In Priesthood today a lesson was presented that I liked because it dealt with things I struggle with. The lesson�s theme was dealt with �Raising the bar of our personal righteousness� or as paraphrased by our instructor: �trying to be perfect�. I want to mention some of the quotes and scriptures that were read in addition to some of the discussion. Our instructor was very upbeat and I enjoyed the lesson. I also appreciated his willingness to put up with my questions and comments that dealt with some of my frustrations in regards to these topics. I feel more hopeful after the lesson
Scriptures Read (in order of presentation):
1. Moses 1:39
2. 3 Nephi 27:27
3. Doc & Cov 93:13
4. Doc & Cov 82:3
5. Ether 12:27
Quotations Read:
1. Let me emphasize again, the good news is not that perfect people can be reconciled to God, but that imperfect people can be. Whenever I hear someone say that they are going to perfect themselves, I cringe. I want to ask, �Do you really think that exhaltation is a matter of reaching down into your guts and pulling out the energy and determination you need to live a perfect life? If so, you don�t want a savior, you want to do it all yourself.� Now it is true that in order to receive a celestial glory, we must become perfect. And we are quite conscientious about telling each other how perfect we must be. In fact, sometimes no matter how well we do in any area of our lives, some well-intentioned Saint seems to be right there to point out that we aren�t perfect and that we must do better next time. Many of us tell ourselves this same thing time after time, no matter how well we may actually do, and never allow ourselves even the smallest taste of deserved personal satisfaction.
Stephen E. Robinson, Believing Christ, Deseret Book, 1992.[Note:I need to read this book again]
2. Relative Perfecton. � Our Lord�s admonition to men to become perfect, even as the Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48) cannot rationally be construed otherwise than impylying the possibility of such achievement. Plainly, however, man cannot become perfect in mortality in the sense in which God is perfect as a supremely glorified Being. It is possible, though, for man to be perfect in their several spheres; yet the relative perfection of the lower is infinitely inferior to that of the higher. A college student in his freshman or sophomore year may be perfect as freshman or sophomore; his record may possibly be a hundred per cent on the the scale of efficiency and achievement; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, and the attainment; yet the honors of the upper classman are beyond him, and the attainment of graduation is to him remote, but of assured possibility, if he do but continue faithful and devoted to the end.
James Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 1915, see note five of chapter 17.
3. The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a time to be strong. It is a time to move forward without hesitation, knowing well the meaning, the breadth and the importance of our mission. It is a time to do what is right regardless of the consequences that might follow. It is a time to be found keeping the commandments. It is a season to reach out with kindness and love to those in distress and to those who are wandering in darkness and pain. It is a time to be considerate and good, decent and courteous toward one another in all our relationships. In other words, to become more Christlike.
Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, April 1995.
Scriptures Recommended for further scripture study outside of class:
1. Doc & Cov 121:45-46
2. Ether 12:4,27
3. Mormon 9:27-29
4. Mosiah 4:27
5. Moroni 10:32
Scriptures I mentioned:
1. 1 Nephi 3:7
2. D&C 1:38
3. Alma 45:16; D&C 1:31 cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance
Comments from me:
1. Take sacrament on Sunday. Sin on Monday. Die on Tuesday. Screwed.
2. Need to have someone shoot me after I take the sacrament.
3. Totally frustrated
4. Ever read �Miracle of Forgiveness�? I mentioned how I can�t get through the book because after getting into it a little bit I say to myself �What is the point, I might as well give up now.� There is no degree of allowance on sin.
5. I need to get beyond my �letter of the law� mentality.
Contributed by class members in response to the question:"What things detract from our ability to raise the bar of our righteousness?"
1. Comparing ourselves to others
2. Doubt
3. Taking on more than we can handle. (Someone mentioned that we should be expecting of ourselves to do better than we did yesterday. I think they were making the point that we shouldn�t put to much pressure on ourselves, but instead keep trying to improve.
4. Fearing how others will perceive us. Lack of self confidence.
5. Magnifying our own weaknesses.
Various comments made by participating brethren [my notes & thoughts are in brackets]:
1. We have to get beyond the idea that we can become perfect in this life. When we do we can relax and enjoy the gospel more. [If I could do this I think I would have more peace in living the gospel. However, I still wonder if this is a true principle. I still get hung up on 1 Nephi 3:7. If God gives a commandment it must be possible � but maybe I shouldn�t interpret the scripture as meaning �possible in this life.]
This same brother (a member of our Bishopric) also mentioned that the final judgement will occur after the millennium. We will have a futher thousand years to work on perfecting ourselves during Christ�s reign. [I had never thought of this before. It is a very interesting concept that is very hopeful.]
2. Take ourselves as parents. How do we deal with our kid�s imperfections. We still love them and try and help them do better. We don�t condemn them outright. [I want to believe that God will have mercy on me and compassion as I do for my kids but does God? He says �least degree of allowance. This is not something I think I would want to say to my kid (not after all the years of pain I have felt in this church because I haven�t lived up to its expectations). I would however praise my child if they did their best even if it wasn�t enough (i.e. perfect).]
3. Helps when I think of Christ as our friend.
4. Everything in life worthwhile takes effort. Gifts are not just given (i.e. excellence on the piano takes great practice). We can�t expect perfection to come without effort. We need to serve, say our prayers and study the scriptures. [This makes sense as it relates to our commitment to living the gospel and strengthening our spirituality. But in regards to exhaltation it will ultimately be a gift regardless of our puny efforts].
5. We don�t run a marathon without training. We don�t try and swallow and elephant whole. Joseph Smith talked about climbing a ladder step by step.
6. Scriptures have the recipe for finding a solution to these issues. Working toward God is like climbing a hill in a car without brakes. If we stop along the way we will begin to coast backwards. We need to always be working to better ourselves so we can get closer to God (and perfection).
7. We will be judged by the intents of our hearts.
Quotes I found on the lds.org website dealing with perfection:
1. An old proverb states that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Sometimes we make the process more complicated than we need to. We will never make a journey of a thousand miles by fretting about how long it will take or how hard it will be. We make the journey by taking each day step by step and then repeating it again and again until we reach our destination. The same principle applies to how you and I can climb to higher spirituality. Our Heavenly Father knows that we must begin our climb from where we are. �When you climb up a ladder,� the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, �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 The Teachings of Joseph Smith, ed. Larry E. Dahl and Donald Q. Cannon (1997), 519.
Joseph B. Wirthlin, �One Step after Another,� Ensign, Nov. 2001, 25
2. �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� (History of the Church, 6:306-7).
3. �We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment� (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith [1976], sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, 51).
4. �We have to become perfect to be saved in the celestial kingdom,� said Elder Bruce R. McConkie. �But nobody becomes perfect in this life. Only the Lord Jesus attained that state, and he had an advantage that none of us has. He was the Son of God. � Becoming perfect in Christ is a process. �. . . We begin to keep the commandments today,� said Elder McConkie, �and we keep more of them tomorrow, and we go from grace to grace, up the steps of the ladder, and thus we improve and perfect our souls.� (1976 Devotional Speeches of the Year, Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1977, pp. 399-400.)
5. The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, �The Ladder of St. Augustine.�)
Typed in by my pet rat while I worked on this entry:
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