Why Jesus Christ is Important to Me

Why is Jesus Christ important to me?  A lot of that is stated in the scriptures I quoted, but I'll do more to phrase it in my own words:

Jesus Christ is my Savior.  I am His disciple through covenant.  I have sinned (like everyone) and of myself I am not worthy to return to my Father in Heaven, but through the power and grace of Jesus Christ I can be perfected in Him and receive all of the blessings that God the Father desires to give His children.  I owe Him everything.  He knows and loves me.  He loves me enough that He suffered for my sins and even died for me.  But He also lived for me and showed the way that I should live, not only to have peace in this life but also afterward, throughout eternity.  Of course I am not the only one He loves; He loves everyone I know and everyone I don't.  He has commanded me to love everyone, after loving God, and I take that commandment very seriously.  I'm grateful that my "loved ones" among my family and friends have salvation available to them also, and that the mercy of Christ is available to the entire world whom I am commanded to love.  Jesus Christ understands my pain in life.  I really don't expect many people on this Earth to have great understanding of the trials I've known, and I don't expect any mortal person to fully understand, but He does.  He knows the depth of my suffering, even when it has been foolishly self-inflicted, and He indeed knows much more suffering than I've ever known.  But He has lived through the lowest of the lows and in His greatest difficulties He still gave His will to the Father.  That is an example of no small importance to me.  In any moment of weakness or trial, I always know that I can submit to my Father's will as He did, and I know that They both want me to do so in order that I might be one with them and know their joy.  I don't expect to achieve that unity during my mortal life; I expect that full obedience to Christ's commandment to "be perfect" is only possible through Him and won't happen while I'm still subject to mortal weakness.  But I still strive to be like Him.  I invoke His name daily in prayer to my Heavenly Father, both individually and with my family.  I teach my family about Him.  While there are many ephemeral things in the world that I enjoy, I continually keep God's eternal Plan of Happiness in my mind, knowing that Jesus Christ is central to every part of that Plan, and no mortal pleasure could ever compare to what He provides me.  I know that at the day of my final judgment I will stand before Him and the Father, and that in His majesty I will have nothing to offer Him, and I will know my own unworthiness keenly, but I have faith that His Atonement not only gives me strength now but will be sufficient for me at that time.

Last thoughts for now:
I should add that I see the marvelous work of God being carried out in the modern Church of Jesus Christ.  It is an immense blessing to have this Church that exists to bring people closer to Him.

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.