Imperfect People can be made Perfect!

Many years ago, when BYU was considerable smaller and my student number indicated that I was almost the fifty fourth thousandth student to attend that university, I was asked to teach a Sunday school class in the student ward in which I was attending.

For reasons, which I shall never fully know, the Bishop of the ward gave me great latitude in the selection of my lessons. I was not constrained to the use of a lesson manual or study guide. Rather, I was to importune the Lord and teach whatever came to mind and heart. Time and time again, I could be seen, during opening exercises, feverishly writing my lesson outlines. Many joked that I was doing last minute preparation, little knowing that I had already had a relatively intense lifetime for preparation and was only doing my last minute organizing.

As the inspiration flowed, I was relegated to the task of scribe, writing down the outline that the Lord would have me share with His class. He wrote the script and I became the player upon His stage. Wonderful as those experiences were, the true marvel always came after class when one student or another would come up and thank me, not for saying anything new but for saying the same old thing in a new way so that the old things had new meanings.

It has been my prayer that in my preparations for this talk, I might say the old things in a new way so that they would have new meaning for you.

I should first like to give thanks and acknowledgment to three authors and their works for many of the ideas and quotes contained herein. Many a tender lesson was gleaned from Bruce C. Hafen’s book, “The Broken Heart”, Stephen E. Robinson’s “Believing Christ" and W. Cleon Skousen’s “A Personal Search for the Meaning of the Atonement”. If you find anything worthwhile in this talk, please read their materials.

I believe in the Adam and Eve story. I do not profess to know how Adam and Eve came to be, that is something that we will probably have to wait on the Lord for. However, Brigham Young had many theories as to their origins. The one that I particularly like is where God the Father and one of His Wives came to the Garden and charged their bodies with the elements of the Earth by eating of the fruits of the Earth. Then, when they had offspring, their children’s bodies were made of the elements of the Earth rather than being made of Intelligence (Discourses of Brigham Young, pp. 76, 77). Bodies thusly created needed only to have spirits of intelligence infused into them and they became living beings of flesh and bone. But these living physical beings were not mortal because they were not subject to death. To become mortals they needed a special type of physical transformation.

Having been thusly created, the children Adam and Eve required nurturing as they grew and developed. I believe they had the ideal parents. Who better could teach them how to be Man and Woman, Husband and Wife, than the Man of Holiness and His Queen? I like this theory for many reasons. But the one best reason is that it ties me back to the Lord God Almighty through a direct genetic link. We know that our Spiritual bodies are the offspring of a Heavenly Father and Mother. This knowledge is plainly proclaimed in our Hymn, “Oh My Father”. But according to Brigham Young, my physical body is also genetically linked to those same parents. Even the scriptures allude to this, for when Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus Christ back, Adam is called the “Son of God”, (Luke 3:38).

It is evident that Adam and Eve grew up in a paradisiacal setting. They lived in the actual presence of the Father. They knew no want or fear; they knew only the pure righteousness of the Father. In such a setting, evil could not possibly exist. It is therefore understandable that Adam and Eve were not free to make an independent decision or choice. Although Adam and Eve knew of Gods’ plan whereby His children could come to a place where they could grow and develop Godly attributes, they as yet did not understand the full mechanics of it.

To assist them in this growth process, Adam and his wife Eve were to be left alone in the Garden. Commandments were given to them. They knew they were to be the physical parents of the children of God, the Father and Mother of all humankind. They also knew that there was a special tree within the confines of the Garden, which bore a fruit, which had the properties to genetically change their bodies. They were told that the eating of that fruit would bring death to the bodies they possessed. It was then left to them to decide if they would partake of that fruit or not.

With our Heavenly parents absent from the Garden it was now possible for Lucifer to enter therein and try to persuade Adam and Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit. Adam stubbornly refused the temptations of Lucifer and was determined to obey the Father. What he did not understand was that he had to make an independent decision, which would enable the process of mankind to begin.

