The Lord gifts each person with the light of life when they are born here. This internal ability to understand, choose, and learn provides all people—whether secular or religious—with the ability to improve, whether they recognize it as following God or not.1 Since all people have the light of Christ, all people have the opportunity to advance and bear accountability for the degree to which they use it.2 To the extent that we obtain more of the character of Christ in our hearts and minds3 and instantiate it in the world through our actions,4 we grow in similitude to Christ.5
The steps towards becoming more like God consist of iteratively perceiving more differences between how you are and how God is and reconciling yourself to how you now perceive him to be:
If we remove every difference between us and God revealed as he shows us more of his glory, he will show us more and more of his glory, and we will be gradually transformed into his image, just as the Lord was, from his spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, Author’s Reflection)
As you heed God’s influence within you and fully emulate it in your thoughts, feelings, and actions, he will expand his influence within you. Those who live up to how they believe God to be will be shown more of how he is.6 If you want to learn more about God, live up to what you already know by taking note of and submitting to how Jesus would think, feel, and act in your place.7 While you do this, God will:
- Forgive you of every difference with him you had in the past.
- Forgive you of every difference you still don’t know about.
- Teach you more about himself.
You can learn more about how God is through living up to your conscience, perceiving and accepting opportunities to improve, and learning and living God’s purpose. We grow proportional to the degree of heed and diligence8 we exercise in obtaining more information about him and living up to everything we already know:9
24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. (Mark 4)
As you submit to God in how you think, feel, and act, he will increase your capacity to do good, recognize truth, and be a better person.10 You will receive increased connection to God through his spirit.11 You will find that God will “pour out his Spirit upon [you]...because of [your] easiness and willingness to believe in his words.” (Helaman 6:36) Then, “...by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, [you will] exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith...lay hold upon every good thing...” (Moroni 7:25)
Footnotes
- 1. And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free. (Helaman 14:30) ↩
- 2. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness in men, who suppress the truth through their unrighteous response to what God has made known to them by revealing it within them. His unseen qualities are clearly visible by all his creations since the foundation of the world—his internal influence being both perceivable and understandable as something which yields both inner strength and an advanced understanding of what is good, leaving all without excuse. But they neither value nor even acknowledge what God shows them, and in turning away, degrade their ability to desire or obtain anything of value. In insisting they know better than God, they decay towards knowing nothing at all. (Romans 1:18-22, Author’s Reflection) ↩
- 3. ...behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (Luke 17:21) ↩
- 4. Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you— that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me....Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel...that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do; (3 Nephi 21:13, 21) ↩
- 5. ...until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we henceforth be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and their cunning and craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, who is the Head, even Christ, (Ephesians 4:13-15) ↩
- 6. Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish; (Alma 13:10) ↩
- 7. Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot. (Moroni 10:32-33) ↩
- 8. And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. (Alma 12:9-10) ↩
- 9. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving....For in [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (Colossians 2:6-7, 9-10) ↩
- 10. Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? (Mosiah 18:10) ↩
- 11. And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost... (3 Nephi 9:20) ↩