3 Nephi 12:17–48

“I Would That Ye Should Be Perfect”

Jesus Christ taught that we should “be perfect” as He and our Heavenly Father are perfect (3 Nephi 12:48). While this commandment can feel overwhelming, it offers meaningful insights into the nature of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It also teaches us that we can become like Them. This lesson is meant to help you understand your potential to become perfect like our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ.

Expressing love and high expectations. When teachers truly love their students, they will care too much about their progress and success to be satisfied with only a little effort. Lovingly encourage your students to reach their potential as learners and disciples of Jesus Christ.

Student preparation: Invite students to study the first paragraph under the entry for “Perfect” in the Guide to the Scriptures and come prepared to share what they found most meaningful about this definition and why.

Possible Learning Activities

Note: Although this lesson addresses a few aspects of the higher law that Jesus taught in verses 17–47, the main purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the truths taught in the doctrinal mastery passage 3 Nephi 12:48. If it’s best for your students to spend more time studying aspects of the higher law, feel free to spend two days studying the material in this lesson and replace a future lesson.

There are some ideas in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section that could be helpful to teach other aspects of the higher law.

Your potential

Display the following pictures or others that show something that is not yet fully developed.

• What can each of these become when they are fully developed?

• What do they need in order to reach their potential?

• What is the potential of each child in Heavenly Father’s plan?

• How does understanding your divine potential affect your decisions? How does it affect how you feel about yourself?

As you study today’s lesson, think about how much you have already grown and learned over the course of your life and what you are still capable of becoming with God’s help.

The Savior’s invitation to reach our potential

In 3 Nephi 12:17–47, Jesus shared several examples from the law of Moses with the Book of Mormon people. He followed each example with an explanation of a higher law or an invitation to live a higher level of righteousness that can help us better understand what He and our Heavenly Father want us to become.

For students to see examples of the higher law that Jesus taught, you could divide the class into three groups and assign each group one of the following scripture blocks to read: 3 Nephi 12:21–22, 27–29, and 38–42, looking for ways the Savior invites us to progress toward our potential. Invite students to share how the Savior invites us in these verses to live a higher level of righteousness. You could help students think of examples of how to obey these laws in our day.

• In what ways could these teachings help us become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Read 3 Nephi 12:48, looking for the full potential Jesus Christ knows is in each of us.

3 Nephi 12:48 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider marking doctrinal mastery passages in a distinctive way so you can locate them easily. You will have an opportunity in the next lesson to practice applying the doctrine taught in this passage to a question or situation.

This verse teaches that Jesus Christ wants us to become perfect like Him and our Father in Heaven.

Consider having students write answers to the first question below on slips of paper and then turn the slips in. You can read some of their questions or concerns at the end of the lesson and let students respond with what they have learned.

• What questions or concerns do you think people might have about this teaching? Why?

• What gives you hope or confidence that becoming like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is possible?

• How might this truth relate to the pictures from the beginning of the lesson?

The perfect love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

Becoming perfect is becoming like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The higher law that Jesus taught in this chapter can help us understand the character and attributes of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. As we better understand who They are, we can strive to become like Them and gain hope that They will patiently help us as we try to progress.

Read 3 Nephi 12:43–45 and the following statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, looking for what they teach about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s love.

I am grateful to know that in spite of my imperfections, at least God is perfect—that at least He is, for example, able to love His enemies, because too often, due to the “natural man” and woman in us, you and I are sometimes that enemy. How grateful I am that at least God can bless those who despitefully use Him because, without wanting or intending to do so, we all despitefully use Him sometimes. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 41)

• Why is it comforting to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love Their enemies and bless those that despitefully use Them?

• How can Their love, help, and patience give you hope to one day achieve perfection?

Perfection is a process only possible through Jesus Christ

It is natural to wonder if it is possible to become perfect. If we had to achieve perfection on our own, or if it had to be accomplished during our mortal lives, it would be impossible.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 76:69–70 and Moroni 10:32–33, looking for what makes it possible for us to become perfect. Consider cross-referencing these passages with 3 Nephi 12:48.

• What makes it possible for all those who eventually become perfect to do so?

