Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48

Matthew 5:21 JST and 5:50 JST
Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect.

In the Book of Mormon we read:
...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. 2 Nephi 25:23

In the Bible we read:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: 
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Is this true? Is our salvation hinged on "after all we can do?"
Or is our salvation obtained "through faith?"
Read here to find out more!
"Trying is not sufficient.
Nor is repentance complete when one merely tries to abandon sin."
Spencer W. Kimball

• Is eternal exaltation or eternal life a free gift from God given to us freely through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ?
  

• Or did Jesus' death only provide us with the blessing of the resurrection, and all the rest is up to us on where we will go after the resurrection?

In the Bible we read:

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48 KJV

• Can we be perfect today?
  

• Should we be perfect today?
  

• What did Jesus mean when he said be perfect?

In the Joseph Smith Translation we read:

Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:50 JST

• Is this a commandment as Joseph Smith translated it, or just a suggestion?

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:10 KJV

• Is this a commandment from Jesus Christ, as the Joseph Smith Translation says it is?
  

• Are you living this commandment?
  

• Are you perfect?
  

• Is it possible on your own to ever be perfect?

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified (made holy). Hebrews 10:14 KJV

• What is that one offering?
  

• Who are those that are sanctified?

By the which will we are sanctified (made holy) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10 KJV

Be Ye Therefore Perfect

    You see through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross we are sanctified and made perfect. We must of course come to an understanding of the true gospel message first. That is to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Emmanuel - God with us, and that he died for our sins and led a perfect life because we would never be able to. We must realize we are sinners, we were born sinners, and ask God through his Son Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins. Then we must ask Jesus Christ to come into our lives by accepting him as our LORD and Savior. We give our lives to him. We desire for him to have his way with us. He is in control, we completely surrender to him. His will be done, not our own. At that very moment God no longer sees the imperfect people we are, but he sees the perfect blood of his son that covers us, or I can say he sees his son's perfect robe of righteousness that covers us. Our flesh is still of a sinful nature, but at that very moment we are perfect (spiritually) in God's eyes and we are sanctified or made holy through Jesus Christ alone. Not of anything we have ever done or could ever do, for if we try this approach alone we are merely as filthy rags to God. We can know that we are saved through the blood of Jesus Christ and that we will spend eternity with God because His Word promises that to us. This is the Gospel. It is not complicated full of rituals and ordinances that must be performed to gain acceptance of men and the god they have created. It is a free gift, not a loan that we have to pay back by our good works. Good works comes only out of our gratitude for what Jesus did for us and as God works in us through his son and his Holy Spirit.

Our Heavenly Father demands perfection right now. He never commanded us to become perfect; He commanded us to be perfect! Note carefully what he says in Matthew 5:48: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Even Joseph Smith translated: "Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect..." That's sobering, especially when we hear how serious God is about our being perfect.

    But our Heavenly Father has not deserted us. He sent Jesus not to show us how to be perfect, but to be perfect for us. As our Substitute Jesus freely and fully conferred His perfection on us. "For by one offering He hath perfected (past tense) forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). Because Jesus kept all of God's law perfectly in our place, because Jesus removed forever our debt to God with the offering of His life, Heavenly Father accepts us as perfect right now, not because of what we are, not because of what we have done, not because of what we can still do, but because Jesus was already perfect for us!

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke [is] easy, and my burden is light.

Is your yoke hard and the burden you carry heavy?

Please read these two articles:
10 Reasons To Believe In Christ Rather Than Religion

The One True Church

FAIR USE NOTICE. This website contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Helping Mormons Reach Perfection is making these materials available in our efforts to advance the truth and understanding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, their belief system and history. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner(s).