I was rereading Elder Holland's talk "The Ministry of Reconciliation" from October 2018 General Conference to prepare for my upcoming Sunday School lesson on Doctrine & Covenants 64-66. Such a powerful talk about forgiving and healing.
Forgiving others doesn't mean that we continue in an abusive relationship, etc. It just means that we acknowledge that every single person on earth is imperfect, will make mistakes, and needs mercy and forgiveness. Let God be the Judge as He is Omniscience. He knows how to judge righteously, perfectly. He knows our hearts. He is the only one who knows how responsible we are for our actions. We just don't know the whole story. What if Hitler had some sort of brain damage that made him the way he is? A simple hard blow to the head can do that. We don't know what makes a person the way they are. We just don't.
Let God judge.
Over and over again in the scriptures, we are told that God is merciful. That gives me hope as I need mercy. I mess up all the time despite my best intentions.
If we want mercy, we need to be merciful.
When you can love the sinners yet not condone the sin, you feel a weight lifted off your soul. Love will flood into your heart.
It's not easy to forgive sometimes. We can ask for God's help when forgiveness is beyond our ability.
Elder Holland:
"He (Jesus Christ) did not say, "You are not allowed to feel true pain or real sorrow from the shattering experiences you have had at the hand of another." Nor did He say, "In order to forgive fully, you have to reenter a toxic relationship or return to an abusive, destructive circumstance".
But notwithstanding even the most terrible offenses that might come to us, we can rise above our pain only when we put our feet onto the path of true healing. That path is the forgiving one walked by Jesus of Nazareth, who calls out to each of us, “Come, follow me.”
"The Healer of every wound, He who rights every wrong, asks us to labor with Him in the daunting task of peacemaking in a world that won’t find it any other way."
"...I ask us to be peacemakers—to love peace, to seek peace, to create peace, to cherish peace. I make that appeal in the name of the Prince of Peace, who knows everything about being “wounded in the house of [His] friends” but who still found the strength to forgive and forget—and to heal—and be happy."
For my youth Sunday School, I made 3" peace dove badges for everyone and "quote collage" scripture bookmarks.
I basically just printed it all on cardstock and I happen to have a 3" circle cutter so that was perfect.
I printed instructions on how to fold a paper crane as the white dove is one of the symbols of peace. (I know cranes are not doves but close enough. :) In Japan, paper cranes are peace symbols.) When Jesus was baptized, a dove descended on Him, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, PEACE...
I will give all this plus some origami paper to my class one week prior to our class with a homework assignment that they need to immediately forgive someone who "sins against them" that week. Each time they choose to forgive instead of getting mad, they can make a paper crane to remind them of how they brought peace to the world.
In class, we'll have a discussion on forgiveness and peace and hopefully, they'll have a personal experience to share with the class.
