Forgive!

TRANSFERRED!!!! OH ME OH MY! Due to said transfer I was asked

to give a talk on forgiveness and my....the soul searching and personal

struggles I had to go through to write those words...my lesson this week

is forgiveness...here are some portions of my talk:

Good morning brothers and sisters, I have three goals with my talk today…

#1 to make sure no one falls asleep,

#2 that someone other than the person who assigned me this talk, will

walk away knowing what I spoke about today

#3 to ensure before I leave the “Bend Ward” that everyone is clear on

exactly how fantastically awesome Sis Z is! :)

In life things happen to us, as children we often think bad things

only happen to us or that we are the only ones that make wrong

choices….it’s easy to look at someone and think their load is lighter

than ours or no true trial can ever have touched their perfected

world….my mom use to always tell me that no one’s life is easy, that

if everyone in the world put their shoes in a pile and all the hurt,

all the worry, the pain, the loss, the despair, that each trial faced

in life were attached to each persons shoes, that we would always chose

our own….no one can live the life you live for it is yours alone…

..................

In each of our lives there are times when we will seek forgiveness or

extend forgiveness. What is it to forgive? Why must we forgive hurt

done unto us?

D&C 64:9-10 says...

9. Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for

he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned

before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

10. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is

required to forgive all men.

In all our forgiving and seeking forgiveness, we must recognize that,

despite whatever restitution we may be capable of providing or

receiving, our efforts and those of others are woefully insufficient

to meet the demands of eternal justice. How, then, is true forgiveness

possible? Paul, in speaking to the Ephesians, wrote that it is in

Christ that “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of

sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7).

The blessings that flow from the gift of forgiveness are many. Chief

among them is peace. It is the Savior’s desire that we each feel His

peace. He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. …

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John

14:27). The forgiveness we offer to others and the forgiveness we

receive from Jesus Christ lead us to Him and along the path to eternal

life.

Because of the Savior’s perfect love for us, He willingly forgives us

if we truly repent. In return, He has asked us to be like Him and

forgive one another. It is through the Saviors infinite sacrifice that

enables you and I to forgive those who "trespass against us...

I knew once a young girl...a child of 8 years old, she was her mother’s

pride, her first born and all the family adored her. She saw life

through the eyes of a child, her imagination was unending, she brought

laughter where ever she went, and she lived life to the fullest every

minute of every day. She decided to be baptized, and her mother’s

husband, not her father by blood but, the man who had raised her and

had recently been baptized himself would perform the ordinance. What a

blessing, she glowed with anticipation and joy; family flew in from

across the country to be present for her day! She was filled with the

love of our Heavenly Father as she exited the waters and she wept as

her grandfather laid his hands upon her head confirming her as a

member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Eight years

old and her life was like a dream….the next week after family flew

home and she sat watching a movie, with only the cares of if would mom

order pizza tonight or not….there was this happening….at 8 she learned

that others can be in charge of her happiness, the agency of others

can dictate who we are….on a still night, while in the safety of her home,

she was broken…never to be “just a child” again….what had she done to

cause this…did her mother know….why didn't the Lord protect her…for

years she suffered in anguish, she questioned her worth, she feared the

night….there was no escape the life surrounding her and she

crumbled….to see this girl let go, was heartbreaking, what had

happened they wondered?!….her mother begged…..her bishop asked what

can we do? And still she fell….deeper and further…trying to escape the

tragedy of life awaiting her inside the walls of her home, holding

ever tighter to the secrets she kept within..…7 years she languished,

trying to hold on to who she was, who she used to be, who everyone else

thought she was….until finally the truth saw the light and her mother

took her siblings and she to safety….all pieces of shattered and

broken…there she was, and she raged with fury – she lashed out at her

mother, at her Father in Heaven, and at her family, she tore and

ripped at all these pictures of perfect and happy…she was spiraling out

of control and SO WHAT she thought?! She looked into the mirror

one day and thought "to all who know me….I am lost….I am empty...

I am broken."

It was there on the edge of giving up and giving  in, that through the

power and the blessing of the atonement that she found her way back to

the Lord and back to church, it was through the power of forgiveness

and healing that….. I, that 8 year old girl, I used to know and can never be

again, was able to forgive those who have forever changed the course of

both my life and theirs ….applying the atonement in my life is what

changed me from being the girl who felt utterly alone...  into the

servant of Lord that stands before you now.

I am here today as a living witness to the power of forgiveness through

the blessing of the atonement. My parting words to you my beloved

brothers and sisters is this: Forgive! Being unable to forgive

either ourselves or others is a small darkness inside us, although

unseen, even unfelt…over time the dark takes over unintended light,

slow and ever changing, ever growing…as the shadows of swallowed anger

or shame filled pride will turn you...will turn us bitter. It’s hard and requires

strength but, you must practice the miracle of forgiveness as it is the only

way to truly be free!

May we always remember what our beloved prophet Thomas S. Monson

taught us at this last general conference..."Blame keeps wounds open.

Only forgiveness heals." The overwhelming message of the Atonement is

the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. His love is

full of mercy, patience, grace, long-suffering, forgiveness and, above

all, healing.

I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Please send all mail to:

Sister Kiarra Zubicki

700 Deborah Road Suite 260

Newberg Oregon, 97132