What is perfection?

A few months ago, in one of my graduate classes, someone asked how long the abstract of our individual projects should be. In the process of explanation, the professor shared with us a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of The Little Prince.

It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove.

(https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry)

That quote really struck me, mostly because it is applicable to how we work towards becoming perfect in this life.

A couple of weeks ago in the Come Follow Me--For Individuals and Families (the Feb 18-24 week, Matthew 5; Luke 6 chapter), there was a quote from President Russell M. Nelson.

“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.’ …

“… The Lord taught, ‘Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now … ; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected’ [D&C 67:13].

“We need not be dismayed if our earnest efforts toward perfection now seem so arduous 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” (“Perfection Pending,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 86, 88).

 Saint-Exupéry quote was in relation to how a tool or object is continually refined and reworked.

Most of us have heard comparisons to the Lord being the master potter, shaping and molding us. But the potter also removes what is not needed, and unnecessary.

Or how about the refiner's fire? Where the impurities--that which is not needed and which would make the final product a lesser quality--are removed.

Some even refer to is as taking away the rough edges. Or, finding, and polishing, the diamond in the rough.

When I graduated with a master's degree this past May, it was my sixth degree. I already have a regular associate of science degree, two associate's of applied science degrees, and two bachelor's of science degrees. Along with those I have two certificates from educational institutions, and three information technology industry certifications.

I share that not to brag but to provide a background for this next bit.

Here are two things I've learned over the years:

The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know.

I may know how to do something well, but there is almost always another way, sometimes much better, to do it.

Some people may see these as a bit discouraging, maybe even to continue to enjoy the "ignorance is bliss" life.

Or, someone might decide they shouldn't bother to do something if someone else can do it better.

Neither of those are the point. The point is we need to continue working to better ourselves.

The Lord told Abraham (Abraham 3:19):

"And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all."

Our goal is not to become better than someone else. Our goal is for our own selves to become perfect.

When the resurrected Lord visited the Nephites, he told them:

"Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." (3 Nephi 12:48).

If we have been told to become perfect, then it should not matter if we don't know everything, or if someone else does something better. That is not perfection.

Perfection is becoming the son or daughter that our Heavenly Father wants us to become. Learning, growing, gaining more knowledge, skills, and abilities are all adding to who we are. However, a big part of becoming perfect is having the unneeded removed.

We can always add more. More knowledge, skills, abilities. Some even want to add more accolades, recognition, awards. Or add more material possessions. In the eternal scheme, progression could be seen as adding more and becoming more.

The question is, how much are we willing to have taken away? To have removed?

Are we willing to give up the little pet sin/bad habit we might have? Are we willing to accept that a big way for us to become better is give up some things that keep us from being purified?

And these things that we might give up could be bad--that is, they are contrary to the commandments of God. Or, it might be that we are just satisfied with who we are, with the "goodness" that we have achieved, and we don't want to give up (sacrifice) one thing for something of greater worth.

It's been said just being good is the greatest enemy of becoming great. I see this as accepting what you learned as being the end-all-be-all, the final "truth", and you don't need to learn, or do, anything more. I work with technology and there is never ending progress and improvement. Systems that are good and which still work well are considered outdated and inefficient in a few years.

Technology isn't the only thing that changes. It's just more apparent to most people. Every branch of the sciences are also changing. It's just about every week that I read of an article that is changing some field of study. New understanding and methods are replacing old ones. It doesn't mean the old way was bad, there's just a better way that gives greater, and more complete, understanding and knowledge.

So, if the knowledge, understanding, and learning of mankind is constantly improving, and discarding that which is discovered to be false or unneeded, then shouldn't each of us also be working to improve ourselves, and to allow God to help us discard those things which keep us from becoming perfect?

I think we are more on the path to perfection when we have humbled ourselves, submitted ourselves to the will of the Lord, and have complete faith and trust in him. He will prove us, but we only think of it as testing or proving. The reality is the impurities are being removed. He is working to perfect us.

While we understand that the Lord lived a perfect life, he did not refer to himself as being perfect. Before his atonement, he told his disciples, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). He lived a life without sin, without blemish. He obeyed the Father's commandments perfectly. He was humble and submissive to the will of the Father. He lived what we often refer to as a perfect life. But, and this is my opinion, I think his actual perfection came at the atonement, when he gave himself completely to the will of the Father and subjected himself to the pains and suffering that the atonement brought. At that moment, Jesus, who would become our Savior, had nothing more to remove. He gave his all. And with that act of love and humility, he would gain all.

There is a lot of truth to the quote, "It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove."

We can learn more, become more. But it is when there is nothing more to remove that we are in a position where we can become perfect.

This does not mean we are nothing, or there isn't much left.

Maybe we are good, but by removing something (a habit, a false belief, or something else) we can become better.

Sometimes we learn something and later learn that part of what we learned wasn't quite right. Are we willing to correct our own understanding? Are we willing to accept that something we believed in had some error to it? Are we open-minded enough to see, and look for, the whole truth?

Are we humble enough to accept the fact that we're not always right? That dearly held beliefs and/or traditions (whether religious, scientific, or some other nature) may not be completely true?

We want to continually progress forward in our knowledge and understanding. But, often our progress comes with three steps forward and two steps back. Can we acknowledge when we might have taken a wrong turn, or will we continue to go in circles and never reach our destination?

Are we helping others to also work towards perfection, or are we part of the problem? Often we perpetuate falsehoods because of the partial truth they contain, our own misunderstanding of the truth, and, too often, because we want to be right and fear being wrong.

This desire to be right, or even fear to be wrong, is a form of pride. It prevents us from accepting the removal of pieces of ourselves that keep us from the path of perfection. It keeps us from realizing the better way, even though we may not immediately see the benefit.

The imagery of a master potter is really applicable. A lump of clay is started. It is turned and shaped. Pieces are removed. Sometimes the stubbornness of the clay causes problems. Maybe the stubborn part is removed and new clay is added. Maybe the master adds more clay, knowing the original piece is insufficient for what he wants the end to be. Throughout the process clay is removed, shaped, and/or added to. And the piece isn't perfected until the end. It is rare that a piece of clay becomes completely unworkable.

The difference between us and clay is the clay is more willing to be subjected to the hands of the master. Impurities that prevent the clay from being molded and shaped are more easily removed, and even replaced. We are not as willing. We are resistant, maybe even fearful of, change.

But, it is through change that we can become perfect.

In the priesthood session of the April 2019 General Conference, President Nelson's topic was on daily repentance. He said:

The word for repentance in the Greek New Testament is metanoeo. The prefix meta- means “change.” The suffix -noeo is related to Greek words that mean “mind,” “knowledge,” “spirit,” and “breath.” 

Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to “repent,” He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies. 

Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Repentance is the change process through which the impurities, the unneeded parts, are removed. It is the process through which we can achieve perfection.