Christ fully answered for Himself the end of the law that demands perfection. By so doing, He became a perfect, just God. Thus, perfection was an acquired attribute of God even though there was never a time He was not perfect. He is light and in Him there is no darkness. He is the Rock, His work is perfect, a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He (see Deuteronomy 32:4). His way is perfect; His word is tried. He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him (see 2 Samuel 22:31); a being in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (see James 1:17). He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance (see D&C 1:31) for He “doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth He turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth He vary from that which He hath said, therefore His paths are straight, and His course is one eternal round” (D&C 3:2).
These attributes of perfection, justice, and constancy are necessary prerequisites to trusting God, “for without the idea of unchangeableness in the character of the Deity,” taught the prophet Joseph (1891), “doubt would take the place of faith. But with the idea that he changes not,” he continued, “faith lays hold upon the excellencies in his character with unshaken confidence, believing he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that his course is one eternal round” (pp. 21, Lecture 3). Without knowledge of God’s constancy, we “would not know how soon the mercy of God might change into cruelty, his long-suffering into rashness, his love into hatred, and in consequence of which doubt man would be incapable of exercising faith in him” (pp. 21, Lecture 3). It is also necessary, the Prophet continued . . ..png)
In order to the exercise of faith in God unto life and salvation, that men should have the idea of the existence of the attribute justice in him; for without the idea of the existence of the attribute justice in the Deity men could not have confidence sufficient to place themselves under his guidance and direction; for they would be filled with fear and doubt lest the judge of all the earth would not do right . . . .
But when the idea of the existence of the attribute justice in the Deity is fairly planted in the mind, it leaves no room for doubt to get into the heart, and the mind is enabled to cast itself upon the Almighty without fear and without doubt, and with the most unshaken confidence, believing that the Judge of all the earth will do right (pp. 14, Lecture 4).
Considering that Christ is perfect and just, we may ask: “Can we ever answer, for ourselves, the end of the law that requires perfection and, thereby, become perfect and just?” In other words, can we ever become perfect without Christ? The scriptures are clear and absolute on this point: the PERFECTION end of the law can only be answered for men by cloaking them in the perfection of Christ. Christ alone answered this end of the law for Himself and for every creature and men can in no wise answer it for themselves. “Men can stop sinning,” said Elder Joseph F. Smith (1939), “and can do right in the future, and so far their acts are acceptable before the Lord and worthy of consideration. But who shall repair the wrongs they have done to themselves and to others, which it seems impossible for them to repair themselves” (p. 98)?Only Christ can cover sin and hide it from view. Christ is not only the shortest way to perfection; He is the only Way to Perfection. Thus, the only way for man to be saved in any degree is for someone not subject to the curse to rescue him—it requires God. President John Taylor (1882) remarked:
For the simple reason that a stream can never rise higher than its fountain; a man having assumed a fleshly body and become of the earth earthy, and through the violation of law having cut himself off from his association with the Father, and become subject to death; in this condition, as the mortal life of a man was short, and in and of himself he could have no hope of benefiting himself, or redeeming himself from his fallen condition, or of bringing himself back to the presence of his Father, some superior agency was needed to elevate him above his low and degraded position. This superior agency was the Son of God, who had not, as man had, violated a law of his Father, but as yet one with His Father, possessing His glory, His power, His dominion . . . .
A man as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a God to raise him to the dignity of a God. (pp. 145-146).
Alluding to one of Israel’s principal oversights, the apostle Paul reminded the Romans that they were to rely on the righteousness of their Redeemer and not the arm of flesh for perfection:
For [Israel] being ignorant of God’s righteousness [perfection], and going about to establish their own righteousness [perfection], have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness [perfection] of God.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness [perfection] to everyone that believeth (Romans 10:3-4).
Ultimately, our rise to perfection must be rooted in the righteousness of our Redeemer (see 2 Nephi 2:3). It is His righteousness that is to be declared as He alone is the justifier of those who believe on His name (see Romans 3:25-26). Only “in the Lord have I righteousness and strength.” [Only in the Lord shall all the] “seed of Israel be justified” (see Isaiah 45:24-25; compare Isaiah 53:11). The only way whereby we may lay hold of every good thing is to have faith in Him from whom all good things come (see Moroni 7:12, 20-28). It is His righteousness for which we are commanded to hunger and thirst (see 3 Nephi 12:6; compare 3 Nephi 20:8-9). Our most recently-deceased prophet has reminded us that ours “is the privilege of standing in the shadow of the Redeemer of the world as we carry forward this work” (Hinckley G. B., 2003, p. 24). Thus, the Lord exhorts us to “seek . . . first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33; compare 3 Nephi 13:33) “for he hath made [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our righteousness is to be of the Lord (see Isaiah 54:17), the fountain of all righteousness (see Ether 12:28). True righteousness, therefore, comes by faith in the Righteous (see Moses 7:47).
