Mistakes and Perfection

As I make my own efforts to do what is right and to grow as a person, I am keenly aware of all the mistakes I make. Sometimes I sin, but sometimes I just make mistakes. Particularly when doing something difficult, we are all prone to making mistakes from time to time. Was Christ the same? We know He never sinned, but I have to wonder if He ever did things that frustrated Him or that He felt embarrassed about. I wonder if He ever faced a difficult situation but afterward, though having done nothing unrighteous, said to Himself, “Aaargh, I could have done that better.”

Making mistakes is very humbling for me. Was it also for Jesus Christ, as He “continued from grace to grace” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:13)?

Before His death and resurrection, Christ commanded His followers to be perfect even as Heavenly Father is perfect. During a visit to the Nephites after His resurrection, He said the same thing but mentioned that He was also perfect. I think one part of perfection is having a perfect body; that’s one thing Christ had after His resurrection that He didn’t have before. I find it interesting that He modified the Sermon on the Mount slightly when giving it to the Nephites. (For example, adding the phrase “who come unto me” after the words “blessed are the poor in Spirit”—see 3 Nephi 12:3.)

Beyond that, I begin to wonder something else, challenging slightly a long-held idea. Perhaps this is a stupid question, and perhaps I should have read Talmage’s Jesus the Christ more so that I would have an easily referenced and definitive answer, but does being perfect mean being morally and righteously perfect only, or does it also mean never making mistakes? It seems strange to think of God making a mistake. If we are to become perfect, and thus reach a point at which we no longer make mistakes, how does that happen, and how long does it take?

Last thoughts for now:
Though I don’t expect to be certain about it any time soon, I imagine that Christ did make mistakes in His mortal life. Maybe it was just something like messing up a piece of wood when helping Joseph with the carpentry. It would certainly be understandable if He did. Either way, I expect to make many more of my own mistakes. If I didn’t, I’m sure I wouldn’t be living a life worth living.

We Know

It's often taken for granted that nobody knows the purpose of life, and that nobody knows if God really exists.

It's not true. We know.

By "we", I mean members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Before being baptized, a person should have a testimony from God that He exists and that the Church is His true church. I realize that it sadly doesn't always happen that way; some people somehow get baptized without seeking and receiving a testimony (as I have addressed already in another post). However, true latter-day saints know with certainty that God loves them and they know why God created the earth and put them on it.

Just today on the radio I heard someone saying that "nobody knows that God exists". Well, I know He does. I know why I'm here, I know what He wants for me, and I know what He wants me to do in order to receive it.

That knowledge is a wonderful thing.

Last thoughts for now: This is the sort of knowledge that needs to be shared. Everyone deserves to know like we do.