Ever since people began to reflect on the moral life, they have been aware of some perfect ideal of character and conduct toward which they must strive. The concept of perfection has two closely allied and often overlapping meanings. First it means completeness, wholeness, or integrity: one is perfect when he or she (or it) is free from all deficiencies. Second it means the achievement of an end or a goal. This meaning emerges most clearly from the connection between the Greek words teleios (perfect) and telos (end or goal). An entity is perfect when it has achieved its goal by actualizing its potentialities and realizing its specific form. Bringing these two meanings together, one would say that a thing is complete or entire when it has fulfilled its nature and thereby reached its end. The concept is best examined first under its religious, and second under its moral, aspect. God is id quo nihi maius cogitari possiit (that than which nothing greater can be conceived. God is self-existent, he must be infinite (or limitless) in intelligence, goodness, and power. Love is the element in divine perfection that disciples are to imitate. Personal integrity enables us to balance the ever-changing needs of our bodies, minds, and spirits. It is the ability to take the many dimensions of ourselves and make the best use of them as they are now, all the while keeping in mind what you hope they will be. #RandolphHarris 1 of 6

Hope it the anchor of our souls. There is no one who is not in need of hope—young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor. Wherefore, whoso believes in God might with surety hope for a better World, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope comes of faith, making an anchor to the souls of humans, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God. The integrated self is constantly looking. The integrated self incorporates each aspect of the personality, and grows just as the other selves grow. If you have not done so before, seeing yourself as a whole person will create changes in your life. Wherefore, we must press forward with a steadfastness in God, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all people, feasting upon the word of God, and endure to the end, behold, thus says the Father: You shall have eternal life. Conscious awareness of the different demands of your various sides (your funny and sad sides, your mental and physical sides), as well as the interplay between them, means no longer being able to ignore your own needs and values. Out of this awareness comes choice, the way we prioritize the many demands we make on our body and soul. Choice means making a commitment to living out of our bet self as often as we can. Of course, deciding to operate out of one’s best self does not make daily choices easy. #RandolphHarris 2 of 6

Everybody in this life has their challenges and difficulties. Sometimes we will need to choose between two thing we want (to sit with a sick friend or go to an important environmental meeting), or two you do not (to fire an employee or put of with their bad work). Choice also extends to the manner in which you approach these issues—with kindness or callousness, with creativity or passivity. We are accountable and will ne judged for how we use what we have received. This eternal principle applies to all we have been given. The principle of accountability also applies to the spiritual resources conferred in the teachings we have been given and to the precious hors and days allotted to each of us during our time in mortality. Because of increased life expectancies and modern timesaving devices, most of us have far more discretionary time than our predecessors. We are accountable for how we use that time. And if we are not mindful, the chance will fade away, for life is quick in passing. The significance of our increased discretionary time has been magnified many times by modern data-retrieval technology. For good or for evil, devices like 5^th-Generation Wireless Systems and the new digital audio format called MT9 have put at our fingertips an incredible inventory of information, insights, images, and capabilities. #RandolphHarris 3 of 6

Along with fast food, we have convenience our way, we can order on our time, and pickup an Egg McMuffin or a Sausage McMuffin with Egg on our terms. The effect of these resources on some of us seems to fulfill the prophet Daniel’s prediction that in the last days, “know shall be increased and many shall run to and fro” (Daniel 12.4). With greatly increased free time and vastly more alternatives for its use, it is prudent to review the fundamental principles that should guide us. Temporal circumstances change, but the eternal laws and principles that should guide our choices never change. Choosing is something we must do every day. Even an established choice, such as the choice to be married, must be constantly reaffirmed. Failure to think and rethink choices leads to decisions that do not serve our total self. It is sometimes asked what has posterity done for me that I should do anything for posterity? The question was wrongly put. Posterity is only another name for humankind, and when we pose the question rightly there can be no dispute about the answer. If we put aside the part that belongs to Nature or God, we owe everything to humankind. All that we are, and all that we possess in civilization, we owe to the everlasting aspiration and struggle of humankind before us, and to the slow accumulation of knowledge and art on the topmost level of which we now stand. #RandolphHarris 4 of 6

Our immense debt to humankind in the past can only be repaid to humankind in the future. If we do not regard it as our duty, It is our privilege to pass on, in ever finer shapes, the great traditions which have been handed to us. The most difficult aspect of personal integrity is action. It is not enough to decide, or even verbalize, your priorities. You must act upon them. If your boss wants you to work late (again!) and you have determined that nothing will get in the way of family dinners, you must acct according to your choice. You must have the courage to do what you believe is right. In short, you must take risk. When we put action with awareness and choice, we experience a moment of personal integrity. When it comes to integrating their many facets and desires, far too many mature adults make an uneasy peace with themselves. Unwilling to examine, choose, or act on your inner wisdom, many go through life compartmentalized—perhaps hardworking and aggressive at the office, passive at home, and funny at parties. Wen we deny one of more aspects of ourselves, the imbalance that occurs parallels physical illness. The longer this deterioration continues, the more difficult it is to address the imbalance. You can encourage yourself to form a central, deep, integrated sense of who you are; what you feel, value, believe, and cherish; how you relate; and what you contribute. #RandolphHarris 5 of 6

For those who believe in the primacy of God’s will, obedience rather than understanding is to be given the higher value. The more adequate an idea, the more it is pleasing, liberating, and intrinsically human. Because I am principled, I am honest. Because I am loving, I am lovable. Because I am interested in the welfare of others, I am respected. Because my ideas work, I am worth listening to. Because I am determined, I am able to get things done. The culmination of the ethical life—that is, the life devoted to freedom of the intellect—is found in the intellectual love of God. One must lose oneself in order to find oneself, but in so doing, one finds that what one has really discovered is God. “People that had been wrought upon by the Spirit of God, and had been healed; and they did show forth signs also did do some miracles among the people,” reports 3 Nephi 7.22. So, Lord, we want to thank you that the fulfillment of our dreams is on the way, even the secret petitions of our hearts. God, you spoke Worlds into existence, and you have us in the palm of your hand. We believe you, God, that you will make sure we complete what you put us here to do. “And blessed is one that is found faithful unto my covenants at the last day, for they shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for holiness from the foundation of the World. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen,” reports Ether 4.19. When the creator of the Universe placed a dream in your heart, he also set a completion date to bring it to pass. #RandolphHarris 6 of 6