In this connection, it is frequently heard these days that “we should pray as if everything depended upon God and work as if everything depended upon ourselves.” I think I understand the message conveyed by this statement. Often, it is appropriately used to stress the importance of personal effort in the grand scheme of things. However, the danger in this statement is that it strikes at the foundations of the atonement and, if we permit, it destroys faith. If we ever attempt to separate our actions from their divine source, then we risk our attentions being focused on our mortal abilities rather than on God’s strength and perfection. In such condition, we will find ourselves relying in the arm of flesh—neglecting to give God credit for our successes and forgetting to look to Him for strength to rise above our failures. We must both pray and work as if everything depended upon the Lord for Moroni reminded us that “if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God” (Moroni 10:25).
It is instrumental to note that relying in the arm of flesh is listed as a primary cause for straying from God’s ordinances and breaking His everlasting covenant (D&C 1:15). Describing the manner in which such have strayed and broken His covenant, the Lord confirmed: “They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness [perfection], but every man walketh in his own way [i.e., to establish his own righteousness or perfection], and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol” (D&C 1:16). Describing these individuals in more detail, Nephi wrote:
The prophet Moroni, who also viewed these latter-day people “as if they were present,” noted that, save a few only, they all walk in the “pride of their hearts” (see Mormon 8:35-40).They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men (2 Nephi 28:14).
In D&C 33:4, the Lord teaches that the “precepts of men” is “priestcrafts” which is elsewhere considered synonymous with “making flesh our arm” by ignoring the workings of the Holy Spirit (see 2 Nephi 28:31). Priestcrafts, according to Nephi, “are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion” (2 Nephi 26:29). Referring to devious wolves in sheep’s clothing who practice this craft, Mormon warned: “Yea, and wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ, for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ” (3 Nephi 29:7). Finally, in connection with certain individuals and their transgression of the Law of Consecration in process of building Zion, the Lord declared that the covenant was broken “through covetousness and with feigned words” (D&C 104:4, 52). Like the cause underlying priestcrafts, feigned words are also those spoken falsely for the intent of obtaining personal gain.
All of these scriptures concerning the attitudes and conduct of those of the latter days suggest that we, as a collective society, are little different from the Israelites of Paul’s day that went about to establish their own righteousness. Like them, we walk after the manner of the flesh and follow after the precepts of men. Like them, we seek to establish our own righteousness and to find salvation in a god which moth and rust doth corrupt (see Matthew 6:19), and this we do because of the pride of our hearts. Like them, we seek the substance of the world to make it our idol—and we do so with feigned words. Like them addressed by the apostle Peter, we deny the Lord who bought us with a price and allow those who follow after pernicious ways through covetousness and with feigned words make merchandise of us (see 2 Peter 2:1-3). Indeed, priestcrafts are all about us and possibly, if not certainly, among us!
In a moving demonstration of His invitation to us to be perfect in Him, the veil of the temple was rent as the Son of God cried with a loud voice and yielded up the Ghost (see Matthew 27:50-51), thereby, demonstrating not only His fulfillment of the Mosaic law but also signifying that entrance into the most holy place is no longer restricted to the high priest of Israel. “But now,” said the apostle Paul, “our Great High Priest, our Hope and Anchor of the Soul, has, for us, first entered through the veil into the most holy place” (Hebrews 6:19-20) and invites us to follow Him. Paul continued:
Having therefore . . . boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way . . . through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
And having an high priest over the house of God;
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,[1] having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
Wonderfully, we must boldly—with a divine confidence, engendered by virtue and bonds of perfectness, that waxes strong in the presence of God (see D&C 121:45)—enter the celestial kingdom through the veil, that is to say, through the flesh of Christ, our Forerunner (see Hebrews 6:20), for no “man cometh unto the Father, but by [Him]” (John 14:6).
Because He lived a perfect life, Christ is able to perfect us. Because He remained in that sphere in which God placed Him, He is able to renew us to that sphere from which we fell. Moroni aptly concluded: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfect in him . . . . And . . . if ye . . . are perfect in Christ . . . then are ye sanctified in Christ . . . through the shedding of the blood of Christ . . . unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:32-34). The PERFECTION end of the law can be fully answered for men only when the Lord’s righteousness or perfection is imputed unto them and they become perfect in Him. And although men are counseled to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, it is God who worketh in them that brings this salvation about (see Philippians 2:12-13) for “all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them” (Moroni 7:24).
In these verses quoted from Moroni 10, the Prophet taught that becoming perfect in Christ is a two-fold development; first, he taught that we must become perfect, or justified, in Christ and, second, he taught that when we are justified in Christ then are we sanctified in Christ. In this sense, the word “then” as used by Moroni suggests that all who are justified in Christ are then sanctified in Christ. In other words, although separate and distinct, justification and sanctification appear to be coupled (compare D&C 88:34-39).
