Sabbath Reflections - Celestial Attributes

In pondering the prospects of this Sabbath Reflection and those that are to follow, my thoughts have turned to reflections past. For many years I have pondered upon the divine and perfected character traits of the Savior, and His charge that we become like He and His Father, even perfect (Matt 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48). To be so will be born of our personal desire to emulate Him in all things, even unto our striving to become men and women of Christ through the development of that which is perfect in Him. Even so and notwithstanding our desires we can only become as He is by and through His Atoning Love and Sacrifice born for each of us so many years ago. It is in His tender mercy and grace that we are enabled with capacity to meet the full measure of our creation and know the joy He desires in us. The efficacy of His Atoning Love conjoined with a willingness to yield our hearts unto Him, even unto our striving emulation of our Friend and Master, determine where we are on our pathway to discipleship.

“The traits of character to be focused on in the precious process of character building are all interactive; development of one hastens the development of another. You are likely to be doing much better than you realize. Paul notes one spiritual sequence when he says, “Tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Rom. 5:3–4), and hope brings more of the love of God. If you and I will meekly submit to “our light affliction,” whatever it is, this will lead later to a far greater “weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).

The development of Christlike character clearly qualifies as truly being “about [our] Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). The wonderful thing about this process is that amid the seeming mundaneness of daily life we can be about our Father’s business day by day, achieving imperishable things to be taken with us through the veil of death and to rise with us in the Resurrection.” Neal A. Maxwell

As disciples of the Master we can still, and must, live in the world and not be of it. As men and women of Christ we are, as stated in Ephesians 4, to "be kind to one another, tenderhearted and forgiving." Howard W. Hunter further counseled us to “treat each other with more kindness, more courtesy, more humility and patience and forgiveness.” Our ability to do so is wholly dependent upon our discipleship in Christ, or in effect our proximity to the Savior.

In the coming weeks it is my hope that these Sabbath Reflections will focus on specific celestial attributes of Christ, such as love, patience, mercy, meekness, forgiveness, submissiveness …, all of which embody that which we are to become. As further stated by Neal Maxwell, “…They are not just a litany of qualities to be recited; Awareness of them—even articulate awareness—without their application will not do. The divine attributes of love, mercy, patience, submissiveness, meekness, purity, and others are attributes we have been directed to develop in each of us (see 3 Ne. 27:27; Mosiah 3:19)—and they cannot be developed in the abstract. These require the clinical experiences—those things through which we are asked to pass. Nor can these attributes be developed in a hurry. Thus the scripture says, “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7), referring to the mix of mortal experiences, immortal individuals, and immortal principles. When that interplay occurs and we see things through the lens of the gospel, then we can see more clearly and navigate the road of discipleship. The relevant experiences are required, even when you and I would try to avoid them. Moreover, in an ultimate sense our individual developmental schedules reflect God’s timetable, not ours, for God will not withhold from us certain growing experiences that He, in His infinite wisdom, allows us to undergo for our eternal benefit. His timetable, if followed, prepares us incrementally for the journey of discipleship and for going home.”

Truly we are in the midst of challenging times and many are struggling; parents are overwhelmed, marriages are taxed, families stressed and at times dysfunctional, markets and economies are in disarray, and the situational and shifting standards of our society bear sway on the hearts of good and hopeful people. Whatever lot we are facing today, there needn’t be fear, despair or despondency as would be the hope of the adversary who desireth “that all men might be miserable like unto himself.” (2 Ne. 2:27) For in our tutorials there is a greater hope that manifests itself in resplendent joy as we apply the principles of obedience, discipleship and perspective and thus realize the abundant bounty in the Savior’s plan of happiness.

Notwithstanding our individual tutorials in life, we must remain valiant and constant in our striving with assurance of the tender mercies and love without measure of He who gave all in Gethsemane and on Calgary. We may not “know the meaning of all things” (1 Ne. 11:17), but we persevere notwithstanding, and in our enduring with yielded hearts we can know a tender peace and joy amid the sorrows and trials. As significant as the demanding tuition may be, we are strengthened and enabled in our enduring well when we are yoked with the Master. It is in our striving emulation in becoming as He is, even in developing His divinely perfected character traits that our well of capacity is filled beyond measure resulting in the promised rest. (Matt 11:28-30)