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"Be
Ye Therefore Perfect..."—Handling Obsession with Perfection,
Part 3
by W. Jeffrey
Marsh
This is the
third and final article in the series on "Handling Obsession with
Perfection." In the first article
the concept of dealing with perfection was introduced, in the second
article six helpful suggestions were made, and in this article
six more suggestions are offered.
At a critical
time in Church history, when the Saints were mercilessly driven
out of Missouri while the Prophet Joseph Smith and others languished
in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph wrote to the Saints: "Therefore,
dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie
in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance,
to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed" (D&C
123:17).
Given the circumstances
the Saints were in at the time, this wise counsel reminded them
that in regards to things they had no control over, they needed
to learn to trust in God. We need to learn that after we've done
what we can, we needn't stress over things we can't do anything
about. Here are the final six suggestions for coping with the ideal
of perfection in our lives:
7. Being
perfected and born again occurs over the process of our entire lifetime.
A realistic understanding of the doctrine of perfection can
help put things in perspective. We just need to realize that ultimate
perfection is not going to happen in this life....ever!
Elder Bruce
R. McConkie said,
We are born
again when we die as pertaining to unrighteousness and when we
live as pertaining to the things of the spirit. But that doesn't
happen in an instant, suddenly. That also is a process. Being
born again is a gradual thing, except in a few isolated instances
that are so miraculous they get written up in the scriptures.
As far as the generality of the members of the Church are concerned,
we are born again by degrees, and we are born again to added light
and added knowledge and added desires for righteousness as we
keep the commandments." ("Jesus Christ and Him Crucified," (BYU
Fireside, 5 Sep 1976)
The Lord doesn't
expect us to do anything that is impossible. We are all the children
of a loving Father in Heaven. He helped prepare us for this experience.
We are of divine origin, even if we sometimes forget. Elder Boyd
K. Packer taught, "When you say, 'I can't! I can't solve my problems!'
I want to thunder out, 'Don't you realize who you are? Haven't you
learned yet that you are a son or a daughter of Almighty God? Do
you not know that there are powerful resources inherited from Him
that you can call upon to give you steadiness and courage and great
power?" ("Self-Reliance," Ensign, Aug 1975, 88.)
To do our best,
with what we know, is to do what God expects, as President Brigham
Young wisely observed:
We all occupy
diversified stations in the world and in the Kingdom of God. Those
who do right, and seek the glory of the Father in Heaven, whether
they can do little or much, if they do the very best they know
how, they are perfect. . . .
Be ye as
perfect as ye can, for that is all we can do tho' it is written,
`Be ye perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.' To
be as perfect as we possibly can according to our knowledge is
to be just as perfect as our Father in Heaven is. He cannot be
any more perfect than he knows how, any more than we. When we
are doing as well as we know in the sphere, and station which
we occupy here we are justified. . .we are as justified as the
angels who are before the throne of God." (Deseret News Weekly,
31 Aug. 1854, p. 37.)
It helps to
remember that the Savior lived a perfect life, yet he never referred
to himself as perfect until after his resurrection (compare Matthew
5:48 with 3 Nephi 12:48). This principle was stated clearly by Joseph
Smith in these words:
When you
climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step
by step, until you arrive at the top and so it is with the principles
of the Gospel - you must begin with the first, and go on until
you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great
while after you have passed through the veil before you will have
learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world;
it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation
even beyond the grave." (Teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
p. 348)
President Joseph
Fielding Smith said:
I believe
the Lord meant just what he said: that we should be perfect, as
our Father in heaven is perfect (see Matt. 5:48 and 3 Nephi 12:48).
That will not come all at once, but line upon line, and precept
upon precept, example upon example, and even then not as long
as we live in this mortal life, for we will have to go even beyond
the grave before we reach that perfection and shall be like God.
"But here we lay the foundation. Here is where we are taught these
simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in this probationary
state, to prepare us for that perfection." (Doctrines of Salvation,
2:18-19.)
And Elder Marvin
J. Ashton also noted:
We need to
come to terms with our desire to reach perfection and with our
frustration when our accomplishments or our behaviors are less
than perfect. I feel that one of the great myths we would do well
to dispel is that we've come to earth to perfect ourselves, and
nothing short of that will do. If I understand the teachings of
the prophets of this dispensation correctly, we will not become
perfect in this life, though we can make significant strides toward
that goal.... I am also convinced of the fact that the speed with
which we head along the straight and narrow path isn't as important
as the direction in which we are traveling. That direction, if
it is leading toward eternal goals, is the all-important factor."
(Ensign, May 1989, pp. 20-21.)
8. Our work
of self-correction is best done gradually and consistently, degree
by degree.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell cautioned:
The Gospel
suggests to us ultimate perfection, but eternal progression rests
on the assumption of gradual but regular improvement in our lives.
In the city of Enoch the near perfection of this people occurred
"in process of time" over many, many years. This is also the case
with us." (Deposition of a Disciple, p. 71.)
Paced progress
is essential....There is a difference, therefore, between being
steadily and effectively or "anxiously" engaged, on the one hand,
and, on the other hand, being frantically engaged one moment and
being passive and detached the next....The Lord wants us to be
diligent but prudent. We are not to give our cross a hurried heft
merely to see if we can lift it and then put it down - we are
to carry it for the balance of our lives. And pace matters very
much. The pioneers crossed the plains in a paced way, arriving
weary but intact--a lesson for us all!" (Notwithstanding My Weakness,
pp. 1-5.)
9. The true
measure of achieving perfection, being born again, is the quality
of our character.
Elder Marvin J. Ashton observed that:
The best
and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and
coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people." (Ensign,
May 1992, p. 20).
