30 – Part 3 – The Extra Musing on “Forgiveness Comes First”featured

In this post, I am sharing some of the thoughts and discussions my wife and I have had as we have produced posts 28 and 29. They are random thoughts presented in no particular order.

I welcome your thoughts on this concept – that forgiveness precedes the repentance process and when properly understood, motivates the individual to change thoughts and behavior. It can lead to a more complete repentance process and permanent change of heart because love and gratitude are a more powerful force than either fear or reward-seeking. Feel free to comment on this post or email me at [email protected]

PROFESS CHRIST AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR

I have always wondered about my evangelical friend’s statement “All you have to do is profess Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and you will be saved” – and at that point of turning to Christ all sin is forgiven and we go to heaven. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we think of being saved as attaining the Celestial Kingdom, and that requires more than just professing Christ, so we tend to brush that thinking off. Yet we know that all are resurrected and qualify for Telestial Glory at a minimum; and while that is the destination of those who do not use their time on earth to change and improve, we are told it is better than this life. Thanks be to Jesus for His mission and Atonement which allows virtually all of God’s family to inherit a kingdom of Glory. But if professing Christ as our personal Savior means accepting His love – or His Atonement, then we can attain a higher level of Glory just by turning to Him. D&C 76:82

So could it be that by just professing or acknowledging Christ as our Personal Savior we get something better than a Telestial existence because we accept Him into our lives? It seems like that to me. Certainly, it’s how we react to that forgiveness – how we repent, aka to what extent we become more like Him – that makes all the difference in our eternal mailing address.

WE RESPECT FORGIVENESS FIRST IN OTHERS – WOULD GOD SAY THEY ARE WRONG?

In Les Misérables, we see the desperate and hardened ex-prisoner, Jean Valjean, brought back by police to the kindly bishop from whom he had just stolen silver. Fearing being returned to prison, Valjean lied and declared that the bishop had gifted him the silver. When asked, the bishop corroborated the story and included yet more silverware, stating Valjean had forgotten the rest. This immediate outpouring of compassion and forgiveness led the criminal to a complete change in paths. It healed a wounded and hardened heart and led Valjean to become like the bishop in turn.  This profound and complete repentance process was motivated by only love and gratitude. It liberated the captive soul.  I don’t think many fans of that musical would say the bishop got it wrong or reversed the order of how that should have happened. In fact, the story is what it is because forgiveness came before change, AKA repentance.

I have seen parents who immediately forgive a child of their wrong choices and then encourage better behavior. I have seen parents withhold their forgiveness until they see certain desired behavior, signs of remorse, or a randomly selected time has passed. The first method fosters a feeling of love and safety while the other is unsettling and confusing for the child. While, on the one hand, a child may not use the growth opportunity provided by the fast-forgiving parent, and a child that must “earn” his or her parent’s forgiveness can grow from the experience –  which situation feels more God-like and Celestial to you?

WITHHOLDING FORGIVENESS IS THE GREATER SIN – AND IS MORE DAMAGING TO THAT PERSON

It is very clear that the Savior says withholding forgiveness is the “greater sin”. If that is the case, how can we reasonably think that Jesus or our Heavenly Parents would be guilty of doing so? When He says “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.” D&C 64:9,10 Some may assume that statement indicates He will be determining who He will and won’t bestow forgiveness on.  But what if that is not what He is saying? What if He is saying “I am going to forgive people you could never imagine me forgiving and it’s not your concern.  Don’t worry about what I will do, your job is to forgive”! Perhaps if we were to focus too much on those whom He also forgives we would turn bitter, and our repentance would be hindered for a time because of it. One thing we do know is that, whenever He gives us a commandment, it is something that helps us learn how to become more like Him and live in a more Celestial way.  If He commands us to forgive everyone – what does that say about what He does?

Universal Forgiveness is not just wise spiritual counsel, there are also medical and academic studies to show the damaging effects of not following this commandment. Johns Hopkins Medicine reports “There is an enormous physical burden to being hurt and disappointed,” says Karen Swartz, M.D., director of the Mood Disorders Adult Consultation Clinic at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Chronic anger puts you into a fight-or-flight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure and immune response. Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions. Forgiveness, however, calms stress levels, leading to improved health.”https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/forgiveness-your-health-depends-on-it

WebMD reports “If you can bring yourself to forgive and forget, you are likely to enjoy lower blood pressure, a stronger immune system, and a drop in the stress hormones circulating in your blood, studies suggest. Back pain, stomach problems, and headaches may disappear. And you’ll reduce the anger, bitterness, resentment, depression, and other negative emotions that accompany the failure to forgive.” https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/forgive-forget

In Les Misérables, the damaging effects of withholding forgiveness are portrayed with Inspector Javert who ultimately takes his own life to escape the mental anguish.

So we have evidence of the damaging effects of withholding forgiveness on the spirit, mind and body. Does reason allow us to think that a Celestial mentality would ever withhold forgiveness – even for the Heavenly Parents we are to emulate? After all, forgiveness is not really about the person who committed the sin. Forgiveness is essentially a release – a letting go – by the offended party who is then able to move forward and past the offence.  It is unimaginable that our Heavenly Parents – the Gods of the universe, would be hung up on our sins and mistakes and not able or willing to let those go. We are told that “God is Love”.  I think that also means God is forgiveness.  That is Their nature.  And They are not waiting for us to complete a checklist or somehow “earn” that love and forgiveness.  They are not acted upon in that way.  They are the agents of change and of progress and foster that in every interaction with Their children. I repeat they do not need us to do something in particular to be able to forgive us.  They are not limited by our actions in any way.  We can then choose to accept that forgiveness and use it as an impetus for change.  Our repentance process is what then allows us to move forward. The great thing is that, through that repentance process, we also learn how to be more forgiving, more like Them.  We learn about that because we feel its transformative power acting in our own lives.   Forgiveness builds bridges and fosters eternal relationships.  It is a godly attribute.

