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
