Post 1 -- Who Are You Really?

By Judy Rix...

Who are you really? Are you actually capable of being better than you already are? It's a serious thing to strive to be your very best self. We can waste our lives wandering in paths of mediocrity, or we can direct our actions toward becoming all that we were meant to be.

President Russell M. Nelson teaches: "As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with greater charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self discipline, peace and rest." (October, 2022 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)

Alice in Wonderland asked the Cheshire Cat, "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," answered the cat.

Steven R. Covey put it this way: “It is incredibly easy to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to realize that it’s leaning against the wrong wall.”

The Parable of the Talents Offers Valuable Insight.

The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) is a source of inspiration to me. The Lord gave talents to three of His servants. Although a talent refers to money in this parable, it symbolizes any skill, trait, or blessing you've received.

The Lord asked the servants to show their faith and diligence by generating more wealth using what they were entrusted with, whether it was a little or a lot. In entrepreneurial terms, the talents were like seed money for growing their own business.

The first two servants went to work and doubled their money. The Lord was pleased and said, "Well done thou good and faithful servants...Enter into the joy of thy Lord." But that third guy, he was full of excuses and fear and did not make use of his talents. Instead, he just buried them in the ground. God was not so happy with him.

To grow the qualities of Jesus Christ in your life, aim to be like the first two good and faithful servants. Follow His perfect example! Once you've worked on a certain character trait, keep building on it. Not doing so would be a waste of your talents.

Satan is ever vigilant and would have you believe that you can never be better than you are right now. He'll try to distract you and persuade you to bury your talent. But don't let him do it!

Each time you imitate a positive quality of the Savior, your happiness will increase. As you become more like Him, you will experience growing joy and peace. Satan doesn't want that for you.

Perfection? Are We There Yet?

The fact is that we came to earth to progress line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. With the help of repentance, we can learn from and laugh at our mistakes. They are merely stepping stones to our future success. Even if we zigzag a bit on life's path, as long as we stick to the right road, we'll eventually become who we were meant to be -- our very best selves!

Who do you want to be? What is your ultimate destination? I'm not referring to possessions or achievements; you can't take those with you. Instead, I'm speaking about who you really are, your character. What can you do now to Emulate Jesus Christ and "Return with Honor" when your turn on earth is finished?

I have pondered this concept for years. Each decade as I gain more knowledge and experience, my ultimate objective becomes more refined. At this point of life, here is my thesis statement, my own long - term goal:

I Am Preparing for My Eternal Destiny by

Emulating Jesus Christ in My Mortal Life.

What is your thesis statement, your major goal? Write it down on a piece of paper and place it somewhere you'll see it daily. It will serve as your guiding star, your purpose, and your utmost desire.

As eternal spirits in a constant state of growth, our end goal will evolve as we ascend higher and higher in our progression. In the meantime, there are many intermediate actions on the road to perfecting our Christlike attributes.

What Are Your Intermediate Goals?

A long journey begins with a single step. So, consider what steps you will take to progress on your journey to becoming your best self. These steps are your intermediate goals. They will take careful thought and prayer and time to devise, but they will set you off on an orderly path in the right direction to your own eternal destiny.

Write your intermediate goals in first person, present tense, as if you've already accomplished them. This "act--as--if" method, highly endorsed by psychologists, helps in visualizing success.

Here's How I Implement My Intermediate Goals

In my own effort to grow to be my very best self by emulating the qualities of Jesus Christ, I set "Sweet 16" intermediate goals or ideals that will lead me to my end goal. Sure,16 might seem like a lot -- probably more than the experts suggest. But you can pick as many or as few as you like.

I crafted a large needlepoint displaying these goals, framed it, and hung it in my study as a daily reminder. With every pass of the needle, I was embedding these objectives firmly into my conscious and sub-conscious mind. I memorized and repeated them over and over on my daily walks.

Each morning, I chose one or two goals to concentrate on for several days or weeks until they became a habit. Not all 16 at once, but just one or two manageable goals at a time. I then brainstormed creative ways to take action and follow up on my ideas.

For instance, one of my intermediate goals is this:

"Scriptures -- I establish truth in my bowels and glory for my covering by studying the scriptures daily because that's where I learn how to be like the Savior."

Incidentally, the phrase, "truth in my bowels and glory for my covering," came to my mind as part of an answer to prayer about how to make time for scripture study in my busy schedule. God really wants to help me, and He wants to help you too.

Here Are My Brainstorming Ideas for Studying the Scriptures.

• Reserve a daily timeframe for undisturbed study and meditation. (Mine was 9:00 - 9:30 p.m.)

• Create a comfortable, quiet atmosphere with good lighting, scriptures, reference books, computer, etc. easily accessible. I also added a painting of the Savior to the wall.

• Begin with prayer and ask the Lord to open my mind and heart to understanding and to divert me from distractions.

• Choose a method of study. There are hundreds of ways, so mix it up sometimes. For example:

-- Read chronologically. Start at page one and read on until the end.

-- Choose a topic and use the index to explore the subject in depth.

-- Rewrite each chapter in your own words.

-- Highlight significant verses.

-- Listen to audio scriptures or watch helpful videos.

-- Mentally put your own name in each verse as if the Lord were speaking to you personally.

-- Record how what you read relates to your own life.

• Adapt your study to your needs. For example, with my troublesome vision, I can find nothing published in print large enough to read comfortably. You're thinking, "Couldn't she just read online and enlarge the screen?" But I wanted my own personal paper copy. So I opened the online scriptures and copied/pasted each chapter into my own Word document. I enlarged the print to 22 points, increased white space between lines, and left a 3-inch right margin for my own comments. I printed my document, punched holes in the pages, and mounted them into three-ring binders. Although it took some time and effort, my scripture study is now a pleasure instead of a headache (literally).

My nightly ritual is an anticipated habit which draws me closer to Jesus Christ. Do I study the scriptures every night? Not always. But I feel Him near me when I make an effort to be near Him. Working on this intermediate goal has taught me a lot about the Savior's character traits and how to better relate them to my own life.

Go for It!

The more you emulate the qualities of Jesus Christ, the closer you come to the majesty of your very best self. You are preparing for your eternal destiny.

Join me in my next blog, "Sweet 16." where we will delve deeper into developing Christlike qualities.

Go to the Source--What Do the Scriptures and Respected Teachers Say?

"Becoming Our Best Selves", talk given by Thomas S. Monson in October 1999 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

www.emulatejesuschrist.com

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