Different Visions of Perfection

"It all comes back to one...
For it is He and He alone...
Who has lived the only perfect life we've known" - Michael W. Smith

Perfection – a state of completeness and flawlessness
- 'a finishing' or to 'be finished'; complete
- which is so good nothing could be better
- which has attained its purpose

I have never understood the idea of perfection. Don't get me wrong- I understand the concept and what the word means and symbolizes. But really, what is perfection anyway? I wonder what answers we would get if we placed twenty people around a table and discussed it. I think that the first two minutes would be caught up in the definitions formerly stated... but what happens when you ask for examples? Would we get caught up in pointing at people and certain characteristics that we consider perfect? Or people that 'look' perfect and appear to have the perfect life to us? If we really tried to point at perfection and what is means to us, what would we point at? I wonder if many of us would end up pointing at Jesus and saying that's perfection.

That opens up questions for me though. I am not questioning whether Jesus is and was perfect. I have a strong testimony of my Savior. But I can easily open up the scriptures and find examples of behavior that I would consider imperfect in myself... in some ways I might even consider sinful. One example is anger. Just a random pulling of a few scriptures discussed that anger is a bad thing.

Proverbs 14:17 – He that is soon angry dealith foolishly....

Proverbs 27:4 – Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous.....

Genesis: 49:7 – Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce....

If you look at the words of the prophets and members of the priesthood who speak at conference or even in your local sacrament meeting, rarely can someone find a quote that anger can ever have a good purpose.... yet Jesus showed anger. So... when in anger OK? In perfection, showing anger is acceptable -so anger itself is not a sin.

So after thinking about this idea, what do you think? How do you feel about anger? Is anger a black and white idea in that it is either really bad or good... and how can you decide which forms of anger (or at least angry behavior) is truly acceptable and not sinful? ...And what other emotions and acts can be righteous and unrighteous in your opinion... depending on how they are done?