Matthew 5:48

“Be Ye Therefore Perfect”

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).

Prayerfully seeking the Lord’s help as you teach. Teaching the gospel is the Lord’s work, and He wants you to succeed in that task. When you call on Him daily, you will feel and recognize His help (see Doctrine and Covenants 100:5–8).

Student preparation: In advance of this lesson, invite students, if possible, to bring pictures of themselves when they were little children to class. It may be more effective to do this at least a week in advance with the help of parents.

Possible Learning Activities

How have you changed?

Consider using some of the following or similar questions to help students recognize how they have grown and changed since they were little children.

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.

Which of the Savior’s teachings from Matthew 5 do you feel inspired to work on now to become more like Heavenly Father? How?

Students may benefit from taking a few minutes to review the teachings from Matthew 5, including any notes they may have taken in their scriptures or study journals.
How do you feel about the Savior’s commandment to be perfect?
How can misunderstanding this commandment have a negative impact on our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Understanding what it means to be “perfect”

Consider placing students in small groups to study the following statements by President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and Elder Gerrit W. Gong. Several copies of these statements could be printed and placed around the room or displayed some other way.

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.)

If students need more help understanding the commandment to be perfect or are struggling with the concept of perfectionism, the video “Perfectionism: Will I Ever Be Good Enough?” in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section may be helpful.

Invite students to share with the class what they discussed with their groups.

To help students further understand the Savior’s role in helping us become perfect, consider reading and discussing Moroni 10:32.

Possible discussion questions

Consider choosing one or more of the following questions to ask students to discuss. Or it may be beneficial to display these or similar questions and invite students to answer two or more in their study journals. Afterward, students could discuss as a class what they wrote.

What do the words of these prophets teach us about what “be ye therefore perfect” means?
What do the prophets teach us that these words do not mean?
What is the Savior’s role in helping us become perfect?
What do you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that gives you hope that one day you may become perfect like Them?
What efforts are you currently making spiritually, physically, socially, or intellectually to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

Consider testifying of the Savior, His teachings in Matthew 5, and His role in helping us become perfect like Heavenly Father.

Commentary and Background Information

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)