Yesterday I taught a lesson on the sermon on the mount. Christ fulfills the Mosaic law, outlines the higher law of the gospel and sums it up by saying,"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Or... "Basically, you just have to be perfect!" While that seems like a rather stiff commandment, I think it is supposed to be a source of inspiration rather than overwhelming impossibility. How can the command to be perfect motivate us rather than frustrate us?
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. 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. It is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. … If we are keeping the commandments of the Lord, we are on that road to perfection,” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:18–19; see also D&C 93:11–14, 19–20).
I think the command to be perfect should inspire us rather than overwhelm us, because we have been promised that we will never be commanded to do more than we are able to accomplish. We have a guarantee that if we work diligently and seek the enabling power of Jesus Christ, we are capable of becoming completely and wholly as our Father is. When Christ was asked what manner of men we should be, he said to become like he is; not as a cruel joke, but because we really can become as he is. It is our destiny, and our decisions each determine whether or not we reach it.
This weekend, I have felt inspired. David and I have set new goals and I feel like I can really accomplish them this time. I am so excited about our trip to the DR that I feel the possibility of achieving several measurable goals. I have decided to ask myself each day how I:
*Pray *Study *Eat *Exercise *Work *Serve *Clean *Repent
David and I are also starting a "Love Family Biggest Loser" from now until we leave to the DR. We will weigh in each Saturday and calculate the percentage of weight loss we have made. We will determine a weekly winner and an overall winner at the end of the 16 weeks. We found a fun website called loseit.com that will help us track our calorie intake and expenditure. I feel like we are on the right track to bettering our lives and our marriage. As we work on these eight areas, I feel like we will find more happiness and balance and we will be that much closer to the perfection Christ invited us to pursue.
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. 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. It is our duty to be better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. … If we are keeping the commandments of the Lord, we are on that road to perfection,” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 2:18–19; see also D&C 93:11–14, 19–20).
I think the command to be perfect should inspire us rather than overwhelm us, because we have been promised that we will never be commanded to do more than we are able to accomplish. We have a guarantee that if we work diligently and seek the enabling power of Jesus Christ, we are capable of becoming completely and wholly as our Father is. When Christ was asked what manner of men we should be, he said to become like he is; not as a cruel joke, but because we really can become as he is. It is our destiny, and our decisions each determine whether or not we reach it.
This weekend, I have felt inspired. David and I have set new goals and I feel like I can really accomplish them this time. I am so excited about our trip to the DR that I feel the possibility of achieving several measurable goals. I have decided to ask myself each day how I:
*Pray *Study *Eat *Exercise *Work *Serve *Clean *Repent
David and I are also starting a "Love Family Biggest Loser" from now until we leave to the DR. We will weigh in each Saturday and calculate the percentage of weight loss we have made. We will determine a weekly winner and an overall winner at the end of the 16 weeks. We found a fun website called loseit.com that will help us track our calorie intake and expenditure. I feel like we are on the right track to bettering our lives and our marriage. As we work on these eight areas, I feel like we will find more happiness and balance and we will be that much closer to the perfection Christ invited us to pursue.
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