By seeing the gift of God’s perfection, we can find peace and joy, despite our failings

Reading the scriptures can comfort and encourage, but once in a while we read a passage that lets us know we are not quite reaching the mark. The Sermon on the Mount is a prime example.

It begins with the promises of the beatitudes, but it seems to go downhill from there. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, describes the succeeding verses as ones in which we are told “not only not to kill but also not even to be angry. We are told not only not to commit adultery but also not even to have impure thoughts.

To those who ask for it, we are to give our coat and then give our cloak also. We are to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and do good to them who hate us.” (Matthew 5:1-47)

He continues, “If that is your morning scripture study, and after reading just that far you are pretty sure you are not going to get good marks on your gospel report card, then the final commandment in the chain is sure to finish the job: ‘Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father … in heaven is perfect.’ With that concluding imperative we want to go back to bed and pull the covers over our head.“

Many of us, I suspect, read those verses and remember our feelings when that jerk cut us off in traffic, or dealing with someone we know really dislikes or even hates us. Not getting angry and even loving them is a challenge.

As a consequence, too many of us feel that we do not, and never will, measure up. The ideals and inspiration of the scriptures lead us to frustration and feeling that we aren’t good enough.

Yet we also believe that the Lord would not give us a commandment we cannot keep.

Elder Holland addresses this quandary, stating that as children of God, we have divine potential and “we should not demean or vilify ourselves, as if beating up on ourselves is somehow going to make us the person God wants us to become.”

In our mortal state, we can attain perfection in some things. Think about bowling 300, a perfect 10 on a vault in gymnastics or 100% on a spelling test. On the other hand, we may lock the keys inside the car, or even forget where the car is parked. We walk from one room to the next and forget the reason for the errand.

Overall perfection, in both temporal and spiritual things, as LDS President Russell M. Nelson has taught, is still pending. But we should not become depressed by comparing our performance with the high standard the Lord expects. President Nelson says, “We need to remember: Men are that they might have joy — not guilt trips.”

The Savior’s sermon on perfection wasn’t intended to point out our imperfections or to demean us, but to show us God’s perfection and what we can achieve with his help. The fact that God and Jesus Christ are perfect doesn’t excuse undisciplined lives or settling for lower standards. We still need to try, and to repent, and to try again.

Moroni, in the Book of Mormon, pleads with his readers, “Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him … .” “Love God with all your might, mind and strength, then … by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ.” Moroni 10:32

As Elder Holland reminds us, “Our only hope for true perfection is in receiving it as a gift from heaven — we can’t ‘earn’ it. Thus the grace of Christ offers us not only salvation from sorrow and sin and death but also salvation from our own persistent self-criticism.”

We cannot begin to comprehend the gift of the Atonement, but we can try to be a little more like the Savior in our interactions with others. Steady improvement without beating ourselves up over small failures, or giving up, will bring us closer to God.

With a willingness to repent when we fall short, we can continue to strive for personal improvement, recognizing that improving bit by bit, day by day, will bring peace and joy as we move toward our goal.