This morning I was fortunate to be involved in a truly inspired and spiritual gospel discussion during my institute class. The topic of discussion was Elder Hinckley's 1980 (?) Conference talk entitled "Of You It Is Required to Forgive". The then Elder Hinckley bases his comments on the doctrines found in Doctrine and Covenants 64: 9-11 about the expectation God has that we forgive all men and simply stated that Heavenly Father expects us to "forgive the kind of mistakes we all make." During our class discussion, one classmate shared his experience with true, Christlike forgiveness.
While serving in Romania, Patrick had his scriptures stolen on a public bus. He was distraught at the thought of his scriptures, his Father's words, being taken. After harboring anger at the people who stole his sacred text for a few days, he came to the following realization:
It must have been difficult for Christ to forgive not only those who whipped and crucified Him but it must also be difficult for him to forgive each of His brothers and sisters who cause Him torment and pain with daily sins. If He can forgive every sin of every individual, every sin that I have and will commit, how can I not forgive the large and small instances of offense in my own life?
We will never be more Christlike than in the moment that we truly forgive. As we, latter-day saints, find ourselves constantly persecuted for defending our beliefs and values, we must remember the sacrifice of our Savior. Although it is difficult, it is our responsibility to emulate the greatest of all sacrifices in our own small way. Hate and persecution must be met with love and forgiveness. Just as Christ "in the time of his agony on the cross of Calvary, with vile and hateful accusers before him, they who had brought him to this terrible crucifixion, cried out, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)".
