Another pattern of living is found in “the Doctrine of Christ.”
What is that?
The Doctrine of Christ is…
Faith in Jesus Christ–Repentance–Covenant Relationship/Immersion–Confirmation by Holy Ghost/Extra Power–Endure to the End/Become Perfected
…as seen in the 4th Article of Faith.
In other words, as we have faith IN Jesus Christ and believe He can heal us or make what is wrong in our lives right…
We acknowledge our accountability to God and REPENT. We ask for forgiveness for any part of our lives that is not according to God’s will for us, and allow Him to help make those needed changes in our nature…
As we IMMERSE ourselves further into our relationships with Jesus Christ. We ask questions, be still and wait for answers, and take inspired actions. Bit by bit, day by day, we allow ourselves to be changed by Him.
As we BECOME more like Him, we enter in to covenant relationship with Christ and are promised more blessings and His power to help us on our journey back to His presence.
As I have studied the Doctrine of Christ, I have come to realize this is a pattern of living and a pattern of righteous covenant relationship.
We cannot do this without His help! We need Him!
When we believe HE can make our lives more than we can, and trust HIM…
And we truly believe that…
We are willing to “give away” our favorite sins…
Our faith then helps us take whatever actions are necessary to change our circumstances and our relationships.
We are obedient to the commandments, and we seek to be sanctified.
He helps us overcome our fallen state and BECOME more like Him…
Becoming ABLE, READY, and more WILLING to usher in His second coming.
**
Pres. Nelson said, “living the doctrine of Christ can produce the most powerful virtuous cycle, creating spiritual momentum in our lives.”
We discussed what “the doctrine of Christ” was, and what it looks like, in my last post.
But what is a “virtuous cycle?”
Virtue is having good, clean, healthy thinking patterns…
(Thoughts–Emotions–Actions–Results)
Healthy thinking patterns leads to uplifting emotions, like joy, gratitude, compassion, and hope.
These useful emotions, especially hope, cause us to take the necessary actions to help our lives become more Christlike…
With hope, we WILLINGLY give up our favorite sins and repent (turn back to Christ).
We WILLINGLY immerse ourselves into the scriptures to learn how to better our lives, looking for patterns of joy, patterns of dealing with hard times with faith, patterns of healthy relationships, etc.
As we PRACTICE the patterns we find, we are changed.
As our life improves, we are eager and excited to grow more…
Creating SPIRITUAL MOMENTUM in our lives.
Are you beginning to see patterns of righteous living?
These patterns ARE the higher, holier laws of Jesus Christ.
And it begins in our thoughts, desires, and beliefs.
