Devotional preview: Perfect in Christ

Julie Shiffler, a counselor at BYU-Idaho, will give her devotional address, “Perfect in Christ,” on Feb. 23 at 11:30 a.m.

According to her BYU-I faculty biography, Shiffler grew up in Linrose, Idaho and was a student at Ricks College. She later attended Utah State University, where she received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in psychology.

Shiffler has worked at the BYU-I Counseling Center for 23 years and currently maintains her own practice in Rexburg.

Shiffler will discuss the struggle of perfectionism and how Christ and His Atonement can ease that burden.

On the Canvas weekly discussion board, Shiffler asked students the following question:

“We are told in the scriptures to ‘be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ President Russell M. Nelson has also said that ‘perfection is pending.’ Knowing this, how do you view and deal with the commandment to be perfect?”

Briana Coppieters, a current student at BYU-I, responded to the discussion board with her own personal insight.

“We know that we will not be perfect in this life,” Coppieters wrote in her response to the discussion post. “We also know that Christ will meet us where we are at in life. I take this day by day. I try to do better than what I did the day before. He doesn’t expect us to become perfect overnight. He wants us to rely on Him, since He is the only one who can help us become perfect.”

Shiffler also added a few thoughts on perfectionism in the discussion board.

“Having struggled with perfectionism for much of my life, I am looking forward to sharing with the BYU-Idaho community the ideas that have been helpful to me in learning to be more compassionate with myself,” Shiffler wrote.

Her address will be broadcast on BYU-I’s website.