Perfection

10/4/18

            This week in my New Testament class, we had some wonderful discussions on what it truly means to be perfect, and what we can do to progress towards perfection.  To set the state, we read Matt 5:48, which reads, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Christ gave this command during the Sermon on the Mount, while he was in the middle of his Earthly ministry.  We then cross referenced that scripture with 3 Nephi 12:48 when Christ was giving similar teachings in the Americas. It reads, “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.”  There is a slight, but very important difference between these two scriptures.  While Christ was here on Earth during his ministry, he stated that we should be perfect like our Father in Heaven, but once Christ had performed the infinite atonement and had been resurrected, he was able to include Himself in that perfected group.  What does this mean for you and me?  When we think of perfection, we commonly think of words like “pure,” “flawless,” or “exact.”  These definitions, however, are incorrect when we think if Godly perfection.  How so? Was Christ pure, flawless, and exact while he was here on earth? Yes, he was.  If that was the true meaning of perfection, he would have been able to include himself in the perfected group while on earth.  But because that is not God’s definition of perfection, he could not. God defines perfection as “whole,” “complete,” or “fully finished.”  Because Christ’s mission was not fully finished, he was not able to state that he was perfect while yet on the Earth.

            Now that we know what Godly perfection means, one might ask, “How do I get there?” Christ gave us a step-by-step approach in Matthew 5 that we can follow to progress up the spiral staircase of perfection: The Beatitudes.  I always saw the Beatitudes as a set of personal qualities and their blessings – they always seemed quite disjointed to me.  However, Brother Griffin explained them in a way that gives them new meaning.  He taught that each beatitude is a step forward in our progression towards perfection.  As we inherit each characteristic, we are prompted toward the next.  The first step is to become “poor in spirit” – we must recognize that there is a gap between us and God.  Because of that Gap, we must mourn, or experience Godly sorrow. That mourning will motivate us to be meek and express, “Thy will be done.”  With the attitude of following God’s plan, we “hunger and thirst” after righteousness.  We need to go and fill the void that exists.  As we are acting to fill the void, we must be merciful not only to those around us, but also to ourselves.  Next, we must be “pure in heart” – our heart and intentions must be in the right place.  Because we are meek and pure in heart, we will be motivated to be peacemakers and help others along the path. And finally, because of our efforts to progress towards perfection, we will be persecuted. As Brother Griffin stated, “The harder we try to be good, the more we recognize our badness.” That, in turn, will once again lead us to be poor in spirit and recognize the gap between us and God.  As I mentioned, this is a spiral staircase – it is a process we do continually throughout our lives.  So next time you feel like you’re not good enough, even though you’re trying as hard as you can to be good, think about this process.  Odds are, you are doing exactly what you should be doing.  Life is difficult because becoming perfect is also difficult.  I know that as we strive to live the teachings that Christ taught us in the Beatitudes, He will help us progress towards our heavenly home.