Presidency
Message
It is the Savior’s desire
that we each feel His peace. He said: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John
14:27)
We may have much that
worries us, and we may find many reasons to be concerned. Yet, as President
Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) observed, peace and the Savior’s doctrine of forgiveness are
inseparably connected: “The essence … of forgiveness is that it brings peace to
the previously anxious, restless, frustrated, perhaps tormented soul.
Luke
records a story from the life of the Savior that demonstrates the kind of peace
the Savior bestows when we receive His forgiveness (see Luke
7:36–50). Jesus was invited to the home of Simon, a
Pharisee, for dinner. A woman who is described as a sinner learned that Jesus
was in the house and came, bringing ointment. As Jesus rested, leaning forward
on a couch with His feet extended away from the table, the woman approached Him
from behind, weeping and washing His feet with her tears. She wiped His feet
with her hair, kissed them, and poured the fragrant ointment on them, taking
care to gently rub the oil into His feet. The host found fault with Jesus for
accepting this act of kindness from a sinner. Jesus perceived his thoughts and
offered for his chastisement one of His most poignant lessons on the doctrine
of forgiveness.
He told
the story of a creditor who had two debtors. One owed 10 times more than the
other. Neither had the means to pay his debt, so the creditor graciously
forgave them both. “Tell me therefore,” the Savior asked, “which of [the
debtors] will love [the creditor] most?” (Luke
7:42). Simon rightly answered that the debtor who owed
the most would probably love the most.
Jesus then
compared Simon’s lack of care and hospitality for Him to the woman’s actions.
The Master wanted Simon to see himself in the story as the debtor who owed less
and the woman as the debtor who owed more. Jesus reinforced His point by
saying, “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for
she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little” (Luke
7:47).
Jesus then turned His
attention to the woman. Looking her in the eyes, He bestowed His peace upon
her, saying: “Thy sins are forgiven. … Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace”
(Luke
7:48, 50).We do not know the circumstances surrounding this
woman’s transgressions, but we can imagine the gratitude, joy, and
peace she must have felt at that moment.
Our mission is to love and forgive one another as the Savior taught.
Sis Pat A.