Matthew 5:48

“Be Ye Therefore Perfect”

Head and shoulder image of Jesus Christ. Christ is depicted with one arm raised as He participates in the creation of the earth. Galaxies and stars are depicted in the background.

After teaching the Beatitudes and the higher law, the Savior gave a commandment about the character of His Father in Heaven. The intent of this lesson is to help you understand the Savior’s commandment to “be … perfect, even as [our] Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

How have you changed?

Find a picture of when you were younger, or think about what you were like when you were a little child.

How have you grown or changed physically or spiritually since then?
Why do you think change is a natural and important part of our Heavenly Father’s plan?
How have you grown in the past few years to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? If you feel your spiritual growth has not been adequate, what has held you back, and what can you do to change this pattern?

Read Matthew 5:48, looking for how the Savior concluded His teachings from chapter 5. Note that the Greek word for perfect as used in this verse could also be translated as “complete, finished, [or] fully developed” (Matthew 5:48, footnote b).

From the Savior’s teachings in Matthew 5:48 we learn that Jesus Christ commanded us to be perfect like Heavenly Father.

Writing on a piece of paper with a pen or pencil.

Understanding what it means to be “perfect”

Read the following statements by President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, looking for help or comfort in our journey to become perfect like Heavenly Father.

In Matthew 5:48, the term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means “complete.” … The infinitive form of the verb is teleiono, which means “to reach a distant end, to be fully developed, to consummate, or to finish.” Please note that the word does not imply “freedom from error”; it implies “achieving a distant objective.” …

… We need not be dismayed if our earnest efforts toward perfection now seem so [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)

Brothers and sisters, every one of us aspires to a more Christlike life than we often succeed in living. … If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection.

I testify of that grand destiny, made available to us by the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself continued “from grace to grace” [Doctrine and Covenants 93:13] until in His immortality He received a perfect fulness of celestial glory.

(Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 42)

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)

Remember that all our efforts to keep the commandments and repent would never be enough if it were not for the cleansing of sin and resurrection from death that we receive from the Savior Jesus Christ through His Atonement. (See 2 Nephi 25:23; Alma 34:9–10.)

Becoming more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ

Optional: Want to Learn More?

How can I become perfect?

Elder Scott D. Whiting of the Seventy taught:

The commandment to be like Him is not intended to make you feel guilty, unworthy, or unloved. Our entire mortal experience is about progression, trying, failing, and succeeding. …

You are good enough, you are loved, but that does not mean that you are yet complete. There is work to be done in this life and the next. Only with His divine help can we all progress toward becoming like Him.

In these times, when “all things [appear to] be in commotion; and … fear [is seemingly] upon all people” [Doctrine and Covenants 88:91], the only antidote, the only remedy, is to strive to be like the Savior, the Redeemer of all mankind, the Light of the World, and to seek after Him who declared, “I am the way” [John 14:6].

I know that becoming like Him through His divine help and strength is achievable step by step. If not so, He would not have given us this commandment [see 1 Nephi 3:7].

(Scott D. Whiting, “Becoming like Him,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 14)