If students struggle to answer the previous question, be sure to explain that only through Jesus Christ can we become perfect. It is impossible without Him. As we repent daily, and constantly seek to grow spiritually, then we are being perfected in Christ.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 93:11–13 and look for what those verses add to our understanding of Jesus Christ’s perfection.

• Why is it important to understand that even Jesus Christ’s perfection was a process?

President Russell M. Nelson taught the following about the definition and process of perfection:

Please note that the word [perfect] does not imply “freedom from error.” …

We need not be dismayed if our earnest efforts toward perfection now seem so arduous [difficult] and endless. Perfection is pending. It can come in full only after the Resurrection and only through the Lord. It awaits all who love him and keep his commandments. (Russell M. Nelson, “Perfection Pending,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 86, 88)

• What does this statement add to your understanding of perfection?

The final section of the lesson gives students a chance to express their understanding of our potential to become perfect like God.

One way to do this is to read some of the questions and concerns that students wrote down earlier in the lesson. Allow students to share how what they have learned could apply to each question or concern.

Imagine that you have been asked to give a two- to three-minute spiritual thought at your next youth activity. Your leaders ask you to share your thoughts on why the teaching in 3 Nephi 12:48 should give us hope. Write down your thoughts. Include answers to the following questions:

• What does it mean to become perfect? What does it not mean?

• How does what you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ give you hope to become like Them?

Consider sharing your testimony of the identity of each student as a child of God and the potential they have to become like our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ over time and with Their help.

Commentary and Background Information

What if I feel like I can’t live up to the Savior’s expectations?

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the First Presidency, taught:

Some might say, “I don’t think I could live up to your standards.”

All the more reason to come! The Church is designed to nourish the imperfect, the struggling, and the exhausted. It is filled with people who desire with all their heart to keep the commandments, even if they haven’t mastered them yet. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come, Join with Us,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 23)

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles counseled:

“Come as you are,” a loving Father says to each of us, but He adds, “Don’t plan to stay as you are.” We smile and remember that God is determined to make of us more than we thought we could be. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Songs Sung and Unsung,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 51)

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–1844) taught:

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—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. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 268)

What is perfectionism and how can I respond to it?

Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

The word perfection … is sometimes misunderstood to mean never making a mistake. Perhaps you or someone you know is trying hard to be perfect in this way. Because such perfection always seems out of reach, even our best efforts can leave us anxious, discouraged, or exhausted. We unsuccessfully try to control our circumstances and the people around us. We fret over weaknesses and mistakes. In fact, the harder we try, the further we may feel from the perfection we seek. …

A misunderstanding of what it means to be perfect can result in perfectionism—an attitude or behavior that takes an admirable desire to be good and turns it into an unrealistic expectation to be perfect now. Perfectionism sometimes arises from the feeling that only those who are perfect deserve to be loved or that we do not deserve to be happy unless we are perfect. (Gerrit W. Gong, “Becoming Perfect in Christ,” Ensign, July 2014, 14–15, 17)

Watch the video “Perfectionism: Will I Ever Be Good Enough?” (4:33).

Supplemental Learning Activities

Perfection as a process

Knowing we will not achieve full perfection in this life can help students avoid feelings of hopelessness. You could have students compare Matthew 5:48 and 3 Nephi 12:48 to see how Jesus’s teaching to the Jews in ancient Israel was different from what He said to the Nephites. Consider asking what students learn from the fact that Jesus did not yet include Himself as an example of perfection until after He had died and been resurrected.

Honesty and integrity

You could ask students about the things people say when they want to emphasize that something they are saying is true. In Old Testament times, swearing an oath in the name of the Lord was a way for people to show their absolute determination to keep a promise. Students could read 3 Nephi 12:33–37 and look for a higher law Jesus taught about how to demonstrate your honesty and integrity. To become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, the Savior taught that “yes” should mean “yes” and “no” should mean “no” without any need to swear an oath to prove our honesty.

Why is it important to you to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are full of integrity and truth?

The long-suffering of God

One way to illustrate the perfection of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is to invite students to read 3 Nephi 12:38–42, looking for how the Savior taught that we should respond when evil is done to us. Ask students what attributes they see of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in these verses that they are grateful for and how we can become a little more like Them in this way.