Wednesday, November 6, 2019

M. Sue Bergin on "After all We Can do" (2 Nephi 25:23)



“AFTER ALL WE CAN DO”

In 2 Nephi 25, written by Nephi’s brother Jacob, Nephi is preaching to the people of Nephi. They see him as “a king or a protector,” and he tells them that he is laboring diligently to write the prophecies of others and of himself for this reason: “To persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23).

Let’s take a closer look at the phrase “after all we can do.” I confess that it has in the past raised my perfectionistic anxiety and sometimes still does . . . How can we possibly ever say we’ve done “all” we can? Anytime I think about my behavior yesterday or today, I can see something more I could have done to be right before God. There’s always room for improvement. If I had done all I could on any particular day, wouldn’t that mean I had behaved perfectly? My perfectionistic brain sometimes leads me to understand “all we can do” as “already perfect.” Perfectionists, after all, believe in the possibility of perfection, so if true all-out effort is expended, surely that would equal perfect.

That’s poor reasoning, of course, and an example of how perfectionism can distort our thinking. It’s comforting to me to remember President Spencer W. Kimball’s words that “each of us has more opportunities to do good and to be good than we ever use” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Jesus: The Perfect Leader,” Ensign, August 1979). His subtext seems to be that it is not possible to do our “all” all of the time.

Even phrases like “do your best” or “give your best effort,” which might work well for non-perfectionists, can raise anxiety and desperate feelings to measure up. When perfectionists hear that all the Lord expects of us is “our best,” we hear: “Give your maximum effort 100 percent of the time.” We know that’s not possible, but some of us aim for it anyway. It’s part of the perfectionism con that after a performance, no matter how good, we believe we could have done better. Personally, when I hear “best” phrases, I adjust them in my mind so that the message is manageable. For example, if someone in a church setting says that what’s expected of me is not perfection but only my best, I’ll say to myself, “What’s expected of me is diligence.”

Some of the anxiety about the phrase “all we can do” comes from a misunderstanding about timing. Nephi is speaking of the final judgment when our mortal lives are over. If we don’t keep that in mind, we might believe we’re a candidate for Christ’s grace only after we’ve done all we can. Elder Bruce C. Hafen corrects this idea in his book The Broken Heart. “The Savior’s gift of grace to us is not necessarily limited in time to ‘after’ all we can do. We may receive his grace before, during, and after the time when we expend our own efforts” (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart: Applying the Atonement to Life’s Experiences [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989], 155).

In my study for this book I found a phrase that brought me peace when I read it, rather than feelings of discouragement. The words were written by Elder D. Todd Christofferson in an Ensign article. Here is what he said:

Personal persistence in the path of disobedience is something different than achieving perfection in mortality. Perfection is not, as some suppose, a prerequisite for justification and sanctification. It is just the opposite: justification (being pardoned) and sanctification (being purified) are the prerequisites for perfection. We only become perfect “in Christ” (see Moroni 10:32), not independently of Him. Thus, what is required of us in order to obtain mercy in the day of judgment is simple diligence” (emphasis added) (D. Todd Christofferson, “Justification and Sanctification,” Ensign, June 2001).

Similarly, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said in October 2010 general conference: “Diligently doing the thing that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Of Things that Matter Most,” Ensign, November 2011, 21).

He didn’t say “frantically” or “speedily” or “hastily” doing the things that matter most. Just “diligently.”

Since I noticed that word, I have heard it and read it from our leaders often. Very often.

“Simple diligence” is now my mantra whenever I think I am not doing enough or being good enough. It is a gentle reminder to slowly and surely, with “small, steady, incremental” (David A. Bednar, “Clean Hands and a Pure Heart,” Ensign, November 2007) steps, become the person I hope my Savior will greet someday with open arms. (M. Sue Bergin, Am I a Saint Yet? Healing the Pain of Perfectionism [Springville, Utah: CFI, 2012], 104-6)

Further Reading


Less one thinks that Christofferson's article supports justification being merely declarative (the Protestant understanding), see: