I particularly love the point that we were sinless in the pre existence yet could not fully progress without living a life on Earth.
To be blemish free is not necessary, but to be made whole. "But a brief study of the original word quickly shows that the Hebrew and Greek words that frequently are translated “perfect” in our English Bibles do not always mean sinlessness. In their monumental work, the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Harris, Archer, and Waltke addressed specifically the word used in Job 1:1. The Hebrew wordtōm, translated in Job 1:1 as perfect, has a number of different usages. The word, or one of its derivatives, is used in Genesis 17:1 where God told Abraham to “be perfect.” And all Israel was instructed to “be perfect” in verses such as Deuteronomy 18:13, 2 Samuel 22:33, and Psalm 101:2,6. After listing these uses in their wordbook, the authors quote theInterpreter’s Dictionary of the Bibleas saying, “the words which are rendered in English by ‘perfect’ and ‘perfection’ denoted originallysomething other and less than ideal perfection” (1980, p. 974, emp. added). In another authoritative Hebrew word study, Gesenius observed that the word translated as “perfect” can mean “integrity of mind” or “innocence.” He further commented that the word is used of “simplicity of mind, which is opposed to mischief and ill design” (1979, p. 866). Obviously, then, the Hebrew word in Job 1:1 that is translated “perfect” did not mean “sinlessness,” but was used instead to describe a person who was attempting to follow God’s commandments to the best of his or her ability."
The Bible is correct so long as it is translated correctly, to paraphrase Joseph Smith.
But none of us has to be perfect in the sense of being sinless for us to reach salvation. That's the beauty of the plan.
But is salvation a literal place, a destination or is the salvation Jesus taught more about the way we live our lives, the way we treat one another and the way we love one another as Christ loved us?
Is salvation a place or a way of life? In the next life we can't take our possessions with us. There it seems to be more about how we think and what we think than anything.
Jesus often said "He who has ears, let him hear." Which is to say if you believe I speak truth then you will live out that truth.
This as opposed to many Baptist preachers who tell us to "Simply believe on His name and you are saved."
Simply believing in a literal sense will not change behavior or speech. So how can one be saved by that? Salvation opens up the kingdom of God in this world and the next. The kingdom of God is within.
Literal belief is not enough, he who has heard must act! We must speak to one another, speak about one another, and show love to one another as Christ died for us.
If we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God(Romans 3:23) we all need redemption, we need to be made whole individually and as a family. But we will not be blemish free. Only Christ can be, has been.
Because I've never met a strong person without scars. If we were to be blemish free then we never would have left pre existence. But the reason we did was in order to grow in glory, intellect and spiritually. Which means we have to make mistakes, be scarred and learn by doing so. And therefore grow.
