There are two very specific phrases from cultural Mormonism that drive me absolutely bat-sh*t crazy every time I hear them:

"Be ye therefore perfect."

- and -

"When the prophet has spoken, the thinking has been done."

Here is my less than authoritative analysis on the topic:

First, "perfection" is an ideal, or model, that simply does not occur in a physical, rational existence. Everything we see, feel, hear, smell, touch, sense or experience around us is in a constant state of change. NOTHING is static. It never has been. It never will be. That is not to say that things do not change at different rates, some much faster than others. Even things that appear constant and immovable to our perception are, nevertheless, transforming. They merely do so at a rate that is orders of magnitude slower than we are able to perceive or quantify meaningfully. In other words, all matter is constantly active and collectively evolving. The idea of "perfection" would imply that somehow a particular thing could achieve some sort of state where change is no longer necessary (or desirable).

As an "ideal" model for evaluation and semantic transfer of knowledge, the concept of "perfection" is certainly useful, and I do understand how it can be fundamentally applied to an idea of striving to daily "improve" ourselves or to seek for higher levels of personal performance. Nevertheless, I find it to be a generally cruel and abusive practice to continually demand or expect (figuratively, or not) a level of performance from any individual that simply does not functionally manifest itself anywhere else within the cosmos.

(If someone else has a plausible example of "perfection" which manifests itself somewhere within our universe, I would appreciate being enlightened on the matter. Seriously.)

Second - the "thinking" about ANY given topic or discourse is NEVER done. PERIOD! By present accounts, our universe has been constantly evolving, moving and transforming for somewhere on the order of 13 BILLION years now. (To put that number into perspective, consider a 10 year old child setting a goal to count from 1 to 1,000,000,000 by ones. Assume, for the sake of the argument, they are able to express each subsequent digit at a rate of one per second. If my calculations are correct, that child would be approximately 42 years old before they would reach their goal - IF, and ONLY if - they were able to count continuously without ever taking a break to sleep or eat or anything else.)

Now, contrast the number 13 BILLION with the number 7,000. So called "recorded history" has only begun to scratch the surface of opening up the mysteries of existence and committing those thoughts and ideas to writing. What a travesty it is, then, to subjugate others into believing that they cannot or SHOULD NOT continue to think, examine, ponder, explore, consider, debate, evaluate, deconstruct, defend or otherwise process ANY given subject or idea or theme. WHAT POSSIBLE GOOD can come from terminating the discourse on ANY topic - savory or not? WHY does the so-called principle of "obedience" trump the equally (or, IMHO, manifestly more) noteworthy principles of intelligent discourse and evaluation?



Thank you all for the opportunity to rant and vent. I wish you all peace, happiness and fulfillment in your respective endeavors.

Plato's "Theory of Forms" seems to apply here. He thought that a "real" object of any type was an imperfect manifestation of a perfect but non-material "ideal" prototype of that object.

(My memory of this theory may be imperfect, first semester classic philosophy was a long time ago)

So - the "Perfect" you may be an ideal which will not be achieved. It is, however, the model to which TSCC holds you to.

Barf. Need my coffee.