What We Can Achieve

It is now January, and I haven't finished blogging about November's General Conference talks yet. Thankfully, the last of November's Conference talks is Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. In this talk, Elder Holland noted how discouraging such a commandment as "be perfect" can be, but he said that he didn't think that discouraging us was Jesus' intention:

I believe that Jesus did not intend His sermon on this subject to be a verbal hammer for battering us about our shortcomings. No, I believe He intended it to be a tribute to who and what God the Eternal Father is and what we can achieve with Him in eternity.

And, apparently, "what we can achieve with Him in eternity" is perfection.

I find that amazing. When I think about about how flawed we are, and especially about how flawed I am, I am awed by the prospect that any human being, even me, could eventually become perfect. Granted, it's going to take a lot of work, and Elder Holland even said that "Our only hope for true perfection is in receiving it as a gift from heaven—we can’t 'earn' it," but still, the idea that we can become perfect is mind-boggling, even considering God's help.

Yet, that's the plan. It's been the plan since the very beginning. I'd even go so far as to say that the very reason God created us was so we could eventually accomplish the goal of becoming perfect. He wants to watch us grow and reach the same heights He has reached.

And the fact that we can reach those heights amazes me.