Monday, February 8, 2010

Personal Progress: Divine Nature #1

What are some divine qualities of a daughter of god?
2 Peter 1
faith
virtue
knowledge
temperance
patience
godliness
brotherly kindness
charity
she that lacketh in these things are blind (spiritually), and she that do these things shall never fall (from a testimony of and faith in Jesus Christ)

Alma 7:23-24
humble
submissive
gentle
easy to be entreated
full of patience and long suffering
being temperate in all things
diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times
asking for whatsoever things I stand in need of both spiritual and temporal
always returning thanks unto God for the things I do receive
faith
hope
charity
always abound in good works

D&C 121:45
bowels full of charity towards all man
virtue garnish my thoughts unceasingly
then will my confidence wax strong in the presence of God and the doctrine of the priesthood distil upon my soul as the dews from heaven

The Family Proclamation
I was created in the image of God
I am the beloved spirit daughter of Heavenly parents, with a divine nature and destiny.
In the premortal realm I knew and worshipped God as my Eternal Father and accepted His plan to obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress to perfection and ultimately realize my divine destiny as an heir of eternal life.

How can I discover and develop each of these qualities:

First I had to look up virtue in the dictionary. I have heard this word so many times and wanted to make absolutely sure what it means.

Virtue: conformity to a standard of right; morality; strength; a particular moral excellence; an order of angels; a beneficial quality or power of things; valor; a commendable quality or trait; a capacity to act; chastity-especially in a woman.

The scripture comes to mind "Who can find a virtuous woman for her price is far above rubies" paraphrased.

I am striving to have a moral excellence in my life, I am moral and chaste. I am constantly striving to be a virtuous woman.

I love learning and gaining knowledge.

I strive to be honest. A saying has really helped me and it goes like this: "are you going to let a nickel keep you out of heaven?" So when I owe someone any amount of money, or if the store gave me too much change, or I didn't pay for something I should have (no matter if it was my fault or the checkers) I think of this quote and do everything I can to remedy the problem.

I haven't always been temperate or patient. As I have gotten older I have improved, but it is something I am always working on. Much of the process is by gaining knowledge, praying for help and asking for forgiveness.

Brotherly kindness and charity are also areas that I am constantly working on. I know people who seem to have been born with the gift to be kind and charitable from birth, but I wasn't one of them. Some of the qualities of charity that I have struggled with are to not be easily provoked and to be long suffering. I definitely have room for improvement, but I am trying and that is what the Lord asks from each of us, that we keep trying.

I try to be diligent in keeping the commandments.

I truly believe in asking for whatsoever thing I need, whether it be spiritual or temporal.

I always thank Heavenly Father for my blessings, but I feel that I am kind of shallow in what I thank Him for. I actually prayed 2 nights ago (before studying this) to help me be more conscientious of all my blessings each day, so my nightly prayers can be more of thanksgiving. I tend to look at the big blessings and not recognize the little things. Often times when I hear other people pray I think to myself, "how to they think of those things to pray about, I can't ever think of that", then I try to remember what they said the next time I pray and can't remember. I know with the Lord's help I can improve in this area.

Always abounding in good works - I think I do this, at least I don't go around doing bad works. But I don't usually go out of my way to do good works. That is definitely an area that I need to work on. I am inclined to busy myself with things and projects and don't go looking for good works to do. If I am asked to do something, then I will do it, but I feel there is more to it than that. I know many good people who always seem to go out of their way to think of other people and do small random acts of kindness. To name just a few: Jeanette Dunn, Kellie Knowles, Betty Baker, Dawn Fox, Yeong-mi Phillips, LaDeena Peterson, Laura Pead, (these last two are Alisha's and Malinda's mother in laws). I appreciate the wonderful example of these great women.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to study this value. I know that I am a beloved daughter of God and that He loves me greatly, more than I can comprehend. One of my greatest desires is to become like Him and return and live in His presence. I am constantly striving for that goal by working on all these qualities.

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