In Doctrine and Covenants 64:8-10, we read, in part: “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you, it is required to forgive all men.”
I’ve puzzled over this scripture for a long time. Why is it that the Lord gets to pick and choose who receives forgiveness? Hasn’t He promised that if we’ll repent, He’ll forgive? This scripture sounded to me like He was going to go through and say, “I’ll forgive you and you, but not you.”
As I posted this afternoon’s blog on President Kimball’s feelings toward repentance and pondered this scripture again, suddenly I realized the true meaning behind these words.
The Lord is the only person who can truly see our hearts. Only He knows when we’ve truly repented, or when we’re just putting on a show. He knows when we’re deluding ourselves into thinking that we’ve taken the necessary steps, when in reality, our hearts aren’t in it. He will forgive all those who truly repent, but the repentance must be sincere.
This is why He says, “I will forgive whom I will forgive.” He’s saying, “I’ll forgive those who have done all they need to do in order to set things right with me.”
The second half of the scripture, “but of you, it is required to forgive all men,” states that you and I must forgive everyone. We can’t see into the hearts of those who have wronged us, and we can’t know how sincere their repentance is. We must give everyone the benefit of a doubt and leave the rest up to God, who knows everything. If we had the power to know the hearts of those around us and to see not only where they are today but where they’ve been in the past, then perhaps we’d be a little more qualified to decide who really had made progress in their lives. But as we are mortal, and have our own faults and failings, we are in no way able to determine the worthiness of another. We are to forgive everyone equally, leaving the final judgment up to the Lord.
I’m glad the final judgment will be conducted by the Lord and not by our peers. He will be fair in every particular. He knows not only what we did, but why we did it, and He will be merciful unto us beyond our comprehension.
Related Blogs:
Don’t Judge the Church By the People