FORGIVENESS

 

1. Most of us need time to work through pain and loss. We can find all manner of reasons for postponing forgiveness. One of these reasons is waiting for the wrongdoers to repent before we forgive them. Yet such a delay causes us to forfeit the peace and happiness that could be ours. The folly of rehashing long-past hurts does not bring happiness…If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who have caused us hurt and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem and well-being. Some recent studies show that people who are taught to forgive become “less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious and less stressed,” which leads to greater physical well-being.⁹ Another of these studies concludes“that forgiveness … is a liberating gift [that] people can give to themselves.”

 

-James E Faust (The Healing Power of Forgiveness) April 2007

 

2. “If you have been offended, forgive, forget it, and leave it alone.”

 

-Boyd K. Packer “Guided by the Holy Spirit” April 2011

 

3. “I testify that the Savior is able and eager to forgive our sins. Except for the sins of those few who choose perdition after having known a fulness, there is no sin that cannot be forgiven (see Boyd K. Packer, “The Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 19). What a marvelous privilege for each of us to turn away from our sins and to come unto Christ. Divine forgiveness is one of the sweetest fruits of the gospel, removing guilt and pain from our hearts and replacing them with joy and peace of conscience. Jesus declares, ‘Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?’ (3 Nephi 9:13).”

 

-Neil L. Andersen, “Repent . . . That I May Heal You,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 40–41

 

4. “Is there someone in your life who perhaps needs forgiveness? Is there someone in your home, someone in your family, someone in your neighborhood who has done an unjust or an unkind or an unchristian thing? All of us are guilty of such transgressions, so there surely must be someone who yet needs your forgiveness? Jesus Christ was the purest and only perfect person who ever lived. He is the one person in all the world from Adam to this present hour who deserved adoration and respect and admiration and love, and yet He was persecuted, abandoned, and put to death. Through it all, He would not condemn those who persecuted Him.”

 

-Jeffrey R. Holland, “Amazed at the Love Jesus Offers Me,” December 2008

 

5. "Sometimes we carry unhappy feelings about past hurts too long. We spend too much energy dwelling on things that have passed and cannot be changed. We struggle to close the door and let go of the hurt. If, after time, we can forgive whatever may have caused the hurt, we will tap 'into a life-giving source of comfort' through the Atonement, and the 'sweet peace' of forgiveness will be ours ("My Journey to Forgiving," Ensign, Feb. 1997. 43). Some injuries are so hurtful and deep that healing comes only with help from a higher power and hope for perfect justice and restitution in the next life. . . . You can tap into that higher power and receive precious comfort and sweet peace."

 

-James E. Faust, "Instruments in the Hands of God," Nov. 2005

 

6. "Of all the necessary steps to repentance, the most critically important is for you to have a conviction that forgiveness comes in and through Jesus Christ. It is essential to know that only on His terms can you be forgiven. You will be helped as you exercise faith in Christ. That means you trust Him and His teachings. Satan would have you believe that serious transgression cannot be entirely overcome. I testify that the Savior gave His life so that through repentance the effects of all sin can be put behind you, save the shedding of innocent blood and the denial of the Holy Ghost."

 

-Richard G. Scott, "Peace of Conscience and Peace of Mind," November 2004

 

7. "If there be trouble existing between me and anybody else, I would meet them half way, yes, I would meet them three quarters or even all of the way. I would feel like yielding; I would say, I do not want to quarrel, I want to be a Saint. I have set out for purity, virtue, brotherhood, and for obedience to the laws of God on earth, and for thrones and principalities and dominions in the eternal worlds, and I will not allow such paltry affairs to interfere with my prospects. I am for life, eternal lives and eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God."

 

-John Taylor, “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: John Taylor”, pg. 26

 

8. "Don't treasure up past wrongs, reprocessing them again and again. In a marriage relationship, festering is destructive; forgiving is divine (see D&C 64:9-10). Plead for the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord to forgive wrongs . . . , to overcome faults, and to strengthen relationships."

 

-Dallin H. Oaks, "Divorce," May 2007

9. "I know of no more beautiful story in all literature than that found in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. It is the story of a repentant son and a forgiving father. It is the story of a son who wasted his inheritance in riotous living, rejecting his father's counsel, spurning those who loved him. When he had spent all, he was hungry and friendless, and 'when he came to himself' (Luke 15:17), he turned back to his father, who, on seeing him afar off, 'ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him' (Luke 15:20). I ask you to read that story. Every parent ought to read it again and again. It is large enough to encompass every household, and enough larger than that to encompass all mankind, for are we not all prodigal sons and daughters who need to repent and partake of the forgiving mercy of our Heavenly Father and then follow His example?"

 

-Gordon B. Hinckley, "Of You It Is Required to Forgive," June 1991

 

10. "There is a glorious miracle awaiting every soul who is prepared to change. Repentance and forgiveness make a brilliant day of the darkest night. When souls are reborn, when lives are changed—then comes the great miracle to beautify and warm and lift. When spiritual death has threatened and now instead there is resuscitation, when life pushes out death—when this happens it is the miracle of miracles. And such great miracles will never cease so long as there is one person who applies the redeeming power of the Savior and his own good works to bring about his rebirth. . . .

"The essence of the miracle of forgiveness is that it brings peace to the previously anxious, restless, frustrated, perhaps tormented soul. In a world of turmoil and contention this is indeed a priceless gift."

 

-Spencer W. Kimball, “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball “Pg. 35

 

Position Statement:

 

I think forgiving people is one of the hardest things to do for me. In my efforts to forgive, I know I need to remember my Savior, who so willingly forgives me as I repent and turn to Him. I know that it is not my place to hold grudges in this life because I know that I have been in desperate need of forgiveness throughout my life. I am grateful for a merciful God and the Savior of the world who provide me with an opportunity to receive and extend forgiveness.