Lucifer was more subtle with Eve. He reminded her that the gods already knew the difference between good and evil and that she was placed here to learn it for herself. He tempted her with the idea that she could learn the difference through the partaking of the forbidden fruit and become like the gods. Eve partook of the fruit, perhaps thinking that she could hasten the journey. Adam, on the other hand, was not deceived. He made a conscious decision, a deliberate action to partake of the fruit when offered it by Eve, so that they, Adam and Eve, could bring about the family of man. As a result of the partaking of the forbidden fruit, chemical changes began to take place within the bodies of Adam and Eve. As their bodies became mortal, some of these changes became the seeds of death and were passed on to their children’s bodies. With each succeeding generation, these seeds multiplied and proliferated so that the days of a man became shorter, making room for more of Gods’ children to enter into this school of life.

We are all aware that the purpose of our Earthly existence is so that we may become like the gods. It was for this cause that we needed a physical body: We needed appetites and passions so that we could overcome them through self-mastery. We needed to have agency so that we could develop self-determination and moral character. God allowed us to have weaknesses so that we could develop our strengths. We needed to build within us the Godly attributes of pure and unconditional love, perfect self-control and consistency.

You develop muscles through exercise.
You develop character through suffering.
You develop love through sacrifice.
You develop gods through mortality.

We knew all this! We had lived for eons of time though time did not exist as we know it. We had viewed worlds without number, being created and being exulted. We had seen many brothers and sisters going through this development process, some to become gods and we wanted the opportunity to do the same, (John Taylor, “The Mormons”, August 29th, 1857, NYC).

A great council was held for those of us who had developed sufficiently to warrant coming to a planet for our personal growth. Details of the world, which was to be built, were discussed. The concepts of ”free agency” and “accountability” were explained. Some of our brothers and sisters were troubled that there might be some who would become lost.

One of our elder brothers proposed a plan whereby none of his brothers and sisters could be lost. He suggested that the right to be agents free to choose for ones self be withheld and that he, an elder brother would cause that each one of us would live righteous and obedient lives. Thus, we would gain our necessary physical bodies while at the same time remaining sinless and therefore we would be able to return to the presence of the Father.

To many of our brothers and sisters this plan seemed to have merit. It alleviated the dangers of mortality while guaranteeing an eternal home with our Father.

Another Brother arose and presented a different plan. In His presentation, He explained the necessity of having freedom of choice. He knew that we would all make mistakes. However, He had already achieved perfection and self-mastery. He explained that because of our own shortcomings and failings, He would enter into a covenant with each of us, so that through His perfection and because of a great redeeming sacrifice, which He would take upon Himself, each and every one could be cleansed from our sins and return to God with the potential of becoming gods ourselves. The champion of the first plan was our brother Lucifer, “The Son of the Morning”. Though his name bears great promise, I do not believe that he championed his plan because he loved us. It is apparent that he did not care for our growth or our potential. His sole purpose was in furthering his own aggrandizement. Lucifer wanted to become a god and possibly, he doubted he could do it through his own personal development. He wanted the glory but he was not willing to pay the price. With his plan, he would return us to God with bodies but we would have wasted our time here upon the Earth. We would have had no personal growth or development. Our experiences would have been shallow and meaningless. And for accomplishing this thing, he wanted the glory, power, majesty, and dominion of the Father!

I see Adam and Eve as great people – perhaps second only to Jesus Christ. While in the Garden with the Father, they never knew disobedience. They did not know what it was like to be outside of the presence and influence of the Father. They did not know what pain, suffering and the bitterness of life was. And yet, Adam and Eve, having an understanding of the plan, chose the unknown to provide you and me with the opportunity of attending the University of Earth! To me, that is true greatness.

Because of their independent acts, Adam and Eve found themselves cast out of the Garden. This was not a punishment – it was merely the beginning of their education.

