Perfection

When I was still Mormon I spent a LOT of time contemplating the nature of Perfection. Though it's not one of their Articles of Faith or Pillars of their beliefs the concept of "perfection" is a very important and ingrained one. It is in fact point so important that when I had a very hard time understanding what exactly that meant it caused a great deal of friction, and lead to the default "Gods ways are not our ways" or what I like to call "you'll find out when your dead" cause they didn't know how else to answer. But it was something I became truly obsessed with. This idea of perfection. It brought so many interesting questions.

As a Perfect being will I be able to do things I was never able to?

What's the point of striving to learn a skill if you're suddenly gonna be "perfect" at it after death?

How well does Jesus play the banjo?

Was Christ the template of Perfection that we all needed to become like and if so how far could we deviate from that and still be Perfect?

How does individuality play into the Template of Perfection?

When I was still Mormon these questions haunted me. Cause nobody could explain it. Some of that is my own fault. I distilled down the entirety of my issue into a simple (and absurd) question. And is the very nature of the absurd, it make you think in ways that are not comfortable. So a lot of times it's waved to the side because you've asked it in an overly simplified way.

I never got my answers then. And so I took all that effort and turned it to creating my own solution to the problem of perfection. In the end I came up with three.

The Three Perfections

Chaos: (The first I came up with and the one that seems to most closely mimic the vaguest definitions of Perfection.) This idea of Perfection is striving towards a being for which anything can be done with ease. Of course Jesus can play banjo like a master, he's perfect. Everything can be done with ease.

So why do I link this idea to a concept as generally negative as Chaos? Because if there was even one such individual with no flaws who could do everything like a master, do everything better then everyone else, the system would tear itself apart. Why try? Just call up Jesus, he's going to do it better.

Or what if as Mormon theology dictates, we are all to be made perfect? Why should I deal with anyone else when I can do EVERYTHING as well as they can? I probably wouldn't. It creates a homogeny.

It's our negative traits that give shape to our personalities. Overcoming or learning from them lets us become more complete.

If you are Perfect like Chaos is Perfect, then you're either indistinct from any other Perfect Being, or you're incomplete, which makes it hard to be truly called Perfect.

Shark: The shark is arguably a perfect killing machine. It's fundamental design hasn't shifted in millions of years. It has a niche and it serves its own perfect purpose.

This is the one that I identify the most with. Because it's an attainable Perfection. Where as the Perfection of Chaos requires supernatural assistance I can focus and strive and become Perfect in my niche. I can strive and work and become perfect at what I do. It's something we can grasp at and strive for because it's focused down.

Cog: Regardless of our flaws as long as we serve our purpose within a perfect machine, then we ourselves are also made perfect.

This last one came to my understanding later then the others as I was thinking about some of the different ways Christian denominations look at their relationship with God and how they could achieve the Perfection of Shark. There's a starkness and brutality to the concept of Shark that would not appeal to many I'd think, but the Cog is something more clean.

And it implies forgiveness. The machine is what's perfect so your own imperfections will be purified in it's glory.

At least, those are my answers to the Ultimate Question of Perfection...
1. Jesus can play the banjo like a master. Because he's perfect like Chaos.
2. No. He can't. Cause sharks don't play banjo's.
3. Yes. Because others in the Divine Machine can shore up his lack of Banjo skills.

And that's what I came up with.