Turn your thoughts to Jesus Christ

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Morning Session of the April 1986 Conference.

The talk "We Love You—Please Come Back" seems to me like the quintessential Richard G. Scott talk, the kind I always remember him giving. But his words mean a lot more to me now.

We had such a good lesson in Sunday School this week about forgiveness and the Book of Philemon. People shared beautiful experiences about forgiving those who had wronged them, and the relief that had come as they chose to let their anger and resentment go. But amid all those stories, I couldn't stop thinking, "Who will tell the stories about people who desperately needed to BE forgiven?" I guess those are harder to tell, involving our own sins as they do. But I have been on that side, and I know how much forgiveness—from God and others—means to the one who has done the wrong. And I know how hard it sometimes is to feel permanent peace even when forgiveness has come. So I felt these words from Elder Scott go right down into my heart:

Can’t you see that to continue to suffer for sins, when there has been proper repentance and forgiveness of the Lord, is not prompted by the Savior but by the master of deceit, whose goal has always been to bind and enslave the children of our Father in Heaven? Satan would encourage you to continue to relive the details of past mistakes, knowing that such thoughts make progress, growth, and service difficult to attain. It is as though Satan ties strings to the mind and body so that he can manipulate one like a puppet, discouraging personal achievement.

I testify that Jesus Christ paid the price and satisfied the demands of justice for all who are obedient to His teachings. Thus, full forgiveness is granted, and the distressing effects of sin need no longer persist in one’s life. Indeed, they cannot persist if one truly understands the meaning of Christ’s Atonement.… 

When memory of prior mistakes encroaches upon your mind, turn your thoughts to Jesus Christ, to the miracle of forgiveness and renewal that comes through Him. Then your suffering will be replaced by joy, gratitude, and thanksgiving for His love.

Such comfort there—comfort I would never have known I'd need, hearing this talk for the first time as a 6-year-old. I'm so grateful for apostles and their inspired words across the years!


Other posts in this series:

Talks given by prophets are timeless—by Jan Tolman