Another question that comes to mind is if no one is perfect in character here, but in heaven every one is, then it must follow that the character changes in between the time one dies and one is resurrected, right? It seems to me the only way out of this seeming dilemma (since we know the character won't change) is that hereditary tendencies must not be included in terms of what comprises a perfect character. Otherwise it seems to me EGW would have been contradicting herself by saying that the character doesn't change when one dies.
On this earth, I consider a perfect character to be your character as you are conscious about it. If you have asked God to remove from your character all the sinful tendencies which were brought to your knowledge, your character is perfect. When new defects are brought to your attention, you must be again willing to overcome them. Then you advance from one stage of perfection to another. In the case of the 144,000, owing to their special circumstances and experience, maybe all the objectionable traits of their characters will be brought to their attention, and they will have the opportunity to be completely familiar with all of their defects and ask God to remove them.