What a wonderful time of year. The holidays are approaching and the snow is flying (well- for some of us). The pure white snow gives everything it touches a new look and a pleasing, pure covering. That covering reminds me of the perfection of the Savior and his gospel. What a wonderful blessing it can be in our lives to have the many gifts of the gospel. One of my favorites is the gift of forgiveness. We are taught we must repent and then we will be forgiven by our Savior but there is another part to that lesson. What you ask?

We are taught that we must forgive in order to be forgiven. In Matthew 6 verses 14 and 15 it says: "For if ye aforgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye aforgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

So we need to forgive others who hurt us. Don't we want our Father in Heaven to forgive us all of our trespasses? I know that I want to be forgiven for everything I have done- even those things I didn't realize I did. In order for this to happen, we need to work to forgive everyone of everything. Elder Theodore M. Burton gave a talk in which he related the following:

If we learn to forgive one another within the family, we will be able to forgive more readily within the Church and within the community. Like many good things, forgiveness begins in the home. We must remember to teach our children that even if others fail to be kind and considerate, we ought to be slow to condemn and very quick to forgive. We need not be tolerant of sin, but we must become tolerant and forgiving of the sinner. Jesus Christ gave his life to reconcile us to God so that through his atonement we can repent and receive forgiveness of our sins. We owe our Savior a great debt. Part of that debt is the obligation we have to forgive one another.

When Jesus taught the Nephites, he told them: "For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your Heavenly Father will also forgive you;

"But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (3 Ne. 13:14-15.) That forgiveness which comes from our Heavenly Father is so complete that he will not even call to mind the sins we have committed. His forgiveness is so all-inclusive that the Lord will not even remember those sins. But there is a condition attached to that forgiveness:

"By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them." (D&C 58:43.)

As we plead for mercy, we need to show mercy to others. The injury people do us may appear at the moment to be very great. Yet, just as time heals the wounds of the body, so time also heals the wounds of the soul. As we apply disinfectants to aid in healing the wounds of the body, we need to apply love and understanding in disinfecting the wounds of the soul. To the extent we give forgiveness to others, we can expect to receive forgiveness for ourselves. It is all part of the process of repentance. (Theodore M. Burton, "To Forgive Is Divine," Ensign, May 1983, 70)

If we truly want to be forgiven, we must work to forgive. My prayer for all of us this week is that we can pray about where we are on the road to complete forgiveness of others and strive to be better this week and teach our children the same.

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