"Be Ye Therefore Perfect"

I have always admired my niece Rylee. When I was in college I wrote an acronym for the names of the living prophets in order that started "My Pretty Perfect Niece" (Monson, Packer, Perry, Nelson).  She is beautiful, talented and an accomplished dancer.  More than this she is a beloved daughter of God who knows her purpose and has a desire to put the gospel first in her life. 

I remember one of Rylee's first dance performances on an outdoor stage in Antelope, California. She tapped to "it's a hard knock life." Now she does ballet and contemporary with the company at the Northern California Dance Conservatory. Dancing takes discipline and control-- it also takes constant correction and critiquing of your own body shape and movement.  She said "In dance you're always in front of a mirror correcting your body or comparing yourself to other dancers. You want what you are doing to be perfect." The gospel has kept this from overcoming her life and controlling her happiness. She remembers that "Jesus Christ was the only person to walk this earth that was ever perfect." His command to "Be ye therefore perfect" has always filled me with a sense of impending doom. How will I ever live up to that commandment? Even when I try my hardest I still fall short. Rylee said "He knows and we know that we can't be perfect so we were given the gift of repentance to help us along the way." The gift of repentance shows his love for us because he wants us to continually be working towards perfection. He doesn't expect it from us right now, but he does expect us to try.

One way that we show our effort and willingness to be perfected is by making prayer and scripture study a part of our life. Rylee dances anywhere from 2 1/2 to 4 hours every day along with her normal hectic duties as a 16 year old high school student with three younger siblings. She has found peace through the storm by clinging to the basics:

"I've always had a strong habit of prayer. No matter how tired I am at night I always say a prayer before I go to sleep. For morning prayers I like to set my alarm with the title Morning Pray as a nice little reminder. For scripture study it's nice to have seminary to keep me on track. I like to do my own personal study when I'm in the car on the way to seminary. I also like to set aside time on Sundays to read my scriptures and ponder in my backyard. It is very peaceful."

We are our hardest critic. We cannot keep putting ourselves down when we don't reach the high expectations set for us by others or by ourselves. We must trust in the grace of Jesus Christ and the infinite wisdom of our Father in Heaven. Rylee has a beautiful perspective on this self-detrimental philosophy of comparison. She said "One of my favorite quotes is " comparison is the thief of joy". We are all unique different individuals. We were all given different qualities and talents. Why would you want to be just like someone else? How boring would it be if we are all the same? Love yourself and love others. The only person we need to please is Heavenly Father. True beauty comes from with in. We should focus more on developing who we are rather than how we look. True happiness comes from doing the right thing, serving others, and the gospel.

Make a goal to eliminate negative thoughts, to eliminate comparison. Treat yourself as Heavenly Father would treat you. We are all his beloved Children!