Perfection

Because I am such a perfectionist and know how dibilitating this can be at times, I love finding Gospel insights into perfectionism. This quote is from an article in the January 2009 Ensign entitled, "Bipolar Disorder: My Lessons in Love, Hope, and Peace." No I am not bipolar, but the author has very good insights into how we should seek to reach perfection--through Christ, not just on our own:

     "The gospel teaches us about perfection and the joy that comes with it, but some of us expect perfection of ourselves instead of seeking to be perfected in Christ. I struggled with the large gap between perfection and where I perceived I stood . . . I regained hope when I realized that although sin is an imperfection, not all imperfection is sin.

     Believing that we should achieve perfection on our own, some of us fill our lives with crippling guilt and an unforgiving attitude toward our inevitable human weakness. We limit our potential for growth through a faithless, unreasonable approach to life. A better approach is to channel our weakness so that instead of filling us with self-loathing, it helps us find humility and strengthen our faith in the Savior. In partnership with Him, we can overcome our weakness as well as our sins. True humility will help us understand our worth despite . . . any . . . human frailty. It engenders confidence and a realization of the potential each of us has for good." (bold added)