Does Heavenly Father Really Expect Us to Be Perfect?

During His Sermon on the Mount, the Savior taught, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). But how is this possible? This commandment can seem overwhelming, and we can get discouraged if we don’t stop to remember how and when we attain perfection.

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puzzle pieces

Activity: Perfection Puzzle

Part 1

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, “Our only hope for true perfection is in receiving it as a gift from heaven—we can’t ‘earn’ it.”¹

As a family, or on your own, look up the definition of perfect in the Guide to the Scriptures in the Gospel Library app or at ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Read the scripture references that accompany the definition. You might also consider reading President Russell M. Nelson’s talk “Perfection Pending” from the October 1995 general conference.²

What is your understanding of perfection now? Discuss with your family or write in your journal how your understanding of these verses changes with the gospel definition of perfect.

Part 2

As a family, create a simple puzzle by cutting a sheet of paper into several puzzle pieces. Before assembling the puzzle, remove one piece so that the puzzle will be incomplete upon assembly. Give each family member the remaining puzzle pieces and have them label the pieces with things they can do to work toward perfection.

When the pieces are labeled, assemble the puzzle without the piece you removed at the beginning. Once the puzzle is assembled, reveal the final piece. Before placing it, discuss ways that the members of the Godhead help us improve and write some of these down on the final piece.

Through the redeeming power of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we can become perfect eventually.³