Jesus taught Become as I Am

Jesus taught us by first asking us - What manner of man should you be?  Then he answered this question by saying that we should be like him.  So how do we become like him?

Dallin H. Oaks, in his October 2000 conference address titled “The Challenge to Become” said, “This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.”

We must be converted to the gospel.  The Savior taught that there is a difference in a testimony and being converted.  A testimony is what we know in our hearts to be true.  To be converted is an action, we must do and become.  When we enter the waters of baptism and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost we are taking the first steps to being converted – this is the do and the become is that we are taking upon us the name of Jesus Christ and try to do our best to follow his examples and be like him.  When we take the sacrament we are doing but we must be worthy to take the sacrament. 

Becoming like the Savior is a lifelong process.  We must become humble, pure and clean like a little child.  We must turn away from the worldly things and seek the things of the spirit.  The best place to do this is in our families.  We cannot become like Jesus Christ without our family.  We cannot become an eternal being without our family.  We must do it together.  It is with our family that we will face our greatest challenges and experience our greatest joys in this life.  It is with our family that we will experience charity, the true love of Christ.  It is through enduring well that together we become converted.

Further into Elder Oaks conference address he explains:  “We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ. The Apostle Paul illustrated this in his famous teaching about the importance of charity (see 1 Cor. 13). The reason charity never fails and the reason charity is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness he cited is that charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47), is not an act but a condition or state of being. Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion. Charity is something one becomes. Thus, as Moroni declared, “except men shall have charity they cannot inherit” the place prepared for them in the mansions of the Father (Ether 12:34; emphasis added).”

We must never give up and quite trying, there is always hope.  The Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ provides away for all of us.  If we are striving to do what is right, we must continue to focus on what we are doing and not be judgmental of others.  If we are making some choices that aren’t so good it is never too late to turn your heart to the Savior and accept the Atonement, because it is for each of us.  If we strive to show charity in all that we do, we will truly be someone who is doing to become.