Gospel Message Day 322

Summer of Learning

I read an article today that resonated very well with me. It let me see that they have been lessons I've had to learn again, for they are lessons I need to learn every time I am rejected by a man. I suppose I really liked the way it was put in this article, because I love Les Mis so much. As a teen, I had such sympathies with Eponine, because even then I knew what it was like to be the passed over girl. But that didn't mean I felt that she should have "gotten" Marius. Marius loved somewhere else. (And by the way, neither in the book nor the musical are Marius and Eponine best friends, so I wish people would stop trying to make his not choosing her More "tragic.") I always understood his choosing Cosette, and never begrudged her. I suppose that was a lesson I learned early on. What was the point? But I'd never thought about how some of the things Eponine did were not the way to go about it. So the 6 points the article made were:

1. Don’t play the victim.

2. Your friendship truly isn’t worth it.

3. Forgive in order to forget.

4. Charity is the best medicine.

5. Hope is the key!

6. Let your sadness work for you.

I feel that these points are applicable to any disappointment, sorrow, or trial that we face. Because they make use of the Atonement, help us learn to forgive, teach us to be cheerful, encourage us to serve, and overall lead to us becoming more like our Savior. For if any one knew how to deal with difficulty, disappointment, and sorrow, it was our Redeemer.

Repentance Analogy

The fabulous thing in writing a missionary, I'm always thinking of what spiritual things I can share with him. And at a time when I'm crazily busy and not as good at journal writing as I once was, this means that those spiritual thoughts are more likely to be written down. This past Sunday I came up with another analogy to share with Elder Little Brother, and I got it written down. So I wanted to share it here. (Again, I don't think he'd mind.)

My back has been hurting me for about 5 weeks. In the first week, any sitting aggravated it, and the pain would shoot up my back and to my shoulders and neck. My roommate has had back issues, and she thought I might be out of alignment. So we did a hip exercise and that relieved the pain from the shoulders and neck. However, the lower back would still hurt. But only when I was driving or in certain chairs at work.


I finally was able to go to the chiropractor on Friday. I was worried it might be something with a disc, but he did 4 tests and none of them showed it as a disc problem. Thank goodness!! Basically my hips were out of alignment (one leg was 3 inches shorter than the other!) and my lower back was "jacked up." (Doctor's words.) Heat, electricity, stretch, and a couple of pops. A little more to it than that, but either way he got me back to where I should be. But he did say that the pain will not immediately go away because my muscles have been inflamed and compensating and such and now need to heal. In the mean time, the doctor said the pain in the arch of my left foot since the New Year was most likely from the misalignment because while walking my legs are trying to compensate and I've been landing on my foot so as to aggravate the plantar something or other. It would make sense, as I spent the whole week of Christmas sleeping on the couch because my bed was covered with stuff. The back began to hurt when I slept again on the couch because all my clothes were on my bed drying (our dryer doesn't work well). Anyway, the chiro wrapped the arch to give it better support and build the arch back up. He'll check on how I'm doing on Tuesday.

This could just be a "[My sister's] getting old" story, but I actually got an analogy from it today. Sin and repentance. When we sin, we misalign ourselves from God's path. Even the littlest things, they change our alignment. And the pain or symptoms may be something small--we may not even know the cause. (I had thought my foot pain was either a muscle knot or a bone spur.) And often when we don't get the pain checked on (through personal prayer and self-reflection), we don't know what to do to fix the cause of the pain. Thus repentance does not occur.

Left untreated, the pain can get worse, especially if the sin keeps being committed. Eventually we get around to self-examination, prayer, scripture study. We are able to see what we are doing wrong. We are able to fix it. Sometimes we need the help of a doctor (or bishop) to fix the problem. As we're fixing it (and sometimes even after), there is pain as we are healing. Spiritually we've done a number to ourselves and it takes some time for the soul to heal. And it's helpful to keep careful watch of what we do, and how we do it, and even have the doctor (bishop) help us through the healing process and make sure we're on the right track.

I thought it was a pretty good analogy. :-) Especially as I'm currently in the pain from muscles trying to heal. And I have very much known that spiritual pain when I am repenting and trying to fix what I have been doing wrong. But when it is through, and we are aligned again, we are wiser, more careful, more grateful, and healed. It is such a wonderful feeling!

Repentance truly is a gift.

The Peace and Joy of Repentance and Forgiveness

"When we sin and desire forgiveness, a broken heart and a contrite spirit mean to experience 'godly sorrow [that] worketh repentance' (2 Corinthians 7:10). This comes when our desire to be cleansed from sin is so consuming that our hearts ache with sorrow and we yearn to feel at peace with our Father in Heaven. Those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them, without resistance or resentment. We cease doing things our way and learn to do them God's way instead. In such a condition of submissiveness, the Atonement can take effect and true repentance can occur. The penitent will then experience the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost, which will fill them with peace of conscience and the joy of reconciliation with God. In a wondrous union of divine attributes, the same God who teaches us to walk with a broken heart invites us to rejoice and to be of good cheer."

Bruce D. Porter, "A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit," Ensign, Nov. 2007, 32

I can testify with an absolute surety that this is true. Only a week before I heard this message, I was able to come to an end of immense suffering that had lasted about 2/3 of my life. Heavenly Father requires that we forgive all, including ourselves. And I had held myself guilty of past indiscretions which hindered so much of my life's progress. At that point in my life, the "broken heart and contrite spirit" meant me at my utmost low and humbled state. There was no one to turn to and no where to go but Heavenly Father. And I knew that. And that was where I went. And I felt the healing and cleansing power of the Atonement as I never possibly could have before in my life. And I do testify that the Holy Ghost did indeed fill me "with peace of conscience and the joy of reconciliation with God." 

This peace and joy can be available to all, for repentance and forgiveness are blessings we all may partake of. Certainly not easy, but most definitely worth it.