The natural consequences, which followed their eviction from the garden, have set a precedent for each of us as to how we may learn from our disobedience, grow in knowledge, receive forgiveness and a cleansing and again have unity with the Father.

We must always keep in mind that there was a multiplicity of purpose for building the Earth. This life was not provided so that we might only gain a body. If that were true, most of us would have died at birth and been done with it. I would venture to say that the main purpose of this mortality is to gain experience and to learn how to use that experience to become one with God.

Adam learned that it was an independent action, which removed him from unity with God and placed him in a state of rejection. The rejection caused the full weight of bitterness and pain to come upon him. The pain of being separated from the Father caused Adam to become humble, suffer a broken heart and a Godly sorrow and this lead him to repentance. Once he repented, great hope set in and then reconciliation to God was brought about through the atonement of Jesus Christ. With the reconciliation came also an outpouring of the Holy Ghost, which gave Adam a greater understanding, which lead him to a greater personal development. And again Adam was in unity with God but now he was improved: He had learned, he had gained experience, he had deepened his understanding. We call this learning cycle the “Adamic or Universal Life Cycle”. Just as Adam entered into it and emerged a better person from it, so each of us will find ourselves within this Life Cycle and if we follow it to it’s completion, we shall be the better for it also.

Some time after their expulsion from the garden, Adam built an alter and offered sacrifices to the Lord. He did this by way of commandment, not knowing what the reason or its’ symbolism. However, because he dutifully did that which he had been commanded, an angel appeared unto him and explained that portion of the plan, which we call “the redemption” of Christ.

What is the redemption of Christ? Does it have personal meaning to you? Can you rejoice, as did Adam and Eve when you hear of it? Does it bring you great comfort and joy?

Adam and Eve knew what justification by the law meant. They had just recently been the recipients of that law. Simply stated it means that if we are able to live all 613 commandments the Lord has given us and NEVER break any of them, we can go back to the presence of the Father. This means that from the moment of birth until the moment of death we must live a perfect record. But according to Paul, none of us has ever done that. Each of us has sinned and according to justification by the law, we have all failed.

Well, I do not know about you but when I contemplate these thoughts, I realize that it is not justice that I want. Justice can only condemn me. What I want is mercy! I want a way back to God even though I have sinned. Perhaps the most beautiful and moving words of the bible are the ones spoken in Isaiah where it says, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”.

“The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not that perfect people can be reconciled to God, but that imperfect people can be. If we believe only in Christ without believing that He can make us clean and acceptable to God, then we are like people sitting in cold, dark houses surrounded by unused lamps and heaters, people who believe in electricity but who never throw the switch to turn on the power”.

If we are going to throw the switch and turn on the power so that we may be reconciled to God, we must enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. This covenant is very simple. Perhaps that is why so few of us really understand it. We want something that is complicated. Like Naaman of old, dipping himself into the Jordan seven times was too simple a cure for Leprosy. Naaman wanted some great command or sacrifice, some grandiose charge, an impossible task so that he could prove himself worthy and he therefore became incensed by Elishas’ direction. It was too simple! Brothers and sisters, the covenant we make with the Lord Jesus Christ is equally as simple.

If we want to be freed from our mistakes, our poor judgments, our faulty independent actions, then this is what we must do: We must covenant with Jesus Christ that we will try our very best. And if we fail, we will repent and try again. In return, Jesus agrees to lend us His perfection until we can become perfect in our own right and time. He also agrees to forgive us for our failures and He will completely forget them. How this actually works may be likened to a partnership. One person is deep in debt and may be described as having finite liabilities. In a business sense, this person cannot survive. Along comes another person with infinite assets. A proposition is made wherein the two form a partnership where the liabilities on the one will be covered by the assets of the other. Now, because of the partnership, the one with the liabilities is solvent. The same holds true when any one of us enters into a partnership with Jesus Christ. Taken together as a single entity, the two of us, Jesus Christ and you or me, we are perfect. This does not mean that we may become perfect, it means that from the moment that partnership is formed in good faith, from that moment the partnership is celestial. The merits of the Senior Partner make it so. It really is simple; all we must do is enter into that covenant with Jesus Christ.

