In his talk “And Nothing Shall Offend” Elder David A Bednar speaks about the dangers of becoming easily offended. He opens the talk by sharing how he would visit less active members to find out why they were no longer attending. Although their answers were all different, many involved being offended by something. Elder Bednar then said:
“And then I would say something like this. ‘Let me make sure I understand what has happened to you. Because someone at church offended you, you have not been blessed by the ordinance of the sacrament. You have withdrawn yourself from the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Because someone at church offended you, you have cut yourself off from priesthood ordinances and the holy temple. You have discontinued your opportunity to serve others and to learn and grow. And you are leaving barriers that will impede the spiritual progress of your children, your children’s children, and the generations that will follow.’ Many times people would think for a moment and then respond: ‘I have never thought about it that way.’”
Elder Bednar goes on to point out that there may be times when words are said or people inadvertently do something that may hurt us, but that we choose to be offended. One of the blessings of agency is that we choose how we react to a situation. We can through the power of the Atonement choose not to take offense from others actions.
Elder Bednar then points out that the church is full of people who are also learning and trying to improve themselves. You may be offended by others’ actions when they make poor choices or simple mistakes. Many of these mistakes may be made unknowingly. It is important to realize that not everyone is perfect, but that we are all working towards that goal.
Elder Bednar then issued two invitations. The first is to make the choice to not be offended. If there are feelings that you need to work through speak directly with the person. The second is to prayerfully reach out to those who are less active and invite them back to church.
This is a wonderful talk about the importance of choosing how you feel and not allowing others to affect the choices that you make. We really can decide if we will take offense or choose to forgive. The Savior would have us forgive many times. I hope that you will take the time to read the talk and ponder the message it contains.
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