FORGIVENESS AND RULES (Admittedly speculation, but part of my thought process)

Does it sit well with your spirit that we are to learn to forgive everyone so we can go to the Celestial Kingdom, become eternal parents ourselves, and then start to withhold forgiveness from others, even our children? Can you imagine that we spend life learning how to forgive everyone and then go to the Celestial Kingdom where all of a sudden everyone in the neighborhood is choosing who they will and won’t forgive? Why would that suddenly be okay?

So God does forgive – and we see through Jesus’ examples that He does so immediately – and His forgiveness is given as motivation for us to try again and again and again until we become the best we can be before facing the final bar of Justice. It is not that we are finally forgiven at the judgment bar, it is that we see at the judgment who we have become after we (hopefully) accepted God’s love and forgiveness. As we stand at that unchangeable bar of justice we are gifted the keys to our eternal home with the neighbors that we have become the most like. All thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

It is an interesting thought that the level of love and forgiveness we attain determines the kind of neighbor we are going to have in the hereafter. How’s that for an additional reason and way to live the 2^nd great commandment? Matt 22:39 If we don’t currently love ourselves perhaps we should work to become someone we can love before we open the door of our new home in our eternal neighborhood to find everyone treats us the way we treat them.

THE PROS AND CONS OF LOOKING AT ACCEPTING GOD’S FORGIVENESS AS THE FIRST STEP

Pros

• Less time is spent beating oneself up or distancing oneself from a God that you feel you are not yet “right” with – which process allows Satan to twist our thinking and lead us towards darker thoughts. Satan’s feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness can lead to repetitive sin, leaving the Church, or even suicide
• Knowing God forgives everyone right away teaches us to work on forgiving others immediately rather than after they meet the requirements we set for them. It is harder to look down our noses at someone if we realize God has already forgiven them.
• Knowing God already forgives us can help eliminate scrupulosity, giving us the courage to move forward (a sign of faith), knowing that if we don’t get it right the first time we can try again.
• One who leaves the Gospel or Church will be more likely to return later if they feel they are loved enough to already be forgiven, and the invitation is to come back, follow Him, and see what improves in their lives. 
• Knowing God forgives us right away makes us more open to feeling His love and thus being more deeply motivated to give everything to follow Him. Matt 19:21

Cons

• An individual might mistake forgiveness as qualifying for Celestial Glory. But mercy cannot rob justice, (Alma 42:25) and justice dictates that we cannot – nor would we want to – live in an eternal neighborhood with people whose habits and natures are so different. Just ask anyone who has moved into a community with an HOA that does not match their lifestyle.
• An individual might not work on repenting if they hear they are already forgiven. 

This last “con” could largely be overcome if people are taught that repentance is not about gaining forgiveness from someone else but about growth and change so that we can become more like our Saviour – fostered by a sense of profound gratitude for that gift of love and forgiveness.  Additionally, sooner or later the individual will likely sense there is something they are missing and may be more likely to come back and try living the Gospel of Jesus Christ again because they do not feel as judged as a scenario where forgiveness is withheld.

These risks are scary if the nature we tend to have is to control, or manipulate, by fear or reward. Yet to me, that is the very risk we took in the council in heaven when we decided to come to Earth, accept the wonderful gift of a mortal body with the Light of Christ, and the opportunity to grow as best we can.

If we are all here to grow and learn, then we are also here to make mistakes and will eventually sin as this is how we truly “learn by experience”.  Our Heavenly Parents knew we would sin, this is not plan B.  They do not hold this state of sinfulness against us.  They give us the soil of love and forgiveness that allows us to learn from our misdeeds and to grow into our divine nature. 

THE SAVIOR SEEMED TO DRIVE HOME THE FORGIVEN MESSAGE FREQUENTLY

It feels as though Jesus was constantly trying to get the message across that we are already forgiven, so stop beating ourselves up, get back up and try again. Parables like the Unforgiving Servant and the Prodigal Son, the teaching of the woman taken in adultery, and the forgiveness spoken towards His tormentors while hanging on the cross make that clear. Even when people were brought to Him to be healed, He would heal them with the words “Thy sins are forgiven thee”. Mark 2:5 

MY EXPERIENCE – IS IT YOURS TOO?

His loving forgiveness is something I have felt stronger and sooner than I expected – certainly before I have reached the completion of my repentance as taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I do not contest that I still have repenting to do – that will be the case for the rest of my life.

I have referred to a group I call the “Fellowship of the Forgiven” in previous posts. These are not people who no longer need to repent in life – we all do. These are people who have felt how forgiving Jesus Christ is, despite how sinful we feel, and they live their lives without judgment toward others. They simply try to help others who are struggling. These are people who remember the life-changing forgiveness they experienced in their own lives and now seek to emulate that love and forgiveness in their conduct toward others.

People who are doing it in a higher and holier way.