After teaching the Beatitudes and the higher law, the Savior gave a commandment about the character of His Father in Heaven. The intent of this lesson is to help you understand the Savior’s commandment to “be … perfect, even as [our] Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).
Prayerfully seeking the Lord’s help as you teach. Teaching the gospel is the Lord’s work, and He wants you to succeed in that task. When you call on Him daily, you will feel and recognize His help (see Doctrine and Covenants 100:5–8).
Student preparation: In advance of this lesson, invite students, if possible, to bring pictures of themselves when they were little children to class. It may be more effective to do this at least a week in advance with the help of parents.
Possible Learning Activities
How have you changed?
Consider using some of the following or similar questions to help students recognize how they have grown and changed since they were little children.
Find a picture of when you were younger, or think about what you were like when you were a little child.
How have you grown or changed physically or spiritually since then?
Why do you think change is a natural and important part of our Heavenly Father’s plan?
How have you grown in the past few years to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? If you feel your spiritual growth has not been adequate, what has held you back, and what can you do to change this pattern?
Read Matthew 5:48, looking for how the Savior concluded His teachings from chapter 5. Note that the Greek word for perfect as used in this verse could also be translated as “complete, finished, [or] fully developed” (Matthew 5:48, footnote b).
From the Savior’s teachings in Matthew 5:48 we learn that Jesus Christ commanded us to be perfect like Heavenly Father.
Which of the Savior’s teachings from Matthew 5 do you feel inspired to work on now to become more like Heavenly Father? How?
Students may benefit from taking a few minutes to review the teachings from Matthew 5, including any notes they may have taken in their scriptures or study journals.
How do you feel about the Savior’s commandment to be perfect?
How can misunderstanding this commandment have a negative impact on our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
Understanding what it means to be “perfect”
Consider placing students in small groups to study the following statements by President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and Elder Gerrit W. Gong. Several copies of these statements could be printed and placed around the room or displayed some other way.
Read the following statements by President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, looking for help or comfort in our journey to become perfect like Heavenly Father.
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President Russell M. Nelson
In Matthew 5:48, 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.” …
… We need not be dismayed if our earnest efforts toward perfection now seem so [difficult] 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.
Brothers and sisters, every one of us aspires to a more Christlike life than we often succeed in living. … If we persevere, then somewhere in eternity our refinement will be finished and complete—which is the New Testament meaning of perfection.
I testify of that grand destiny, made available to us by the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself continued “from grace to grace” [Doctrine and Covenants 93:13] until in His immortality He received a perfect fulness of celestial glory.
The word perfection … is sometimes misunderstood to mean never making a mistake. Perhaps you or someone you know is trying hard to be perfect in this way. Because such perfection always seems out of reach, even our best efforts can leave us anxious, discouraged, or exhausted. We unsuccessfully try to control our circumstances and the people around us. We fret over weaknesses and mistakes. In fact, the harder we try, the further we may feel from the perfection we seek. …
A misunderstanding of what it means to be perfect can result in perfectionism—an attitude or behavior that takes an admirable desire to be good and turns it into an unrealistic expectation to be perfect now. Perfectionism sometimes arises from the feeling that only those who are perfect deserve to be loved or that we do not deserve to be happy unless we are perfect.
Remember that all our efforts to keep the commandments and repent would never be enough if it were not for the cleansing of sin and resurrection from death that we receive from the Savior Jesus Christ through His Atonement. (See 2 Nephi 25:23; Alma 34:9–10.)
If students need more help understanding the commandment to be perfect or are struggling with the concept of perfectionism, the video “Perfectionism: Will I Ever Be Good Enough?” in the “Supplemental Learning Activities” section may be helpful.
Invite students to share with the class what they discussed with their groups.
To help students further understand the Savior’s role in helping us become perfect, consider reading and discussing Moroni 10:32.
Possible discussion questions
Consider choosing one or more of the following questions to ask students to discuss. Or it may be beneficial to display these or similar questions and invite students to answer two or more in their study journals. Afterward, students could discuss as a class what they wrote.
What do the words of these prophets teach us about what “be ye therefore perfect” means?
What do the prophets teach us that these words do not mean?
What is the Savior’s role in helping us become perfect?
What do you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that gives you hope that one day you may become perfect like Them?
What efforts are you currently making spiritually, physically, socially, or intellectually to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
Consider testifying of the Savior, His teachings in Matthew 5, and His role in helping us become perfect like Heavenly Father.
Commentary and Background Information
How can I become perfect?
Elder Scott D. Whiting of the Seventy taught:
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Elder Scott D Whiting
The commandment to be like Him is not intended to make you feel guilty, unworthy, or unloved. Our entire mortal experience is about progression, trying, failing, and succeeding. …
You are good enough, you are loved, but that does not mean that you are yet complete. There is work to be done in this life and the next. Only with His divine help can we all progress toward becoming like Him.
In these times, when “all things [appear to] be in commotion; and … fear [is seemingly] upon all people” [Doctrine and Covenants 88:91], the only antidote, the only remedy, is to strive to be like the Savior, the Redeemer of all mankind, the Light of the World, and to seek after Him who declared, “I am the way” [John 14:6].
I know that becoming like Him through His divine help and strength is achievable step by step. If not so, He would not have given us this commandment [see 1 Nephi 3:7].
(Scott D. Whiting, “Becoming like Him,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 14)
Supplemental Learning Activities
Alternative way to begin this lesson: Doing something that seems impossible
Help students see that with the proper perspective, instructions, and help, what may seem impossible can be done. Consider practicing during preparation for the lesson before using this activity in class.
Walk-through-paper trick: Give students a full sheet of paper and scissors. Instruct them to cut a hole in the paper big enough that they can walk through it. After allowing them to try (and fail), give them the following instructions and a new sheet of paper:
Step 1: Fold the paper in half lengthwise.
Step 2: With the fold toward you, make eight evenly spaced cuts toward the far side of the paper, but stop cutting about 1 cm (1/2 inch) from the opposite edge so that you do not cut all the way through the paper.
Step 3: Turn the paper around so that the fold is away from you. Make seven cuts in between the cuts you previously made, again stopping about 1 cm (1/2 inch) away from the fold so that you do not cut all the way through.
Step 4: Return to the folded edge. The eight cuts you made in the folded edge make nine loops. Cut along the fold of each loop except for the first and last fringe.
Step 5: Carefully unfold the paper so that you do not tear it. It should now form a large loop that you can fit through.
Understanding perfectionism
If it is useful and there is time in the lesson, consider showing the video “Perfectionism: Will I Ever Be Good Enough?” (4:33), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
The Savior taught the Nephites about perfection
Compare what the Savior taught before His Resurrection about becoming perfect (see Matthew 5:48) to how He taught it after His Resurrection to the Nephites (see 3 Nephi 12:48). Invite students to consider linking or cross-referencing these verses in their scriptures. As needed, point out that the Savior included Himself in the description of perfection to the Nephites. Discuss what that teaches us.
Sermon on the Mount journal activity
If students were invited to start a study journal entry in the “Matthew 5:1–12” lesson, consider inviting them to add their thoughts and impressions from today’s lesson to that journal entry.