Be Ye Therefore Perfect

Be Ye Therefore Perfect

“Be ye therefore perfect…” (Matt. 5:48; 3 Ne. 12:48) Nothing tends to intimidate members of the Church more than these words, especially since they are repeated in every major canon of scripture except the Pearl of Great Price. In fact, many scriptures in this same vein of scope and directness do a most effective job of putting the fear of God into the saints—in one way or another.

And well they should… the scriptures that is. History has proven time and again that, unless the word is strict and immovable, men will distort or simply ignore lesser counsel. The plainness of the word of God as found in scripture, both ancient and modern, is already prostituted far too often—even in its current purity and strength.

So, why does it sound like I’m adding to the already bleak picture that many tend to paint for themselves through the gospel lens? Because, like so many, I have spent much of my life struggling to conform and comply with the apparent rigidity of gospel doctrine and law. In those struggles I have found both great blessings and immense frustration; blessings on the one hand because the “Lord [is] bound when [we] do what [he] say[s]” (D&C 82:10), and frustration on the other because of the weakness of my flesh and the fiery darts of the adversary.

It is this frustration that so easily gets carried away into depression and despair over the straitness of the way. Satan is brilliant when it comes to straining doctrine into dogma, commandments into constrictions and discipline into dictatorship. He does so through his own whisperings, telling us that the way is too hard and that our efforts will never be enough, and many other subtle, nearly undetectable lies. It is this frustration that I would like to address by providing some possible insights into the command to be perfect.

The Savior’s command to his disciples as referenced in Matthew 5:48 to be perfect has been discussed many times throughout the history of the restored Church. The point most often made when analyzing this verse comes when the Matthew reference is compared to the Savior's reiteration of the same to the Nephites after His resurrection. The notable difference is that the pre-resurrected Lord refers to being perfect “even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect,” while the post-resurrected Lord includes Himself along with His Father when referring to the perfect example to follow. This important difference sheds critical light onto the meaning of perfection intended by the Savior.

Jesus Christ was, is, and will ever be the only man never to commit sin. If it were not so then he could not have performed the atonement, and we would be lost forever. The distinction I wish to make is that, though sinless, the Master did not refer to himself as perfect until after his atoning sacrifice, death and resurrection. This is because sinlessness does not equal perfection. I repeat – sinlessness does not equal perfection. It is an essential part of perfection, but it does not signify the whole of what perfection is meant to be. That is where so many good people of the church begin to miss the mark as they equate the two as being the same. That is also where much of the frustration with ourselves under the seeming tyranny of perfection/sinlessness is fostered.

Let’s break this down a little further to help clarify some important points.

1. Every child of Heavenly Father has need of the atonement of Jesus Christ to be cleansed from sin to have opportunity to inherit exaltation. As we read in both the Book of Mormon and the D&C, “…the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;” (Alma 45:16; D&C 1:31) for “no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Alma 11:37) Thus the supernal need for Jesus Christ and his atonement.
2. The definition of perfect in the dictionary is broad and very insightful. Exactness is a main theme in the definitions provided, but completeness and wholeness are just as equally cited in defining perfection. When the command to be perfect is understood in light of these defining terms, combined with the insight found in the pre and post-resurrected Lord's exhortation to be perfect, a more perfect (ha ha) picture emerges. Perfection as it relates to our lives is an eventual state of wholeness or completion. Jesus, though sinless in mortality, was not perfect until he had reached the consummation of his purpose and done “all that he was commanded to do.” That incredible, unfathomable burden of atoning for all mankind was something that Jesus had to do to fully come to know each of us personally. That is what makes him the only One who can be both advocate and judge, because He has become one with each of us. For us to become perfect we need to become like Jesus, in that our perfection is not complete with sinlessness alone but with the consummation of our earthly missions. We must not only strive for being purified and clean but doing all with our lives that the Father intended, which is not something that can be done alone.
3. The atonement was both all-encompassing and completely individualized. We must accept Jesus as our personal Savior, and yet He is not our savior alone. He saved us all—every last soul that chose to keep their first estate. The atonement was not meant to work in the silo of our own lives but as part of the great plan of happiness for all of God's children together—unified, sealed, one. You and I cannot pay for each other’s sins, but we can, and must become saviors on mount Zion by sharing the gospel through the way we live our lives, through our testimonies and our love. We can only become like Jesus insofar as we give of ourselves to others, for Father didn’t just plan on saving individuals; His plan was for his family. We can only be made truly perfect when our lives, our hearts and our souls are knit together as one with each other. This essential truth is reiterated as we look into the mirrors on opposite sides of the altars of the temple. We can see forever into our past and future. Our hearts and the hearts of those on both sides of the veil must be turned to each other. We cannot be saved without our family—Father’s family—those long since past and those yet to come.
4. It can be easy to get discouraged when thinking that, since perfection is more than just keeping the commandments and becoming clean from sin, we can only fulfill the measure of our creation and our individual missions if we live some ideal, nearly impossible life path without straying therefrom in the least. Satan strives to enslave us under the tyranny of what we should have done better, or what we could be like now if only we had followed some different path. It is true that blessings once lost cannot be regained by doing over something we might have done better. But dwelling on such mistakes or reacting out of fear in similar future instances is not ordained of God. Such self-doubt and fear is contrary to the Father’s plan of individual agency. Is there an ideal way to live? Sure. Does that mean that not following some pre-determined, paint-by-the-numbers way to live ideal voids us of eternal happiness and reward? NO! Agency, both our own and that of others often makes following a prescribed ideal impossible and even unwise. The key is not the dogmatic following of some check-listed, step-by-step life pattern, but the continuous bending of our will to God’s and becoming like He who has saved us all. The condition of our hearts is the ultimate deciding factor—something that is infinitely more merciful, and yet not something that is part of an easy, carnally influenced life course. Alma 5:14 and many other verses in that chapter refer to the condition of our hearts as the measuring rod of our perfection. Faith, repentance, obedience and enduring to the end are musts, but marking these off of some sort of requirements list while not having our hearts filled with charity for our fellow men will not gain us the kind of heavenly reward we hope for. In summary, the Lord knows our hearts and will judge us according to what we have become, not merely by the order in which we have done things.
5. Perfection is a joyful process, one that is best understood and enjoyed through vision that is focused on Jesus Christ and love for all around us. Everything we experience, be it difficult or pleasant, is meant for our good. As long as our eyes are single to God’s glory, our vision will be bright with hope, our hearts full of love and our countenances full of light. Constancy in such joy is the hardest choice we make on a daily basis, because Satan’s ultimate goal is to ruin hope and joy. Sin kills joy, proving “wickedness never was happiness.” Frustration also kills joy, but frustration is more a product of choice rather than circumstance. The more we strive to live the gospel in joy and love the harder things will seem – for a while. As we navigate the strait and narrow path, we come to see more and more that the way is not a direct linear path before us, but rather one eternal round centered on the Savior and his life. The longer we walk the path in joy and love the more like the Savior we become. If we are walking the gospel path and not experiencing joy then we are not walking the right path.

There is a lot more that I could say about these concepts, but this post is already much too long for a traditional blog. So I will stop here. Suffice it to say that I have felt very impressed by the pattern of perfection that the Savior has left for us to follow. Though the way may contain many trials and sorrows, the path itself is one of true joy. That joy cannot be achieved by walking the path alone, but by sharing our lives with our family and friends. They are the source of true joy, for with them we are able to practice living as the Savior lived, and thus hopefully become even as He is.