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Practicing Perfection
From a 2021 Brigham Young University Women’s Conference address.
The Savior, whose grace makes eternal perfection possible, gives us opportunities to practice perfection in this life.
For the last 30-plus years I have been practicing law. I think there is a reason they refer to it as the practice of law.
I have never taken a perfect deposition nor conducted a perfect cross-examination—there was always another question or a better question I could have asked.
I have never written a perfect brief, because, in retrospect, there was always a point I could have articulated with more clarity.
And I never presented a perfect oral argument before a judge or justices. Almost always in the middle of the night after the argument, I thought of something really clever and persuasive I could have said.
But I believe the service I provided to my clients was not only satisfactory but also of value. I was practicing law with an eye toward changing, improving, and perfecting. My efforts, though imperfect, were sufficient because I was practicing.
Sariah’s Example
One of my best friends in the Book of Mormon is Sariah. I am always delighted to read about her in 1 Nephi. I can identify with her. Her reactions ring true to me. Sariah practiced faith when she left Jerusalem and her gold and silver and took nothing with her into the wilderness except her family and a few needful provisions. Then recall from chapter 3, Lehi dreamed a dream that the sons of Lehi and Sariah should return to Jerusalem to retrieve the brass plates from Laban.
The situation intensified for Sariah, as we learn two chapters later in 1 Nephi 5. Her sons had been gone for some time—we don’t know for sure how long, but we know that they had traveled back to Jerusalem, gone home to load up all their precious things, and employed several strategies to get the plates from uncooperative Laban. And Sariah was concerned!
Sariah reacted the way I think I might have. She was worried about her sons, she mourned because of them, she complained a bit, and at one point she said something to Lehi she probably later regretted about him being a visionary man.
But Sariah practiced faith. She listened to the comforting words spoken to her by Lehi. She practiced patience. She practiced waiting on the Lord. She practiced supporting her husband. And when her sons returned with the plates of brass, her joy was full! And then she knew “of a surety” (1 Nephi 5:8) that they were on a mission from the Lord. Her practiced faith was so keen, in fact, that she was willing to get on a ship built by her sons, who were not shipbuilders, to sail to an unknown destination, which turned out to be the promised land.
Sariah was practicing. She was practicing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and patience and long-suffering. She was practicing perfection.
Mortal Perfection versus Eternal Perfection
We can be perfect in discrete tasks. For example, we can be perfect in reading from the Book of Mormon every day. We can pay our tithing with perfection. Or we can play a piece of music with precision, hitting every note. But I wonder if a musician who performs a piece of music without making a mistake still wonders if the right amount of emotion was expressed. To me it is the difference between mortal perfection—hitting every note right—and eternal perfection—creating a heavenly song. That heavenly song can only be played with and because of the Savior.
President Russell M. Nelson has taught us: “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.”1
In Moroni’s final plea to us, he said, “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32).
The Example of the Jaredites
Remember the brother of Jared and his people, who were directed to build barges according to the instructions of the Lord? The barges were small, light on the water, and tight like a dish.
And in an act of tremendous faith, those Jaredites got in the barges they had built and “many times [were] buried in the … sea, because of the … waves which broke upon them. … And … the wind did never cease to blow … while they were upon the waters,” until after 344 days they arrived at the promised land. (See Ether 6:6, 8, 11, 12.)
But recall that before the Jaredites got into the barges for the promised land, while they were traveling in the wilderness, they “did build barges, in which they did cross many waters, being directed continually by the hand of the Lord” (Ether 2:6). They had been practicing barge building and practicing faith in the Lord before their 344-day journey began. Of course, the Lord could have led them around those bodies of water while they were traveling in the wilderness. But He didn’t! He let them practice barge building, and, importantly, He gave them opportunities to practice their faith in Him. I think their practice prepared them for that very long journey to the promised land.
The Savior Makes Perfection Possible
We are practicing perfection to return to our heavenly home. And the Savior, whose grace makes eternal perfection possible, gives us opportunities to practice.
Perfection, mortal and eternal, is our objective. Practice makes perfect with the Savior. He makes all the difference. President Nelson has counseled us: “Let us do the best we can and try to improve each day. When our imperfections appear, we can keep trying to correct them. We can be more forgiving of flaws in ourselves and among those we love. We can be comforted and forbearing.”2
Keep practicing! Our dear prophet has reminded us, “The Lord loves effort, because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.”3
I testify that the Lord loves you and wants you to return home. Perfection is pending in Him and with Him.