The Key To All Other Attributes

I have often sought out Christlike attributes.  Christlike attributes are attributes we seek to develop that were shown by our Savior Jesus Christ.  Charity, Hope, Faith, Diligence, and Patience are a few among others.  In my experience as a missionary and in my continued efforts to seek to develop these attributes, I've learned a few things that I would like to share with you.

My first companion in the mission field was Elder Maka Tuihalamaka, not only large in stature but a spiritual giant.  The fist thing I ever heard him say was; "Humility goes a long way."  That lead to my conclusion that humility is key to all other Christlike attributes.


Further study into the humility taught me that gratitude is the key to obtaining humility.  Therefore, gratitude falls as a foundation for all other desirable attributes.  I've found that when I'm conscious about what I am grateful for-and I express my gratitude-then it is easier to walk with the spirit of humility.

In this time of Thanksgiving, let us express our gratitude to those around us and thereby lay the foundation to attaining other attributes we seek for.  I promise the spirit of the Lord will strive with us as we do all we can to follow Jesus Christ.


Ponder this question- Who may I express gratitude towards and how should I do it?

This past General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, President Thomas S. Monson gave the solemn charge; "Dare to Stand Alone."  I will quote an article he shared.

"I share with you just a portion of this very telling article:

“The interviewers asked open-ended questions about right and wrong, moral dilemmas and the meaning of life. In the rambling answers, … you see the young people groping to say anything sensible on these matters. But they just don’t have the categories or vocabulary to do so.

“When asked to describe a moral dilemma they had faced, two-thirds of the young people either couldn’t answer the question or described problems that are not moral at all, like whether they could afford to rent a certain apartment or whether they had enough quarters to feed the meter at a parking spot.”

The article continues:

“The default position, which most of them came back to again and again, is that moral choices are just a matter of individual taste. ‘It’s personal,’ the respondents typically said. ‘It’s up to the individual. Who am I to say?’

“Rejecting blind deference to authority, many of the young people have gone off to the other extreme [saying]: ‘I would do what I thought made me happy or how I felt. I have no other way of knowing what to do but how I internally feel.’”

Those who conducted the interviews emphasized that the majority of the young people with whom they spoke had “not been given the resources—by schools, institutions [or] families—to cultivate their moral intuitions."

I echo the voice of our living prophet who said, "The laws of God have not changed. They will not change.  Our code of conduct is definitive not negotiable."

I invite all to learn of those laws by a study of the scriptures including the Bible and Book of Mormon and also by heeding the living prophets warning voice.  Living the standards God has established is key to peace in this life, and eternal life in the life to come.  I know the fullness of the everlasting gospel has in fact been restored to the earth through a living prophet.  I testify that "This gospel is salvation, and without it there is nothing worth having."

For the full talk Dare to Stand Alone, President Monson