Christlike Attributes
Walker gave a talk on Sunday. I wanted to share it. It was really good. 🙂
Hello my name is Walker Kitch. Today I was asked to speak on the lesson I had in teacher’s quorum a last week on being Christlike.The basic categories of being Christlike are: Faith, Hope, Charity, Love, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and Obedience. As you can see there are many amazing traits of Christ. Today, though, I’d like to focus mainly on Knowledge.
I would like to focus on this because during the lesson, Brother Hawk had us fill out a Christlike attributes sheet from Preach My Gospel. My personal low was in the Knowledge category. I realized that even though I know the gospel, I don’t truly know it. When you look up knowledge in the Bible Dictionary, it says “One of the attributes of God. Knowledge of Divine and Spiritual things is essential for one’s salvation…” It says it is attained over time not all at once. I always hear people talking about and citing scriptures from memory all the time and people recognizing scriptures and being able to tell where they are in which book. I’ve always found that amazing, because it is just so impressive to me to have read the scriptures so often and with such depth that they know all these things within them. Sure I read the scriptures for seminary and such, but I don’t truly study them. There is a difference between reading and studying.
A lot of the time we may just look to others for answers. I know I personally do this. I just find someone else who knows whatever you are trying to find out rather than finding it out for myself. If you look through the scriptures, study, cross reference, and pray, it will have a much deeper impact. I know that seems like a lot of hard work, but two of the other Christlike attributes are Diligence and Patience. So if you are truly trying to be like Jesus, then it is worth the time and effort. Finding out for yourself is so much more impactful. It strengthens you so much more than just using other people’s knowledge.
Recently this week, when reading, I noticed a change. I was more than just processing the words on the page. I was understanding them and their importance to our church. We must use all the traits while praying or studying the scriptures or when preparing to study or pray. If you live more Christlike, finding truth and knowledge will be much easier as these attributes help us listen to the Spirit.
First Samuel Ch 2 states, “the Lord is a God of knowledge”. One way to judge where you are in this attribute is to think, “Would I feel comfortable if someone asked me teach them the gospel. Would I feel comfortable if I had to be a missionary to someone today.” I personally have reflected on that recently, because some of the people at my school have been asking questions, and I’ve felt a little uncomfortable, and I’ve been struggling a bit to answer their specific and odd questions.
It is important to keep in mind that the 10 Christlike attributes that I mentioned are all interlinked. They are symbiotic. They use each other. Being weak in one can lead to weakness in others. Strengthening these attributes will not only make you stronger in the church, but an overall better person who people will want to learn from. I’d like to challenge you to look up this test in Preach My Gospel, fill it out, analyze your results and improve the lower scores slowly week by week focus on small parts and improve them bit by bit. It will make an amazing difference in your life. Truly study the scriptures and what they are saying. In Doctrine and Covenants 46 it says “To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.” Try to be one of those few. I’d like to bear my testimony that I truly believe that this church is true, that Thomas S Monson is the true current prophet, that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and that Jesus Christ died for me and everyone else individually. I know He was perfect, and if we strive to be like Him we can join Him in heaven. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
