Music

I recently remembered a little song the children sing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Help me, dear Father, to freely forgive
All who may seem unkind to me.

Help me each day, Father, I pray;
Help me live nearer, nearer to thee.

Help me, dear Father, to truly repent,
Making things right, and changing my ways.

Help me each day, Father, I pray;
Help me live nearer, nearer to thee.

(Children's Songbook)

Ironically, forgiveness is sometimes easiest for children. Perhaps as adults we tend to recognize longer-term effects of our hurts, or perhaps we just have a more difficult time forgetting them. Whatever the case, it can be difficult to forgive those who hurt us.

I am both comforted and stirred up by these words, revealed through the prophet Joseph Smith:

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.

(Doctrine and Covenants 64:8-11)

First off, if the disciples of Jesus Christ in old times had difficulties with forgiveness, I feel less unusual when I have difficulty forgiving. This is not an excuse, but it is an acknowledgment that this is a normal human difficulty, even among those who believe.

Secondly, I am comforted to know that the Lord is aware of my situation, no matter what it is. If I am hurt, whether intentionally or accidentally, he knows. His Atonement can heal. In fact, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the only power which can heal a wounded heart. No action from another person, even apologies and restitution from an offender, can make the offended forgive. Forgiveness is a gift of God, and we must seek it, or we will continue to carry "the greater sin."

Elder David A. Bednar, a modern Apostle of Jesus Christ, gave an address about the topic of offense. He said:

One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be offended — and to say . . . “it mattereth not.”
(And Nothing Shall Offend Them, October 2006)

I am grateful for the forgiveness I receive from Jesus Christ, and for the gift He has given me to forgive others at certain difficult times in my life. I am also grateful for a sweet little children’s song that effectively puts me back in my place when I struggle to forgive.

MP3 of Help Me, Dear Father