This is such a powerful picture. It is of the Savior as he is in the garden of Gethsemane praying to the father during the atonement. These last few years the atonement has come to mean so much more to me as I have developed my relationship with my father in heaven. Partly...Mostly with the encouragement of my wife I have come to discover something else that has been missing from my life during the past 26 years. Don't get me wrong I always believed in it and I always had faith but over the last few years I have been able to make the atonement and the sacrifice that the Savior made for me and everyone else so much more personal. Because it truly was a very individual thing. He suffered for all of us individually and also all of us collectively. It was both broad and individual. That is what is so special. He is complete.
A very important part of the atonement is forgiveness. In order to be forgiven and take full advantage of the gift we have been given we have to have the ability to forgive. In Doctrine and Covenants 64: 9&10 we are commanded:
"9: 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.
10: I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."
Also a similar verse can be found in Matthew 6: 14-15
"14: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Why is it so important to forgive? Because it sets us free. The point of forgiveness is not just to not have bad feelings for someone or harbor a grudge. Or to get rid of contention or to not hate somebody. It is all of those things but it is to set us free. We will be free from all of this if we are able to forgive. The emotional and psychological pain and turmoil can be eased and even disappear if we can develop this talent. And it is a talent to forgive. One that I wish I was better at. What a blessing that the atonement gave us this gift. To be free from all the pain that someone or something...or maybe just circumstances has caused. If we can accept this gift and learn to forgive it can all be taken from us. Obviously the memory cannot be taken but the actual pain can be.
There are so many dangers to us if we do not forgive. All of that pain and anger and hate can destroy us. Honestly I have never read this but I have heard of this story. It is the story of Moby Dick. In this Captain Ahab is the captain of a whaling ship. Earlier in his career a whale who he named Moby Dick mamed him. He spent the rest of his life chasing this whale trying to kill it. He believed the whale to be evil. Not just that it was a whale being a whale but that the whale was pure evil and was trying to destroy him.
"All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the less of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if his chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it"
This is obviously an extreme and fictitious example but I think the story is trying to make the point that hate and malice can destroy us. The only cure is forgiveness.
But little things in our lives can affects us with not as dramatic effects.....at least not in the beginning. I know that as we learn to forgive we will be free from this evil. One last example that I can think of is the story of Chris Williams. His wife and several kids were killed by a drunk driver in Utah. But the way he handled it can be an example to all of us. I hope if I am ever in a situation like that I would be able to have half of his ability to forgive. This mormon message gives the whole story:
The true power of forgiveness can be seen in this story from both sides. For Chris....I can't imagine what it would be like to lose my wife. She is my everything. She is my best friend and....heck she is gone for this weekend and won't be back until Monday. I wasn't able to go because I had to work. But even being apart from her less than 24 hours has been really hard. I miss her so much. I can't imagine how I would feel if I ever lost her. But for Chris it was due to an accident. There was an obvious place to place blame and want revenge. But he did not take revenge on Cameron. He forgave him. But what about the other side. How did Chris's forgiveness affect Cameron? Just trying to put myself in that situation. I killed a wife and 3 children in an accident where I should not have been driving? I don't think I would ever be able to forgive myself. With the help of the atonement I could but it would be so incredibly difficult. I can't imagine the shame I would feel. But Chris just forgave him. I have read Chris's book and it has almost come to the point that they are both friends. Chris wants to help Cameron move on with his life and help him learn from what happened but he wants him to move and have a great life. Imagine the opposite. This is such a powerful story of the atonement and the power of forgiveness.
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