In ancient Israel, Old Testament covenants were validated and made binding by shedding the blood of a sacrificial animal. Afterward, the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled upon the children of the covenant to show acceptance. Today, when we enter this covenant with Jesus Christ, we are washed in the blood of the lamb. As long as we live under this covenant and do our part, we will be freed from our sins and pronounced clean before God.

If however you fall into the trap of thinking that you can perfect yourself through better living of the commandments, paying more tithing, helping needy people, attending the temple more frequently or anything else you may lay upon yourself, you have failed. As long as you try to justify yourself through the law, the law will condemn you. You have already sinned in some small or large way and by the law of justification - you lost! But, if you will fulfill your part of the covenant with Jesus Christ, He will declare you INNOCENT and you will stand GUILTLESS before the law.

Mother Teresa put it so simply when she said, “God never asked that I succeed, only that I try”. All of us will enter into the Adamic Life Cycle, many times. If we will use it the way it was intended to be used, we will be better for it. All we must do is to try our very best.

But you ask, how can Jesus’ suffering and dying upon the cross make all this possible? In fact, why was it necessary for Him to suffer at all? We say that God is all-powerful, why could He not just say, “I forgive you for your shortcomings, your imperfections, your mistakes and your sins”. Why did Jesus have to suffer? If I am going to suffer a broken heart and a godly sorrow for my sins, shouldn’t that be enough? Why must someone else suffer also? How does Jesus’ pain and suffering allow God to forgive me but my own suffering will not?

I guess if we are to understand how this all works and why it is necessary, we must understand something about the very nature of God. Perhaps the best place for us to start is with a quotation from a book by Ursula K. Le Guin: “As a man’s real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower: until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do”. If this statement is true, then God lives His life in a very narrowly defined parameter.

We can see applications of this statement among various peoples of the Earth today. For example, look at the houses of Royalty. Though they be the monarchs, yet the way they live, the people they associate with, even the people they are allowed to marry are strictly dictated by the expectations of their subjects. We see the very same thing in the lives of our Apostles and Prophets. We pedestalize them and demand of them a life style, which does not do them justice. Because we tend to deify our leaders, we expect them to live up to our expectations. I imagine that they feel the tremendous pressures the membership of the church puts upon them. They feel the obligation to live up to our expectations.

I have often wondered if it is our own expectations of God, which limits the way in which He is able to deal with us. If I am only willing to accept that God will “cause a burning within my bosom”, can He give me a revelation by some other means and have me accept it as a revelation and coming from God?

In Alma, chapter 42 we learn of a very interesting concept about God. In verses 13, 22 and 25 it specifies that if certain conditions are violated, that God will cease to be God. That is amazing! I believe that we are the only church upon the face of this Earth that preaches that it is possible for God to cease to be God. According to these verses, He is bound to observe certain laws and if He violates them, He will cease to be God.

For many people who believe in a God, this might be somewhat confusing. We think of God as being all-powerful and capable of doing anything that He wants. Yet, here in His revealed word, we are told that He has some guidelines, which He must follow, or He will cease to be God. How is this possible? If God is God by the usurpation of His power, position, birthright, or authority, then the proposition that He could cease to be God is meaningless. However, what if God is God by acclimation? What if He is God because He is revered, honored, respected and loved?

In 2nd Nephi, 2:14 we read: “…there is a God, and he hath created all things, … both things to act and things to be acted upon.” Could this mean that there are only two types of creations? If this is so, all of Gods creations are a type of building blocks: there are ones to act and exercise value judgments, and there are others, which will be acted upon, and carry out commands. Could this mean that they each have independent judgments, that each has conscious awareness?

