I get to give a talk on Sunday about the commandment to become perfect and how it applies to young single adults, referencing the talk "Perfection Pending".
I recently became discouraged with this commandment. I know that the Lord doesn't expect perfection until the next life, and its only because of Him and through Him I can reach that goal after this mortal experience. Even still I become disappointed with myself for not living to the standard of mortal perfection I have come to expect from myself. So now I try to measure myself less on a scale of perfection, but on a scale of "bests". Not am I being perfect, but am I doing my best.
Elder Nelson said, "In Matt. 5:48, the term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means “complete.” Teleios is an adjective derived from the noun telos, which means “end.” The infinitive form of the verb is teleiono, which means “to reach a distant end, to be fully developed, to consummate, or to finish.” Please note that the word does not imply “freedom from error”; it implies “achieving a distant objective.” In fact, when writers of the Greek New Testament wished to describe perfection of behavior—precision or excellence of human effort—they did not employ a form of teleios; instead, they chose different words.
Because of this talk I can tell that my understanding/view of perfection is incorrect (like when I was a teenager and thought repentance was for people who made serious mistakes only). How can I change my view of myself and perfection? Thoughts?
Early on in my mission, I attended a Relief Society broadcast, and President Faust said something that I felt was just for me: “Occasionally . . . you are too hard on yourselves. You think that if your offering is not quite perfect, it is not acceptable. I tell you, however, that if you have done your best, which you usually do, your humble offering, whatever it may be, will be acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.” I think I was too hard on myself a lot of the time because of my imperfections—-instead, I just needed to focus on doing my best.
ReplyDelete“Doing your best” was kind of a hard phrase for me though. What exactly does it mean to “do your best”? I studied about this a lot, and Hermana Murphy and I talked about it a lot too. Here are a few of the things that I learned about what it means to “do your best”:
[1] "Preach My Gospel" uses variations of the phrase “do your best” twice in Chapter 1, where it talks about being a successful missionary: “Work effectively every day, do your very best to bring souls to Christ, and seek earnestly to learn and improve” (11), and: “When you have done your very best, you may still experience disappointments, but you will not be disappointed in yourself. You can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when you feel the Spirit working through you” (11). From this, I learned that we can know we are doing our best when we “feel the Spirit working through [us].”
[2] Here’s a quote I found from President Hinckley about doing your best: “None of us will accomplish all we might wish to. But let us do the best we can. I am satisfied that the Redeemer will then say, ‘Well done, though good and faithful servant’ (Matt. 25:21).” President Hinckley didn’t really define what it means to do your best, but it made me feel good to know that no one accomplishes all their goals all the time. Our efforts can still be acceptable and pleasing to the Lord, even if we fall short.
[3] Elder Wirthlin said: “The only thing you need to worry about is striving to be the best you can be. And how do you do that? You keep your eye on the goals that matter most in life, and you move towards them step by step.” I really liked this quote, because Elder Wirthlin says exactly what it means to do your best: You set goals—-but not so many that you get overwhelmed, just the most important ones—-and you make steady progress toward achieving them, a little at a time.
[4] In a district meeting once, one of my zone leaders talked about the story of the widow’s mite in Mark 12:41–44 and likened it to missionary work. Even if our “best” missionary offering is very small—-like my nine baptisms-—Heavenly Father is pleased with it if we’ve given our all.
[5] Grandpa sent me a letter once, and part of it said this: “Hello Em—… Do your best, but just work on getting better. Don’t become perfect or you may be translated.” I wrote this down on a note card and hung it on my bulletin board for the rest of my mission because it made me smile. “Just work on getting better.” Pretty much the same advice that Elder Wirthlin gave. The last part about being translated always cheered me up when I got discouraged.
[6] I also got a letter from Grandma one time that really helped me. She had been watching the Olympic ice skaters on television. Several of the girls fell down while skating, and Grandma’s initial reaction was: These are some of the best ice skaters in the world, and that’s the best they can do? Then she caught herself and thought: “They are doing their best. We do not always have a perfect day or do perfectly even if we try our hardest. The important things were that they got up and would finish their performance and give a smile. . . . That is just about what life is all about—-get up with a smile and go forth.” Even the most talented people give less-than-perfect performances. When our performance is less than perfect, all we can do is get up, give a smile, and keep going.
(Two other scriptures I found about doing your best are found in D&C 123:17 and D&C 124:49.)
(I haven't read the perfection talk yet. That last post was just an excerpt from a letter I wrote a few years ago about "doing your best.")
ReplyDeleteTo summarize: Nobody accomplishes everything they want to—everybody’s got weaknesses, and everybody gives less-than-perfect performances. All we have to worry about is making goals in the most important areas and working toward them little by little. To quote Grandpa, “Just work on getting better.” And if you have a bad day or week, oh well. Who doesn’t? Just “get up with a smile and go forth.” You’ll know you’re headed in the right direction when you can feel the Spirit working through you to bless yourself and others.
I remember getting this letter from you on the mission. It was one of my favorites and I would re-read it, along with Allison's "doing your best" letter, every transfer. I still have it actually. Love it! Thanks!
DeleteThat is one of my favorite talks! I have loved it for years, but more so since working as a therapist. I believe that the adversary does an excellent job at taking truths and creating counterfeits of them. And he has done a very good job of counterfeiting God's commandment to become perfected in Christ to making us think that we have to be without error. One way that can help us distinguish truth from counterfeit is whether or not it leads to the fruits of the Spirit. It is the adversary that would have us think that we are not good enough or that we are hopeless. Christ invites us to hope.
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