Developing Christlike Attributes

In Peter’s second epistle, he lists a set of attributes that we should strive to develop with God’s help:

Add to your faith virtue;
and to virtue knowledge;
and to knowledge temperance;
and to temperance patience;
and to patience godliness;
and to godliness brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness charity.

2 Peter 1:5-7

Here is a passage from the Book of Mormon about each of these attributes:

• Faith: “Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6).
• Virtue: “If ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not” (Mosiah 2:30).
• Knowledge: “For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children” (2 Nephi 4:15).
• Temperance: “I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things” (Alma 38:10).
• Patience: “I would exhort you to have patience, and that ye bear with all manner of afflictions…with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions” (Alma 34:40-41).
• Godliness: “[Angels] are subject unto [God], to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness” (Moroni 7:30).
• Brotherly Kindness: “With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer…. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee” (3 Nephi 22:8, 10).
• Charity: “Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him” (Moroni 7:47).

Jesus encouraged us to emulate Him: “What manner of men ought ye to be?” he asked. “Even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). Peter encouraged us to ponder that question: “What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?” (2 Peter 3:11).

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf observed:

Developing Christlike attributes in our lives is not an easy task, especially when we move away from generalities and abstractions and begin to deal with real life. The test comes in practicing what we proclaim. The reality check comes when Christlike attributes need to become visible in our lives—as husband or wife, as father or mother, as son or daughter, in our friendships, in our employment, in our business, and in our recreation. We can recognize our growth, as can those around us, as we gradually increase our capacity to “act in all holiness before [Him]” (D&C 43:9)….

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

“Christlike Attributes—the Wind beneath Our Wings,” General Conference, October 2005

Today, I will ponder the attributes of Christ listed by Peter. I will strive to incorporate these attributes into my interactions with other people, especially family members, believing that God can help me make these attributes a permanent part of my character.