To test this hypothesis, let us turn to the 93rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants and read. In verse 29, it says, “… Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.” Therefore, Intelligence, the building block of the universe, was not created or made, it is eternal. But why did I say that Intelligence is the building block of the Universe? Well, Brigham Young said, “There is light or Intelligence in all matter throughout the vast extent of all eternities. It is in the rock. It is in the sand, in water, air, in gases, and in short, in every description or organization of matter, whether it be solid, liquid, or gaseous. Particle operating with particle.”

When the Gods looked down and saw unorganized matter, what were they looking at? Was it gas clouds and dust particles floating in outer space waiting for someone to move them into proximity so that natural laws could attract them to each other and compress them to form solids and gasses, fusion and fission, exploding sun and spinning planets? Or, were they seeing corporeal elements, finite particles of matter, which had not yet been combined, with the infinite eternal element of Intelligence.

I would like to suggest to you that the organization of matter is not the smushing together of elements as one would do with clay, but is the exercising of a priesthood ordinance wherein eternal Intelligence and finite matter are combined into “organized matter” which the gods can direct. Once such matter is organized, it is capable of taking directions, of carrying out demands, of being obedient! I believe this is what Brigham Young meant when he said there was Intelligence in the Rock. Perhaps this was also what President Spencer W. Kimball had in mind when he said, “While we are in the mortal body we cannot fashion kingdoms or organize matter, for that is beyond our capacity and calling . . . In the resurrection, the sons of God will be ordained to organize matter”.

Now, with this background, let us turn back to the Doctrine and Covenants, section 93. In verse thirty, we read; “All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.” If I understand what I have just read, the light of truth or Intelligence is eternal, is independent, and has agency in and of itself. This means that all organized matter has independent agency and will act of its own free volition in the sphere in which God has placed it. This idea is further supported in the book of Abraham where in chapter 4, verses 18 and 21 it says, “And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed” and “that they would be obeyed”. That certainly sounds like there is free agency involved in being obedient to the Lord even though it was the very elements, which were under command to obey.

There are many passages of scripture which tell us of the elements of the universe being obedient to the will of the Lord; Nephi telling his brothers that he could turn the water into earth and walk to the promised land, the Brother of Jared commanding the mountain Zarin to be removed and cast into the sea, Enoch commanding a mountain to fall upon his enemies, a river to change its course and the very earth to open that it might swallow up the enemies of the children of God, Moses placing his hand within his breast and withdrawing it afflicted with leprosy, then doing the same thing and withdrawing it cleansed and whole. The miracles of the New Testament are resplendent with these same types of examples: Jesus turning water into wine, commanding the fig tree to whither, commanding the raging storm to cease, or feeding the 10,000 with some loaves of bread and some fishes or Peter walking on the water and Paul raising a man from death.

Here-to-fore I had thought that to do great miracles as these I needed some type of miraculous power in addition to priesthood authority. We all have made this common mistake. Remember Simon the Sorcerer? , he offered money that he might have the power to bestow the Holy Ghost. Simon knew in his heart that he could not do that which he had seen the Apostles do and there are many of us today who are certain that we cannot do the miracles that the prophets have done in the past.

Why is it that one person can walk into a hospital ward and command a miracle and it is done and another can go into that same ward and likewise command a miracle and the patient dies? Is it the patients’ fault? Could it be the fault of the person giving the blessing? What seems to be the difference? From the scriptures we have cited, we have referenced many instances where miracles have taken place so we know that miracles themselves are possible.

I believe that the problem lies in the fact that the elements, the organized matter of the universe, have agency and may choose to obey whom they will. The “organized matter” of the universe is obedient to God because they love and revere Him. He is their God because of acclamation. When they find a servant of God who is sufficiently worthy, they are obedient to that servant also. The Intelligences of the universe cannot be lied to, they cannot be fooled. They respond to perfection, goodness, charity and love. They respect and trust God because He is perfect. He is consistent in all that He does. They know that they will never be betrayed. For these reasons and many many more, the elements of the universe are obedient to God because God is Honorable. Moreover, it is the Honor of God that gives Him His Power. This is mentioned in the scriptures. You will remember that Lucifer demanded the Honor of God as his reward for his plan. Furthermore, God Himself has said that His power IS His Honor.

