Be ye therefore perfect vs. Our flaws are who we are

Discussions toward a better understanding of LDS doctrine, history, and culture. Discussion of Christianity, religion, and faith in general is welcome.
Post Reply
User avatar
deacon blues
Posts: 1934
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:37 am

Be ye therefore perfect vs. Our flaws are who we are

Post by deacon blues » Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:18 am

A grand-daughter turned me on to a new song "I Hear a Symphony" by Chris Fry. The message may be different for different people, but I was struck by the line..."Our flaws are who we really are." this came after a dream/nightmare last night that left me awake and ponderizing truthiness for an hour or so. Are we meant to be perfect? :roll:
God is Love. God is Truth. The greatest problem with organized religion is that the organization becomes god, rather than a means of serving God.

User avatar
hiding in plain sight
Posts: 205
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:38 am

Re: Be ye therefore perfect vs. Our flaws are who we are

Post by hiding in plain sight » Fri Apr 16, 2021 1:35 pm

Are we meant to be perfect?
Great question.

I am reading a book title "life after death" right now by Deepak Chopra. But I like some of the ideas that he puts forth.

1) We are all divine.
2) It's not really about heaven or hell it is about what do we need to learn.
3) Once we have learned that then we move on in the journey.

Clearly the book focus a lot on the hindu religion and much of its verbiage includes some of those trappings. But I like the concept of multiple lives in an order to learn and grow and progress.

Not just a life long test to see if you can pass and then if you do you get.......?????? I don't even know.

I don't think we are meant to be perfect. I think we are meant to experience and learn and become. Even if it is only for one lifetime. I do hope for more but won't be disappointed.

User avatar
alas
Posts: 2357
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2016 2:10 pm

Re: Be ye therefore perfect vs. Our flaws are who we are

Post by alas » Sun Apr 18, 2021 8:00 am

Interesting question. Our flaws are a part of who we are, true. But they are not all of who we are. We have strengths and likes and dislikes. And part of this question is going to depend on how we define flaws and perfection.

Take me as an example. Perfection according to the church as an organization would require me to be less of an introvert, so I can be more outgoing and more loving to more people. But that is not who I am and I was miserable trying to be what the church wanted me to be when I was RSP. So, is introversion a flaw. I don’t think it is any more. I think it is just a difference in who I am and even when I am “perfect” I would hate being RSP. But it sure was a flaw according to the other women in my ward at the time. And it has become more and more a reason that church just isn’t for me. It was trying to turn me into someone I am not.

So, what is a flaw and what is who I am even if I make it to perfection? I would say a flaw that has to be eliminated would be how my sister in law’s husband acts. They just received several hundred thousand as inheritance from his parents. And he was planning on how *he* is going to spend it all before *he* dies. Now he is about 7 years older than his wife and women live about 7-10 years longer on average than men. So my SIL is looking at approximately 14 years as a widow. And he has ALREADY spent every penny she ever managed to save on toys for himself. “Oh, honey, I just found 200k in your back account that you were saving to fix the kitchen and I bought a boat.” Yeah, so now he gets his inheritance that he has been saying all along is their retirement money and he plans to spend it all himself on himself and not leave his wife anything for after he dies. See, that is a flaw. Total selfishness. His wife loves him for the good things that are part of his personality, but could kill him for his flaws.

For practically forever society thought being gay was a flaw that needed to be fixed. Now, those of us with common sense and compassion at least, recognize it as a difference. Not a flaw that needs to be fixed. And what about autism? Flaw or difference? I have a daughter and grandson who have been diagnosed as on the autistic spectrum. Both are very intelligent. When he was two my grandson sorted the plastic animals into piles. All reptiles in one pile, the alligator, lizard and snake. All dogs in one pile. All cats, tigers and lions in one pile. All horses, cows, sheep, goats, deer in another pile. The dinosaurs with two legs went in with the birds. The dinos with four legs went in their own pile, even though the Dino and the lizard were plastic and about the same size. Yeah, I had to go to college to learn that and this baby is doing it. Just doing it. So, is his autism a flaw or a strength?

I think if there is any kind of eternity and we are really working toward perfection, that we are still going to end up wildly different than each other. Can a person be perfect and not like jazz? Or can they be perfect and still prefer jazz over classical? Can a person be perfect and still be autistic, or gay, or a pedophile?

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 56 guests