"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross"
(Philippians 2:5-8, emphasis added).
There are a couple of things that I absolutely love about these lines of scripture.
Humility
The first is the example of humility that Christ sets for us. We are told throughout the scriptures to humble ourselves before the Lord, and Christ provides the ultimate example to us on how to do that. As these scriptures say, He didn't try to make a reputation for Himself. Christ didn't perform miracles to create a reputation, but rather, He performed miracles to testify that He was the Christ and because He loved each and every one of God's children. This is shown time and time again when Christ healed people, only to tell them that they were to tell nobody about what had happened. That would take a lot of humility.
For us, we can follow Christ's example by serving others out of love and kindness, and not because of any recognition that we might receive because of our service. We are taught more about this in Matthew:
"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what they right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" (Matthew 6:1-4, emphasis added).
Just as Christ had to humble Himself before His father, we must also remain humble, especially when it comes to serving and loving others. May we all follow Christ's example of humility.
Becoming
Perhaps my favorite line of scripture throughout all of the readings this week was the very end of the scriptures I shared earlier where it says that Christ "became obedient" even unto death. I love the use of the word become because it helps to describe our own mortal journeys on this earth.
Too often I get discouraged by my imperfections and the weaknesses that I succumb to on a daily (even hourly) basis. It is easy for me to feel like I will never measure up to my potential and I will forever let down my Father in Heaven who had entrusted me with so much.
This is one reason why understanding the principle of becoming is so important.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught us,
"The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts - what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts - what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not just a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become."
When we think about our mortal journey as a path of becoming, we are able to better let go of past can and will become the individuals that the Lord wants us to be. Since we know that the judgment will not be one where the Lord will weigh our good deeds against our bad ones to determine our eternal destinations, we can understand that, so long as we have repented, our past sins don't count against us and we can always get a clean slate and start over.
One of President Uchtdorf's favorite pieces of counsel in General Conference seems to be that we should "start where [we] are" (he gave us this counsel in the 2009, 2013, and 2015 General Conferences, at least). To me, that shows just how important it is that we follow his counsel. Elaborating on his 2013 message, President Uchtdorf said:
"Start where you are. Isn't it wonderful to know that we don't have to be perfect to experience the blessings and gifts of our Heavenly Father?... the perfect place to begin is exactly where you are right now. It doesn't matter how unqualified you may think you are or how far behind others you may feel. The very moment you begin to seek your Heavenly Father, in that moment, the hope of His light will begin to awaken, enliven, and ennoble your soul."
And, because I love Elder Holland and he always speaks directly to my soul, I will add his words to President Uchtdorf's:
How beautiful is this counsel from our dear leaders? We must start where we are and understand that we are doing better in the gospel that we think we are. Both of these things will help us in our journey to become like our Father in Heaven who loves us more than we can comprehend.
In Conclusion
This mortal life is full of trials and challenges. But these trials we face help to humble us just as Christ was humbled and they help us become who the Lord wants us to become. We are not expected to be perfect right away. In fact, we are expected to be very imperfect, otherwise we would have no need of the Savior's Atonement. But, because of a merciful Heavenly Father and His son's sacrifice for us, we can become perfect only through Christ and only as we humble ourselves and put our faith in Him.
That, my friends, is beautiful.
Resources
Dallin H. Oaks. The Challenge to Become. October 2000 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-challenge-to-become?lang=eng&_r=1
Dieter F. Uchtdorf. The Hope of God's Light. April 2013 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-hope-of-gods-light?lang=eng
Jeffrey R. Holland. Behold Thy Mother. October 2015 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/behold-thy-mother?lang=eng&_r=1
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