Considering justification at this juncture may prove useful as it is a doctrine that fundamentally relates to perfection. In D&C 88, the Lord says: “unto every kingdom is given a law and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions” (verse 38). Likewise, we are told that all who will have a blessing at God’s hands “shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof” (D&C 132:5) and that “all beings who abide not in those conditions are not justified” (D&C 88:39).
Connecting the dots between these verses suggests that justification, or being made perfect in Christ, comes as a result of obedience to the conditions of gospel law. However, we should be mindful that “by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off” (2 Nephi 2:5; compare Galatians 3:11). The law is only a schoolmaster that points souls to Christ (see Jacob 4:5) that they might be justified by faith in Him (see Galatians 3:24). In other words, one cannot be justified by obedience to law without having faith in the Lawgiver. Thus, the apostle Paul declared: “not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9).
Connecting the dots between these verses suggests that justification, or being made perfect in Christ, comes as a result of obedience to the conditions of gospel law. However, we should be mindful that “by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off” (2 Nephi 2:5; compare Galatians 3:11). The law is only a schoolmaster that points souls to Christ (see Jacob 4:5) that they might be justified by faith in Him (see Galatians 3:24). In other words, one cannot be justified by obedience to law without having faith in the Lawgiver. Thus, the apostle Paul declared: “not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9).
As with all gospel principles, justification must be centered in Christ—it must touch Him and grow out of Him. Justification must be predicated upon faith in the Holy Messiah (see 2 Nephi 2:6), for if there is no faith, awful is the state of man for, other than loosing the bands of death, they are as though there had been no redemption made (see Moroni 7:38). Christ is the end of the law and the purpose for which law is given (see 2 Nephi 25:24-27). Further, the faith that brings justification must be of the sort that leads unto repentance—for all true faith must be unto repentance if it is to be rooted in Christ. Faith without repentance is only an intellectual exercise that produces no fruit. Thus, Abinadi taught that he that persists in his own carnal nature and goes on in the ways of sin and rebellion against God, it is as though there was no redemption made for him (Mosiah 16:5; compare Alma 11:41).
Thus, faith in Christ unto repentance is essential for one to be justified. In short, we are justified by the blood of Christ by what we do through faith in His name unto repentance for, as the apostle Paul taught, “the doers of the law shall be justified” (see Romans 2:13).[2] Restated, I suggest justification is being declared just, not guilty (see 3 Nephi 27:16), or perfect through the blood of Christ by faith on the Lord unto repentance and obedience to the conditions of His law.
Extending this principle to individual blessings, justification is obtaining a blessing by faith in Christ unto repentance and by obedience to the conditions of His law upon which that blessing is predicated (see D&C 130:21). If satisfactorily met, the requisite standards of faith, repentance, and obedience[3] with respect to the law to which blessings are attached, will assure us that the Holy Spirit of Promise will recognize and ratify our actions and seal upon us the promised blessings (see D&C 132:7). Extending this concept to God’s kingdoms of glory (i.e., the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial), justification would then be the means whereby, through the blood of Christ and by faith in His name unto repentance, we become legal citizens of a kingdom—the law and conditions of which we are willing to abide. Thus, justification comes to all of God’s children who, in the broadest sense, are saved in one of His three kingdoms of glory and who, thereby, become “heirs of salvation” (see D&C 76:44, 88).[4]
Sadly, after those who are fit for a kingdom of glory have been judged, those who remain will return again to their own place (see D&C 88:32) to enjoy a kingdom of no glory (see D&C 88:32, 24) and this because they were unwilling to abide the law and conditions of a kingdom of glory. For them, our Advocate neither prays nor pleads to the Father (see 3 Nephi 19:29).[5] Of such, the Lord has said: “it had been better for them never to have been born” (D&C 76:32). Those who thus qualify as sons of perdition will be neither justified (see Alma 41:13-15, compare D&C 88:39) nor sanctified (see D&C 88:35), for the Lord saves all except them (see D&C 76:44) “for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not; for they love darkness rather than light” (D&C 29:44-45). Describing these destitute souls as “wells without water and clouds that are carried with a tempest to whom the midst of darkness is reserved forever,” the apostle Peter declared:
But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire (2 Peter 2:12-22).
One aspect of justification that is sometimes overlooked is the fact that all those who are justified are cleansed from sin and made perfect according to that sphere and station in which they shall dwell. This is true even of telestial citizens, “they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie” (D&C 76:103), who suffer the wrath of God on earth and are cast to hell until the fulness of times when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under His feet (see D&C 103:104-106). Even the sins of these telestial candidates will be “blotted out” (see Acts 3:19; compare Alma 7:13-14) through the blood of the Lamb.
