“But the human spirit is resilient. God made us so. He gave us the ability to forgive. To leave our past behind. To look forward instead of back.”
| My Story: Elizabeth Smart
Forgiveness
LDS Quotes on Forgiveness
“Forgiveness is a personal attribute, not just a decision we make from time to time when we feel we should. To have a forgiving heart is to see the world in a different light. It is to forsake the tendency to judge, condemn, exclude, or hate any human soul. A forgiving heart seeks to love and to be patient with imperfection. The forgiving heart understands that we are all in need of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
“A forgiving heart is one of the most Christlike virtues we can possess. If we have a forgiving heart, our very nature will be kind, patient, long-suffering, and charitable. forgiveness plants and nourishes the seeds of Christlike love in both the giver and the receiver. Indeed, forgiveness, in its fullest expression, is synonymous with charity, the pure love of Christ.”
| Ensign, April 1993, p. 15
“If the time comes when you have done all that you can to repent of your sins, and have made amends and restitution to the best of your ability; if it be something that will affect your standing in the church and you have gone through the proper authorities, then you will want that confirming answer as to whether or not the Lord has accepted of you. In your soul searching, if you seek for and you find that peace of conscience, by that token you may know that the Lord has accepted your repentance.”
“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12) really means, “Father, do not forgive me one iota more than I am willing to forgive others.”
| “On Measuring Flour and Forgiveness,” Speeches, BYU 1996-97, p. 50
“You cannot erase what has been done, but you can forgive. (See D&C 64:10.) Forgiveness heals terrible, tragic wounds, for it allows the love of God to purge your heart and mind of the poison of hate. It cleanses your consciousness of the desire for revenge. It makes place for the purifying, healing, restoring love of the Lord.”
| Ensign, May 1992, p. 33
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
“I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive,” but then He said, “… of you it is required to forgive all men… May I add a footnote here? When the Lord requires that we forgive all men, that includes forgiving ourselves. Sometimes, of all the people in the world, the one who is the hardest to forgive—as well as perhaps the one who is most in need of our forgiveness—is the person looking back at us in the mirror.”
| The Merciful Obtain Mercy
“In truth, we “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We are all in need of mercy. In that last day when we are called to the judgment bar of God, do we not hope that our many imperfections will be forgiven? Do we not yearn to feel the Savior’s embrace? It seems only right and proper that we extend to others that which we so earnestly desire for ourselves.”
| “You Are My Hands”, Ensign May 2010, pp. 68-70, 75
“The remedy for most marital stress is not in divorce. It is in repentance and forgiveness, in sincere expressions of charity and service. It is not in separation. It is in simple integrity that leads a man and a woman to square up their shoulders and meet their obligations. It is found in the Golden Rule, a time-honored principle that should first and foremost find expression in marriage.”
| Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes
We do not need to carry the burden of the choices of others. We can choose to forgive and move forward with our lives.
| He Is Risen with Healing in His Wings: