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| Of You It Is Required to Forgive |
A spirit of forgiveness and an attitude of love and compassion
toward those who may have wronged us is of the very essence of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of us has need of this spirit.
The whole world has need of it. The Lord taught it. He exemplified
it as none other has exemplified it.
In the time of his agony on the cross of Calvary, with vile and
hateful accusers before him, those who had brought him to this
terrible crucifixion, he cried out, "Father, forgive them; for
they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34.)
None of us is called on to forgive so generously, but each of us
is under a divinely spoken obligation to reach out with pardon and
mercy. The Lord has declared in words of revelation: "My disciples,
in days of old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not
one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted
and sorely chastened.
"Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another;
for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth
condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater
sin.
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is
required to forgive all men.
"And ye ought to say in your hearts--let God judge between me and
thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds." (D & C 64:8-11)
How much we need application of this God-given principle and its
companion principle, repentance! We see the need for it in the homes
of the people, where tiny molehills of misunderstanding are fanned
into mountains of argument. We see it among neighbors, where
insignificant differences lead to undying bitterness. We see it
in business associates who quarrel and refuse to compromise and
forgive when, in most instances, if there were a willingness to sit
down together and speak quietly one to another, the matter could be
resolved to the blessing of all. Rather, they spend their days
nurturing grudges and planning retribution.
In that first year of the organization of the Church, when the
Prophet Joseph Smith was repeatedly arrested and tried on false
charges by those who sought to injure him, the Lord said to him
through revelation, "Whosoever shall go to the law with thee shall
be cursed by the law." (D & C 24:17) I have seen some of those who
have vindictively pursued their nurtured grudges. Even among some
of those who win their contests there appears to be little peace
of mind, and while they may have gained dollars, they have lost
something more precious.
-- President Gordon B. Hinckley |
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