Frankly Forgive

When somebody hurts you—deliberately or inadvertantly—it can be difficult to forgive that person. Nevertheless, that is what the Lord requires of us:

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.

I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. (Doctrine and Covenants 64:9-10)

(c) Greg Olsen
"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you
it is required to forgive all men."

We learn an important lesson about forgiveness from Book of Mormon prophet Nephi. Nephi's older brothers, Laman and Lemuel, were the perpetrators of lies, gossip, complaining, backbiting and even outright violence against him. On more than one occasion they attempted to take his life, and would have succeeded were it not for divine intervention. 

"I did frankly forgive them."

But when Laman and Lemuel sought Nephi's forgiveness, he freely forgave. Even though he understood they were bound to hurt him again, Nephi forgave. Even though he knew they would eventually leave the church and persecute his family, Nephi forgave.

After one particularly brutal encounter in which Laman and Lemuel bound Nephi with cords, leaving him to be devoured by wild beasts, Nephi responded to their pleas for forgiveness this way:

And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father. (1 Nephi 7:21)

Notice that Nephi 'frankly forgives' Laman and Lemuel. Notice also that immediately after Laman and Lemuel finish praying to their Father in Heaven for forgiveness, they return on their journey. Nephi doesn't pause to criticize or punish them. He doesn't gloat or boast in his own righteousness. He forgives because of the pure love in his heart. 

In a world full of prejudice, violence and hate, how can we develop similar love? How can we be more like Nephi and 'frankly forgive'?