His counsel begins with the blessing given to members of the Church of Jesus Christ by the laying on of hands of priesthood brethren. It is reiterated in the prayers every sacrament meeting. At great sacrifice we have the scriptures and Elder Packer summarized the life of William Tyndale back in the 1500's. This man, after receiving the scholarly religious degrees from Oxford began to translate first the New Testament and then the first five books of the Old Testament into English. This was considered to be contrary to the will of the powerful political and religious community of the times. His prophecy is stunning; "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the Scripture than thou." He was referring to the Church leaders who hounded him at that time. He was eventually imprisoned and then killed, his body then burned.
Today, we are members of that same Church organized by Jesus Christ during his short sojourn on the earth. While the world may call us "Mormons" we are Latter Day Saints and should refer to ourselves in this manner. The correct name of the Church was given to us by Jesus Christ and we are asked to use the correct name of the Church in our conversations.
Now, I think for me the most important part of this great discourse was the principle of forgiveness. We are to love one another and "...to frankly forgive offenses." The example he gave of the story of the loss of the life of a young mother due to an infection carried by an attending doctor is a great one and can be used by parents to teach older children in the home. After years of bitterness, a man was finally told by a great priesthood leader; "John, leave it alone." "It is often the case that we are offended by someone, either a member of the Church or outside and we carry inside causing great personal suffering. Ponder his paragraph: "That attitude is somewhat like a man being hit by a club. Offended, he takes up a club and beats himself over the head with it all the days of his life. How foolish! How sad! That kind of revenge is self-inflicting. If you have been offended, forgive, forget it, and leave it alone."
The Church of Jesus Christ requires much from the members. It is not an easy Church to belong to but it is the right one and the only true course to follow. "If you are carrying some burden, forget it, let it alone. Do a lot of forgiving and a little repenting, and you will be visited by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost and confirmed by the testimony that you did not know existed. You will be watched over and blessed--you and yours."
I am personally very thankful for this great counsel and direction.
It would be a much better world if all of us who get offended at times could "forgive, forget it, and leave it alone." His remarks also included "be in the world, but not of the world". We need to focus on the great plan of happiness. I don't believe that there is anybody that I have offended in the past that I haven't asked for forgiveness from, but then again we can offend without knowing it and therefore if it isn't brought to our attention how can we repent and ask for forgiveness.
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