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Divine Nature #1

The Young Women Theme states: "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us. . ." I love that reminder that I am a daughter of God, and because of that, I have divine qualities within. Here is the first goal for the value Divine Nature:
"What are some of the divine qualities of a daughter of God? Read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World"; 2 Peter 1; Alma 7:23-24; and Doctrine and Covenants 121:45. In your own words, list the divine qualities discussed in your reading. Think about how you can discover and develop each of these qualities. Record your ideas in your journal."
Journal--July 9, 2011
Divine Qualities of a Daughter of God:
Charitable
Virtuous*
Confident
Humble*
Submissive*
Gentle
Easily entreated
Patient
Long-suffering
Temperate
Diligent in keeping the commandments*
Asking God for whatever she needs, temporal or spiritual
Serves others
Thankful
Faithful*
Hopeful*
Abounding in good works
Testimony*
Keeps herself apart from the world*
Knowledgeable*
Kind
Mindful of the blessings and promises given her*
Witness of His magesty (recognizes and bears witness of miracles in her life)*
Listens to and follows the voice of the prophet and the Holy Ghost*
Prayerful*
Repentant*
Forgiving
Respectful
Loving
Compassionate*
Hard working
Nurturing
Chaste (honest, true, benevolent. . .)
Stands for truth and righteousness
WOW! What a list! Enough to be overwhelming, certainly. The goal instructs that I am to consider how I can develop each of these qualities. I think the first thing for me is to remember times in my life when I have experienced each of these things. Which ones am I already? Not that any of them are an achievement--they are all things that I will need to constantly work on--but recognizing that I do not have to start from scratch on all of these is beneficial. I put an asterisk by the qualities that I feel I do pretty well with, or that I have been working on recently. Some of the others (like being forgiving) I have experienced, but I feel a particular struggle about it that I am striving to overcome. So how do I develop these qualities? It takes a lot of prayer. But first is a recognition of a LACK of a particular quality, and a desire to obtain it. Most often that has come with turmoil in my life. I can see a need to be forgiving when I am angry, especially if I find that I frequently get angry with a certain person. As much as I want the other person to change, I am not in control of that. I am only in control of me. And I can decide, regardless of what another person decides to do, to forgive. That gets really hard when the offenses are ongoing. How do you just sit and take it, and forgive over, and over, and over? The only "how to" about it is to pray. And add to prayer any and every action that will bring you closer to the Spirit: read the scriptures, attend your meetings, attend the temple, remove from your life anything (music, books, entertainment) that detracts from the Spirit. Then, if there is anything more you need to do to obtain the quality you desire, you'll feel the promptings of the Spirit as they come.

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