and in His Atonement means relying completely on Him—trusting in His infinite power, intelligence, and love. Christlike attributes come into our lives as we exercise our agency righteously. Faith in Jesus Christ leads to action. When we have faith in Christ, we trust the Lord enough to follow His commandments—even when we do not completely understand the reasons for them. In seeking to become more like the Savior, we need to reevaluate our lives regularly and rely, through the path of true repentance, upon the merits of Jesus Christ and the blessings of His Atonement."

I know that as we have faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ by repenting and keeping His commandments we will be blessed with peace and joy.