Patient with Imperfections

In Elder Valeri V. Cordon's talk, The Language of the Gospel, one particular sentence toward the end of his talk stood out to me: "Just as a mother is compassionate with her little children, our Heavenly Father is patient with our imperfections and mistakes."

This was a good reminder for me, as I need frequent reminders that God will not be overly-critical if and when we struggle in our attempts to keep the commandments. God knows that life is difficult and filled with strong temptations. God knows that we're only human. God asks that we try to keep the commandments, but He doesn't demand that we always succeed. His perfect plan accounts for our shortcomings and weaknesses, and while we must always strive to overcome our weaknesses, there is a backup plan for when we occasionally fail.

Of course, God is far less forgiving of deliberate sin, and forgiveness for any sin, deliberate or not, can only come through repentance, but it's nice to know that God is as merciful as He is just, and that He is more patient than He is perfectionistic. With only one exception, no human has ever been perfect, and I am very grateful that God has learned to be patient with us about that.