My brother Richard left for the MTC recently, and we miss him, but we are excited for him!
We also announced our upcoming arrival--we are excited and blessed to expect another child in our family in June!
While we feasted on food and time together with family over the holiday weekend, I have also been feasting on the words of our Savior in preparation for the celebration of His birth in December. We are striving to create a Christ-centered Christmas celebration as we develop family traditions. I have been pondering on some words from my favorite talks, and I wanted to share them with you all, as I believe they can greatly bless all of our lives. I invite you to ponder them in your hearts and feel the Savior's love for us all.
President James E Faust taught:
In our day the Lord has admonished us, “Ye ought to forgive one another,” and then makes it requisite when He says, “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.” 11
"Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.” 5
Most of us need time to work through pain and loss. We can find all manner of reasons for postponing forgiveness. One of these reasons is waiting for the wrongdoers to repent before we forgive them. Yet such a delay causes us to forfeit the peace and happiness that could be ours. The folly of rehashing long-past hurts does not bring happiness."
"If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who have caused us hurt and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem and well-being."(http://lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/the-healing-power-of-forgiveness?lang=eng&query=forgiveness)
I LOVE this talk. It is perhaps one of the most life changing talks I have ever read. When I first heard this talk in conference, it struck a deep cord. I was going through a challenging time, and nursing some wounds. I was letting them fester, and it was keeping me from enjoying life. As i pondered these words and really tried to accept them and apply them to my life, I was blessed with a peace that was so sweet. It is something I wish I could give to everyone.
It is a topic I know we all must accept into our lives, because we are all hurt by others. It's part of life. Our task is to learn to forgive. I know that forgiving others brings peace. And I know that this comes because of our Savior. Forgiveness for our sins, and the ability to forgive others comes through Jesus Christ and His atonement. I am grateful for His atoning sacrifice and His love for all of us. I am grateful for this gift.
My favorite quote of all time goes so well with this topic.
"Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other." Marvin J. Ashton (http://lds.org/ensign/1992/05/the-tongue-can-be-a-sharp-sword?lang=eng&query=charity+ashton)
From the same talk, he teaches “The best and most clear indicator that we are progressing spiritually and coming unto Christ is the way we treat other people.”
I love how the gospel is so beautifully simple! The principles we learn, and our Savior as our example will trully bring us peace! May you all be blessed with peace during this Christmas season. May you drink deeply of the words of our Savior and feast upon His words as we remember and celebrate His birth!
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