Forgiveness and Mercy

My biggest Come, Follow Me insight this week came while listening to the Podcast called "Follow Him". The guest on the program, S. Michael Wilcox, talked about the phrase found in D&C 64:6, 8 that says "sought occasion against him/one another".  He asked some critical questions about this phrase. Questions like "do I seek occasions to be critical and find faults and weaknesses in others in order to feel better about myself? Am I looking for the motes in other peoples eyes and not seeing the beam in my own? (Matt 7:1-5). An example of this is when Mary (Lazarus's sister) anoints Christs' feet with an expensive spice. Upon witnessing this act, Judas becomes outraged feeling like Mary wasted money by using this ointment on Christs' feet instead of selling it and giving the money to the poor (John 12:3-5). Judas was seeking occasion to find fault in someone else and to make his idea look better. He "condemned for evil that thing in which there was no evil", and when we do that the Lord withholds His Spirit from us (D&C 64:16). Do we condemn people for doing things a different way just because its not the way we would do them?

Falling into this trap can destroy the concept of a Zion people. Zion is a place where the people are of one heart and one mind and if we're constantly "seeking occasion against others" that behavior is going to separate us from others instead of binding us together.

What is the remedy for this type of behavior? One thing that will help is to cultivate the Christlike attribute of forgiveness. Section 64 teaches the necessary steps:

1. Confess/acknowledge our shortcomings (v. 7)
2. Ask to be forgiven (v. 7)
3. Extend forgiveness to others (v. 9-10)

The natural man reacts to sin with outrage and intolerance, but Jesus Christ reacts to sin by first extending an offer of forgiveness and mercy. Christlike behavior is to give others the benefit of the doubt. It is to celebrate the good that people do and forgive their imperfect moments. If Christ can do that for us then we can strive to do the same for others. Our efforts to shed the natural man will help us become more like Christ who "delights in mercy and does not begrudge its use." (Elder Renlund)