So there we have it. God is God because the Intelligences of the Universe Honor and Revere Him, and they do so because He is Honorable. However, if He ever did anything to betray that perfection, He would cease to be God because the Intelligences of the universe would no longer revere Him. Herein lies the great dilemma which made it necessary for there to be an Atoning One: If the only way for Gods children to become gods themselves was to go through mortality and develop the attributes of self mastery and perfection, then they would have to learn by making mistakes and that would disqualify them from being saved through the law of justification!

Once the Father agreed to allow us to enter into a state of mortality, He lost the ability to save us from our independent actions. If He were to try saving us from the law, He would cease to be God! The reason for this is that the Intelligences demand justice! The law requires that all who have sinned come short of the Glory of God.

Alma tells us that no person can suffer for the sins of another, yet he turns right around and tells us that the atonement is to bring about “the bowels of mercy and overcome Justice. The Father already has mercy, what we need is something to create mercy in those who are demanding justice.

To make it a little easier for us to understand this last part, I should like to borrow a story from Brother Scousen:

During the Civil War, there was a nineteen-year-old soldier who went to sleep on guard duty. A whole section of the Union Army was wiped out in that particular sector. He lost many of his very best friends all because he fell asleep and the enemy was able to make a surprise attack on one flank of that particular defense effort. He survived the battle, was court martialed and sentenced to be hanged for neglect of duty and going to sleep while serving as a guard. Such is routine military law. The death sentence and order of execution was placed on the desk of President Lincoln and he was prepared to sign it. He had lost many valuable men because a nineteen-year-old soldier went to sleep.

A little old woman communicated with President Lincoln. This little mother said to President Lincoln; “When this war started, I had a husband and six sons. First, I lost my husband. Then I lost my sons, five of them. I have just one son left and he is about to be executed for neglect of duty. He feels terrible about what he did. He knows he deserves to die; He is expecting to die President Lincoln, but I was wondering, because you have pardoning power under the constitution, if you could find it in your heart to let me have the last of my family, for my sake?”

President Lincoln said, “Little Mother, for your sake I pardon your son. Pray God that he will survive the war and be a blessing to you all the days of your life.”

No one criticized President Lincoln for pardoning the lad. In the minds of the public, compassion had overcome the demands of justice and mercy prevailed.

You see, brothers and sisters, the mission of Jesus Christ, from the very first, was to qualify under the law of justice, to so live His life that He could return to the presence and unity of the Father and then, being perfect, clean and pure, to suffer such humiliation and degradation, such pain and suffering, to have such a hideous injustice perpetrated upon Him that the Intelligences of the universe would be moved with compassion and mercy when He made His plea on our behalf. To the Intelligences, mercy can satisfy their demand for justice only to those who believe on Jesus Christ and exercise Faith in Him. To him who exercises no faith unto repentance, that person is exposed to the whole law and to their demand for justice.

Listen to the words of our Lord and Master, our champion before all eternity; “Listen to Him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before Him – saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of Him who did no sin, in whom Thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of they Son which was shed, the blood of Him whom Thou gavest that Thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these My brethren that believe on My name, that they may come unto Me and have everlasting life.”

What more can I say? When the time comes that each of us is to stand before the Judgment Bar of God, our advocate the Savior will be there pleading for us. It is because of Him and Him alone that each of us may return to our Father. So great is the debt that words cannot express our gratitude. It is my prayer that with this new understanding, we may go forth and live the Gospel of Christ with a new dedication and a new hope, having a new appreciation for Him who has made it all possible.