There are a lot of wonderful, rich nuances to this word “perfect,” and many, many of them have temple connections. There is a subtle undertone of another word for perfect, teliosis. This word is found eleven times at the end of Exodus and the beginning of Leviticus to describe an offering that is consecrated to God and given in the temple. Giving it to God is your final act, the teliosis. Now, bear in mind that the law of consecration is one of the last of the principles in the endowment.
Similarly, if you were to say a phrase like “the presence of God” to one of Jesus’ listeners, they most likely would immediately associate it with the holy of holies in their temple; that was where the presence of God was found. When Jesus said, “Repent of your sins, and come unto me,” they may have thought that has something to do with instruction on how to stand worthily before the face of God. The holy of holies was a perfect cube, 10 cubits by 10 cubits by 10 cubits, and the number ten is not accidental. It was the perfect number to the third power because it represented the state of completeness, or perfection— God’s perfection. Thus, with this word, Jesus was essentially teaching how to be able to enter into the holy of holies. Under the Law of Moses, only the high priest could go into the holy of holies. But upon Jesus’ death, the veil into the holy of holies was rent, and now everyone who is worthy, has the proper priesthood and instruction, and has a covenant relationship is able to enter into the presence of God, as the people gathered in Bountiful fully enjoyed.