Even these telestial citizens will be declared “not guilty” through the blood of Christ by eventually availing themselves of His mercy through faith, repentance, and personal suffering. Having done so, they will come forth clean and will stand blameless because they will have repented and become obedient to certain conditions of gospel law. However, those who are thus justified will have neither yielded their hearts to God (see Helaman 3:5) nor consecrated their whole souls (see Omni 1:26) to celestial work. I prefer to think of these in the sense that they will undergo a form of forced contrition—they will be compelled to be humble (contrast Alma 32:16). They will regret having sinned but their contrition will not stem from a genuine love of God, nor will it lead them to alter their behavior to celestial conduct.
Even these telestial citizens will be declared “not guilty” through the blood of Christ by eventually availing themselves of His mercy through faith, repentance, and personal suffering. Having done so, they will come forth clean and will stand blameless because they will have repented and become obedient to certain conditions of gospel law. However, those who are thus justified will have neither yielded their hearts to God (see Helaman 3:5) nor consecrated their whole souls (see Omni 1:26) to celestial work. I prefer to think of these in the sense that they will undergo a form of forced contrition—they will be compelled to be humble (contrast Alma 32:16). They will regret having sinned but their contrition will not stem from a genuine love of God, nor will it lead them to alter their behavior to celestial conduct.
.png)
Being justified in Christ does not happen all at once in mortality, nor does it immediately happen when we die. Joseph Smith (1976) said that it would be a great while after we have passed through the veil before we will have learned all the principles of exaltation (p. 230). However, simply because this process may extend beyond the grave does not mean that seeking for it can, in wisdom, be delayed. Seeking for any celestial attribute or condition should never be delayed as mortality is short. Elder Neal A. Maxwell (2004) said in the April 2004 Priesthood Session of General Conference:Brethren, as you submit your wills to God, you are giving Him the only thing you can actually give Him that is really yours to give. Don't wait too long to find the altar or to begin to place the gift of your wills upon it! (p. 45).
Worlds without end, we could never experience celestial life without being justified in Christ. Because He answered the PERFECTION end of the law, He is now the PERFECTION end of the law to all those who have faith in His name.
WORKS CITED
Hinckley, G. B. (2003, June 21). Rejoicing in the Privilege to Serve. Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, 24.
Maxwell, N. A. (2004, May). Remember How Merciful the Lord Hath Been. Ensign, pp. 44-45.
Smith, J. (1891). The Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City: George Q. Cannon & Sons, Co., Printers and Publishers.
Smith, J. (1976). Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. (J. F. Smith, Ed.) Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Smith, J. F. (1939). Gospel Doctrine. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company.
Taylor, J. (1882). Mediation and Atonement. Salt Lake City: Deseret New Company.
ENDNOTES
[1] Drawing near to God in full assurance of faith, is more than a leisurely approach.
[2] Compare D&C 132:59. Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1981) confirmed: “Men are justified in what they do when their deeds conform to divine standards” (p. 344).
[3] Obedience presupposes the performance of ordinances under proper priesthood keys.
[4] Compare D&C 138:58-59. The greater blessing of sanctification comes primarily to those who qualify through Christ to dwell in the kingdom wherein God dwells. In other words, although coupled with justification, sanctification, in the supreme sense, is a celestial concept; scripture most often connects it to celestial life. This is not to say that sanctification does not come, in some measure, to those of the telestial or terrestrial glory. For example, Doctrine and Covenants 76:41-43 states that Christ “came into the world . . . to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved . . . except the sons of perdition.” Furthermore, after equating the light of Christ to the “law by which all things are governed” (see D&C 88:13), the Lord revealed that “that which is governed by law is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same” (D&C 88:34). These verses suggest that sanctification, in some measure, applies to all those whom the Son saves (i.e., the world) and who are governed, in one way or another, by the law (or light of Christ). Thus, it seems plausible that everyone, except sons of perdition, will be sanctified in some measure. However, in the ultimate sense, the concept of sanctification most appropriately applies to those of the celestial realm (see D&C 88:2, 17-21), even though those of the lower kingdoms of glory will be cleansed from all sin. If we abide the whole law—the Law of Christ (see D&C 88:21)—the assurance is given that we will be “recorded in the book of the names of the sanctified, even them of the celestial world” (D&C 88:2) because, as Elder McConkie taught, “this law includes the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost” (McConkie B. R., Mormon Doctrine, 1966, p. 97). And if we are not sanctified through celestial law, then we must “inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom” (D&C 88:21) for “he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom . . . [or] the law of a telestial kingdom . . . must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory” (D&C 88:22-24) because he is unwilling to abide the law of a kingdom of glory and “therefore, [he] cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, [he] must remain filthy still” (D&C 88:35).
[5] Compare D&C 38:4-6; D&C 45:3-5.
