Forgiveness within Families

Our stake president asked me to speak about this topic during stake conference this last weekend. Due to the length of the various speakers, I didn't have much time to communicate or present my message. I will not take time here either to present it all. However, I used the story of Joseph who was sold into Egypt as an example of forgiveness within the family. What a wonderful story. Joseph could have been bitter but he chose to forgive. He was taken from his family, he was sold, he was imprisoned, he endured many hardships but was always faithful. In the end, he wept and forgave his brothers. He freed himself up of any burden that he was carrying. He could now focus on the future and not let the past drag him down. Many people think the gospel of Jesus Christ is easy and that we can just say that we believe Him and accept him. However, much can be said of those that are faithful and continue to follow His teachings. When He said to love your enemies, this was difficult to hear. When He said, Come follow me, this was challenging for those who wanted to do other things. Particularly difficult are the words from the Doctrine & Covenants which say, "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) When we do forgive, we face a bright future and not a burdensome past which cankers our soul with the bitterness of hate and being offended. I hope that we can be kind to each in our family. Let us not let the argument or feelings of offense stay with us. Let us free ourselves of any such feeling and burden. We are the children of God. We are related to each other in the family. We are bound together by the sealing power and our links from one generation to other generations is real. I am not accusing anyone in the family of past or present deeds. I am just looking to the future as we continue our march through this mortal life. The topic by my stake president has resonated within my soul and therefore, I have entered my first blog and hope of a bright future for us all. The family is what matters.