Part 1: Aspects That Lead Us Closer to Divinity

Seek blessings from the Lord.

I start the list with traits that are perhaps not directly godlike (for example, it doesn’t seem quite correct that Heavenly Father and Mother “rely on Christ,” and “obedience to God” it a bit redundant there). But I believe these are traits that can help us to grow up to become more like our Heavenly Parents.

I think of these as “growing up” traits. We are, essentially, children who are meant to grow up to be gods. So, just like children have to take lots of little steps in their development—they don’t come out of the womb knowing how to read, for example—we have to take little steps toward godhood. These are traits that will help us do so. I’ve also tried to loosely organize these traits in “order”—sort of building on each other, though that’s not really an exact progression.

What do I see as the biggest ones here? Belief in God’s ability to help us (trust in God, reliance on Christ) and willingness to change and grow. They are certainly the areas that I need to work on the most.

·         Seeking inspiration and answers (1 Ne. 15:8).

·         Faith (Mos. 24:16, Alma 38:2–3, Alma 53:20–21, Eth. 3:4).

·         Willingness to believe in Christ (Hel. 6:36).

·         Trust in God that He will make weak things strong—“we trust God will deliver us, notwithstanding the weakness of our armies” (Alma 58:37).

·         Reliance on Christ—“relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and finisher of their faith” (Mor. 6:4).

·         Listening to the Spirit—paying attention and speaking what the Spirit prompts (Hel. 13:5, Jac. 4:15).

·         Obedience to God (1 Ne. 16:8).

·         Capacity for growth and change—they “did humble themselves before the Lord” (1 Ne. 15:20), they changed for the better.

·         Seeking blessings earnestly—“cry again unto the Lord” (Eth. 1:36).

·         Remembering the gifts of God (Eth. 7:27).

·         Repentance (Mos. 4:2, Moro. 8:24).

·         Humility (Mos. 21:14).

·         Firm decision not to return to sin—once they repented, the people would not go to war again (Alma 24:13).

·         Receiving God’s grace—“they did abound in the grace of God” (Mos. 27:5).

·         Total change of heart, with desire to do good (Alma 24:18).