Of you it is required to forgive

I hope this reaches everyone that reads this post with feelings of acceptance, honesty, and an open heart.

We read in Doctrine and Covenants section 64, verse 10, this following message:

 10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.

And, equally important, the previous verse:

 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.

We live in an age especially afoul of the influence of the enemy of righteousness, Lucifer, the same angel that was banished from heaven for trying to wrestle the power and glory of God away from God. Because of this and because of his influence on the world for many centuries, indeed, since the days of Adam and Eve, there have been exceedingly many ways that every culture in some way has been tampered with. Satan--for that's the name he carries now, because when he rebelled he lost the title Lucifer, which meant son of the morning, carrying with it high title and cause for praise, and became Satan, the enemy of all mankind--strives to cause as much pain, hurt, agony, suffering, discontent, contention, malice, strife, and heartbreak as he can manage.

A particular message Satan spreads is that of relativism, which ultimately holds that nothing is eternally true, that nothing is absolutely right, and that nothing is "good" or "bad". Marvin J. Ashton said this very thing in 1982.

"There are some who would have us believe there is no right or wrong—that everything is relative. We must never allow ourselves to think proper conduct and decision making are found in a convenient path somewhere between right and wrong."

Because there is ultimately a right and a wrong, we can extrapolate that there are indeed wrong things to do and have done to you and for you to do to others--and to yourself.

People will wrong you. That does not excuse them or their behavior. Existing as a human being, with a body, soul, and mind, is not an excuse to do whatever you like and get away with it. As we are given free agency--the agency to do what you want--we are also given the law of consequence--which, summed up as much as I am able, means that for every action, there is an equal or opposite reaction. The reaction may come years down the road, or it may take place slowly over time, but for every action, there is a reaction.

There are many different kind of consequences for many different kind of actions. And there are definite infinite eternal rules that are set in place that everyone, regardless of any denominator you may consider, is held to. These are commandments, and they are more than rules. They are not creative suggestions, subject to the whims and feelings of mankind. You have the agency to disobey, but you do not have the agency or the foresight to consider and see every way that your disobedience will impact you and those around you.

With this said, we are commanded to forgive. Self-justifications of "I shouldn't forgive them because x" or "but I don't have to forgive him because I feel y toward them" are not excusable. God is not a respecter of persons, and as we read earlier, it is the greater sin not to forgive.

We all fall short. We all sin. We are all imperfect. And so it is of magnificent report that we have the Atonement on our side, if we forsake and confess our sins, our wrongdoings, and repent. The repentance process is not for those that have never sinned, because only One has ever lived that fulfills that qualification. Rather, repentance, and the Atonement, is for everyone that has ever lived, is living now, or will ever live in this experience of mortality. Without the Atonement, there would be no point. There would be no forgiveness, there would be no joy, there would be no law, for without equal mercy and justice, the law could not be perfect and therefore not be upheld by righteous Beings.

There are those that would argue that rules bind us down, that rules are not for everyone, that to bind everyone to follow God is an injustice. Those that say this are misled. As Alma taught his son Corianton in Alma 42, verses 16 to 22:

 16 Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul.

 17 Now, how could a man repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?

 18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto man.

 19 Now, if there was no law given—if a man murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?

 20 And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin.

 21 And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?

 22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.

In other words, if there was no law, there would be no right or wrong, and cause for an Atonement, or, indeed, a world at all, would be frustrated. The point of coming to this land, this earth, is to prove ourselves worthy and righteous to a just and loving God that we are worthy and able to be trusted with His Kingdom. What point is a test of this nature if there are no rules to follow?

Without repentance, without forgiveness, we would be sorely stuck. Without forgiveness of others we are blocking a large part of our right to the Atonement, because what is the Atonement but merciful forgiveness? When we refuse to forgive someone of their trespasses, we are denying them and ourselves opportunity to become more like Christ.

If you fall short of your own expectations, forgive yourself. If you fall short of someone else's expectations, if they are righteous, work to provide recompense of some sort that is acceptable to both parties. If others have wronged you, do not be offended. Elder Bednar said this in the most recent (2013 April) general conference about being offended:

Believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false. To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted.

I appeal to all that read this to forgive; forgive themselves, forgive their neighbors, forgive those that have wronged them, and to forgive themselves for not forgiving others earlier.

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured."

-Mark Twain

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.