One Of The Most Beautiful Principles Of...

One of the most beautiful principles of the gospel is that of repentance. It holds out hope and encouragement to each of us, the descendants of Adam and Eve. Because we are mortal and live in a world where temptations abound, it is not difficult to make mistakes and commit errors. Through the atonement effected by Jesus Christ, our Savior, we are assured that our errors and mistakes may be rectified by displaying Godly sorrow and abandonment of unrighteous ways. ¶

One of the most vital qualities of the principle of repentance is forgiveness. ¶

Unless each of us can learn to forgive others for real or imagined trespasses against us, we cannot properly repent. ¶

Someone has said, "Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another." The Savior's teachings to us are replete with admonitions always to be ready and willing to forgive. In instructing his disciples to pray, he suggested they petition the Father: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." ¶

Then he counseled: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: . . ." And he added a word of caution, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ¶

(Matt. 6:12, 14-15.) At another time the Lord instructed: ¶

"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." (D&C 64:9-10.) One cannot hold grudges and unkind feelings without harming himself. He becomes bitter; his vision is distorted; and his soul becomes cankered. Harsh and sharp words can leave a sting behind, a pang of unhappiness and regret in the heart and conscience of the offender. "Little, vicious minds abound with anger and revenge and are incapable of feeling the pleasure of forgiving their enemies," said a wise man. ¶

A person holding grudges hurts himself more than he does his enemy. A prophet has wisely counseled: ". . . let not the sun go down on your wrath:" ¶

(Eph. 4:26.) To forgive a person once or twice may not be too difficult, but to continue to forgive many times when one has been wronged may become a real test of character. Upon one occasion when Jesus was teaching his disciples, Peter approached him and posed this question: ". . . Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? ¶

"Jesus saith unto him; I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (Matt. 18:21-22.) By this declaration we may be assured that the Savior meant that we should forgive without number or limit. ¶

The poet, Alexander Pope, has written: "Good nature and good sense must ever join; to err is human; to forgive divine." ¶

The Lord has always looked upon sin with emphatic disfavor and has exclaimed, "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;" then he continues: "Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven." ¶

(D&C 1:31-32.) And while the Lord regards sin with disfavor, nevertheless, he always displays a spirit of charity and kindness for the sinner. ¶

When a woman taken in sin was brought before Jesus, he faced her accusers with the challenge: "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Being smitten by their consciences, one by one those guilty hypocrites slunk away, and when Jesus raised his head he asked the woman: "Woman, where are those, thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?" She replied, "No man, Lord." ¶

And Jesus said unto her, "Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more." ¶

(John 8:7, 10-11.) True forgiveness cannot be partial nor halfhearted. It must be wholehearted, genuine, and without reservation. "The narrow soul knows not the godlike glory of forgiving," one has said. ¶

I like the story of total and complete forgiveness related by the warden of a western prison. A friend of his happened to be sitting in a railroad coach next to a young man who was obviously depressed. Finally, the young man revealed that he was a convict returning from a distant prison. His imprisonment had brought shame on his family, and they had neither visited him nor written often. He hoped, however, that this was only because they were too poor to travel, too uneducated to write. ¶

He also hoped, despite the evidence, that they had forgiven him. ¶

Ill ELDER WILLIAM J. CRITCHLOW, JR. ¶

To make it easy for them, however, he had written them to put up a signal for him when the train passed their little farm on the outskirts of town. If his family had forgiven him, they were to put up a white ribbon in the big apple tree near the tracks. If they did not want him back, they were to do nothing, and he would stay on the train, go west and probably become a hobo. As the train neared his home his suspense became so great, he could not bear to look out of the window. His companion changed places with him and said he would watch for the apple tree. In a minute, he put his hand on the young convict's arm. "There it is," he whispered, his eyes bright with sudden tears. ¶

"It's all right. The whole tree is white with ribbons." (Reader's Digest, March 1961.) The most magnificent lesson ever taught respecting forgiveness was given by the Savior. Jesus was subjected by his enemies to what is considered to be the cruelest and most horrible form of death. Crucifixion is excruciatingly painful, with the victim lingering on in increasing agony and torture for hours or even days. Yet, in spite of the humiliation and intense pain he suffered on Calvary's cross, Jesus, with compassion, in Godlike mercy, prayed for his tormentors, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." ¶

(Luke 23:34.) Now, with the Savior's great lesson fresh in our memories, may each one of us purge from our hearts any feeling of hatred, envy, or bitterness, so that we may with a clear conscience and utmost confidence approach our Heavenly Father and ask for forgiveness of our shortcomings and mistakes. For which I humbly pray, and bear you my testimony that I know that the gospel is true, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