In the 1994
press conference where the announcement was made that President
Howard W. Hunter was the new president of the Church, he said:
I would invite
all members of the Church to live with ever-more attention to
the life and example of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially the
love and hope and compassion He displayed. I pray that we might
treat each other with more kindness, more courtesy, more humility
and patience and forgiveness. We do have high expectations of
one another and all can improve. Our world cries out for a more
disciplined living of the commandments of God. But the way we
are to encourage that, as the Lord told the Prophet Joseph in
the wintry depths of Liberty Jail, is 'by persuasion, by long-suffering,
by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;...without hypocrisy,
and without guile.' (D&C 121:41-42)." (6 June 1994 statement
to Press, LDS Church News).
10. Take
hope. There are some things we can perfect in mortality.
Certain actions can be perfected. We could be perfectly kind
to family members the rest of the day. We could perfect your smile
as you pass others. We could say prayers perfectly. We could do
kind deeds for others, without begrudging the opportunity. Elder
Russell M. Nelson said:
A surgeon
can perform an operation without an error. A musician can render
a selection without a mistake. One can likewise achieve perfection
in being punctual, paying tithing, keeping the Word of Wisdom,
and so on. The enormous effort required to attain such self-mastery
is rewarded with a deep sense of satisfaction. More importantly,
spiritual attainments in mortality accompany us into eternity.
. . ." (Conference Report, Oct 1995)
But the way
to the perfection of our character is to lock arms with Jesus Christ,
and then go forward: "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness
in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God
and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon
the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold thus saith the
Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20)
11. We are
to be anxiously engaged in good things, not "anxious" and not "over-anxiously"
engaged in things.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught:
We don't
need to get a complex or get a feeling that you have to be perfect
to be saved. You don't. There's only been one perfect person,
and that's the Lord Jesus, but in order to be saved in the Kingdom
of God and in order to pass the test of mortality, what you have
to do is get on the straight and narrow path - thus charting a
course leading to eternal life - and then, being on that path,
pass out of this life in full fellowship. I'm not saying that
you don't have to keep the commandments. I'm saying you don't
have to be perfect to be saved. If you did, no one would be saved...
You don't have to do what Jacob said, 'Go beyond the mark.' You
don't have to live a life that's truer than true. You don't have
to have an excessive zeal that becomes fanatical and becomes unbalancing.
What you have to do is stay in the mainstream of the Church -
keeping commandments, paying your tithing, serving in the organizations
of the Church, loving the Lord, staying on the straight and narrow
path. If you're on that path when death comes - because this is
the time and the day appointed, this the probationary estate -
you'll never fall off from it, and, for all practical purposes,
your calling and election is made sure." ("The Probationary Test
of Mortality," Devotional Address given at University of Utah
Institute of Religion, January 10, 1982, p. 11.)
We simply must
cultivate a perfect brightness of hope and genuine patience with
ourselves in this divine process.
12. God has
more mercy for us than we have for ourselves.
My research assistant, Celeste Chun, observed, "I assume that
part of the reason women especially feel like they need to overachieve
is because they never feel like anything they do is 'good enough.'"
Society has placed such high expectations on women, and often they
are such worldly expectations.
Remember, God
sees everything. He considers it all, and takes everything into
account, as President J. Reuben Clark testified:
You know,
I believe that the Lord will help us. I believe that if we go
to him, he will give us wisdom, if we are living righteously.
I believe he will answer our prayers. I believe that our Heavenly
Father wants to save every one of his children. I do not think
he intends to shut any of us off because of some slight transgression,
some slight failure to observe some rule or regulation. There
are the great elementals that we must observe, but he is not going
to be captious about the lesser things. I believe that his juridical
concept of his dealings with his children could be expressed this
way: I believe that in his justice and mercy he will give us the
maximum reward for our acts, give us all that he can give, and
in the reverse, I believe that he will impose upon us the minimum
penalty which it is possible for him to impose." (Conference Report,
3 Oct 1953, pp. 83-84.)
He loves us
that much.
Conclusion
Ultimate, eternal perfection is not going to be achieved in
this lifetime, but the seeking and striving for perfection in areas
where it is possible must never stop. There is no "immediate," no
"all at once." Steady persistence will carry us forward through
this life, and on in to the next, until we have become all that
our Heavenly Father knows we can become. A "saint" is not a perfect
person, but is a person who has "set apart" his or her life to do,
to the best of their ability, what they can do to develop Christlike
traits.
Because of the
enabling power of the Atonement, the "peaceable followers of Christ"
can obtain a "sufficient hope" that they "can enter into the rest
of the Lord" (Moroni 7:3). Joseph F. Smith described "the rest of
the Lord" as a deep spiritual peace the Lord bestows on those "who
have set their eyes upon the mark of their high calling with an
invincible determination in their hearts to be steadfast in the
truth, and who are treading in humility and righteousness the path"
of the "followers of Jesus Christ." The Lord's influence gives those
who enter into His rest a tangible "spiritual contentment here upon
the earth, now, today" (Gospel Doctrine, 126-127.) (Cited by Bruce
Hafen, in Brigham Young Magazine, BYU, November 1995, pp. 3-4.)
Along our pathway
through life, we will cross paths with people, places, and experiences
that can help us overcome the frustrating challenges and vicissitudes
of mortality. We all will have good days, and with the help of our
Heavenly Father, we will be able to deal with the frustrating days
as well. Like the people at the "waters of Mormon," we can learn
to "walk uprightly before God" and come to knowledge of our Redeemer:
"They did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both
temporally and spiritually according to their needs and wants. And
now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the
waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon;
year, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon,
how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the
knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for
they shall sing to his praise forever." (Mosiah 18:30.)
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