The scriptures and the teachings of the church place on us a heavy burden of advice, obligations, and commandments. All these commandments seem to encompass and culminate in the statement of Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
How is this perfection to be achieved? Is it a far distant goal only to be realized in a distant heavenly future? Is it accomplished only by those who manage, through intense personal effort, to rid themselves of weaknesses and worldly desires?
We seem to have two options. An approach whereby we train ourselves to be perfect or acknowledge the hopelessness of that approach and leave it all up to Jesus to save us by his grace. In the church we sometimes seem to default to a combination of those two. We are to try our hardest to train ourselves and then hope Christ will pick up the slack all the while hoping that we are doing enough to then merit Christ’s grace. However, I think that overlooks the essential and ongoing role that Christ should play in our quest for perfection.
Benjamin Franklin’s autobiographical account of how he tried to achieve moral perfection through an arduous process of self-examination and stern resolve illustrates the impossibility of achieving perfection through our individual efforts.
Franklin writes:
It was about this time I conceiv’d the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wish’d to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employ’d in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct. For this purpose I therefore contrived the following method.
Franklin then established a list of moral virtues that he would attempt to inculcate into his nature:
1. Temperance, 2.Silence, 3. Order, 4. Resolution, 5. Frugality, 6. Industry, 7. Sincerity, 8. Justice, 9. Moderation, 10. Cleanliness, 11. Tranquility, 12. Chastity, and 13. Humility.
Franklin continues that:
My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues, I judg’d it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time; and, when I should be master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on, till I should have gone thro’ the thirteen. . . .
Franklin then stated he made a book, allotted pages for each virtue, and tracked, over the course of week by marking with spots on a chart (Tables of Examination as he called them), whether he had exhibited a fault in the above areas. Franklin continues:
I determined to give a week’s strict attention to each of the virtues successively. Thus, in the first week, my great guard was to avoid every the least offence against Temperance, leaving the other virtues to their ordinary chance, only marking every evening the faults of the day. Thus, if in the first week I could keep my first line, marked T, clear of spots, I suppos’d the habit of that virtue so much strengthen’d and its opposite weaken’d, that I might venture extending my attention to include the next, and for the following week keep both lines clear of spots.
Franklin thought it necessary to solicit God’s help in this endeavor and formed the following prayer:
O powerful Goodness! bountiful Father! merciful Guide! increase in me that wisdom which discovers my truest interest. strengthen my resolutions to perform what that wisdom dictates. Accept my kind offices to thy other children as the only return in my power for thy continual favors to me.
Thus prepared, Franklin writes:
I enter’d upon the Execution of this Plan for Self Examination, and continu’d it with occasional Intermissions for some time. I was surpris’d to find myself so much fuller of Faults than I had imagined, but I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish.
Eventually, however, he omitted the plan althogether in the face of voyages and business. At this point, he notes a fault for which he experienced a particularly stubborn weakness.
My scheme of ORDER gave me the most trouble; and I found that, tho’ it might be practicable where a man’s business was such as to leave him the disposition of his time, that of a journeyman printer, for instance, it was not possible to be exactly observed by a master, who must mix with the world, and often receive people of business at their own hours. . . . This article [Order], therefore, cost me so much painful attention, and my faults in it vexed me so much, and I made so little progress in amendment, and had such frequent relapses, that I was almost ready to give up the attempt, and content myself with a faulty character in that respect, like the man who, in buying an ax of a smith, my neighbour, desired to have the whole of its surface as bright as the edge. The smith consented to grind it bright for him if he would turn the wheel; he turn’d, while the smith press’d the broad face of the ax hard and heavily on the stone, which made the turning of it very fatiguing. The man came every now and then from the wheel to see how the work went on, and at length would take his ax as it was, without farther grinding. “No,” said the smith, “turn on, turn on; we shall have it bright by-and-by; as yet, it is only speckled.” “Yes,” said the man, “but I think I like a speckled ax best.” And I believe this may have been the case with many, who, having, for want of some such means as I employ’d, found the difficulty of obtaining good and breaking bad habits in other points of vice and virtue, have given up the struggle, and concluded that “a speckled ax was best”; for something, that pretended to be reason, was every now and then suggesting to me that such extreme nicety as I exacted of myself might be a kind of foppery in morals, which, if it were known, would make me ridiculous; that a perfect character might be attended with the inconvenience of being envied and hated; and that a benevolent man should allow a few faults in himself, to keep his friends in countenance.
Thus, Franklin good naturedly excuses his lack of perfection and observes that he is less obnoxious to his neighbors for his lack of perfection.
Even so he observes that he felt he benefitted from the exercise
tho’ I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavour, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it;
As a final observation, Franklin relates that a friend observed that Franklin suffered from pride often evidenced in conversation. Franklin therefore added Humility to his list of virtues. He noted that he accomplished a superficial success in this area in at least not appearing proud:
I cannot boast of much success in acquiring the reality of this virtue [Humility], but I had a good deal with regard to the appearance of it. I made it a rule to forbear all direct contradiction to the sentiments of others, and all positive assertion of my own.
Essentially, Franklin was trying to train himself to be perfect and failed. Franklin had the good sense to let himself down easy going so far as to conclude that even if he had achieved moral perfection he would only have produced envy or alienation in others.
I think we should not assume the responsibility of trying to achieve moral perfection enitrely through our own efforts and resolve. Franklin has demonstrated that generally such efforts will fail and, even where success is achieved, it is as likely to merely be the appearance of or habit of virtue rather than a change in our natures.
The Savior’s command to be perfect is something else. According to Paul: “Therefore if a man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor 5:17. The Lord’s words to Alma echo this: “Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, . . . must be born again; born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; . . .” Mosiah 27:25-26.
Our natures are fallen and we must be reborn. This is not a process that we can impose on our natures through practice, resolve, and self-examination. It comes through Christ and the Spirit. The people of King Benjamin proclaimed after hearing his teachings: “Yea, we believe all the words which thou has spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” Mosiah 5:2. The Spirit not only confirmed the truth of Benjamin’s teachings but wrought a mighty change such that they no longer had a disposition to do evil.
This was not a one-time event thus rendering his people forever changed. The people entered into a covenant but Benjamin warned that they should still take heed and not transgress causing the name of Christ to be blotted out of their hearts. See Mosiah 5:10-12. They, in a sense had to continue the process of rebirth.
Elder Bednar in his April 2007 conference address pointed out that becoming spiritually changed, transformed, and born again is a process. (See Ensign, May 2007, 19-22). Elder Bednar teaches that: “. . . you and I are born again as we are absorbed by and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we honor and ‘observe the covenants’ (D&C 42:13) into which we have entered, as we ‘feast upon the words of Christ’ (2 Nephi 32:3), as we ‘pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart’ (Moroni 7:48), and as we ‘serve [God] with all [of our] heart, might, mind and strength’ (D&C 4:2).” Elder Bednar continues that after baptism “our souls need to be continuously immersed in and saturated with the truth and the light of the Savior’s gospel.”
It is by observing the covenants, feasting on the words of Christ, praying, and service that we immerse ourselves in Christ’s gospel and enable the Spirit to transform our hearts. It is through this process that our natures become changed and perfected.
