How many times will the Savior forgive?

I am the type of person who loves perfection. I love being in control of my life and doing things right. But I have one weakness that I have never seemed to overcome completely. I have always been an emotional eater, and at times it has gotten completely out of hand. There have been moments when all I could do was pray and give myself completely to God, knowing that I couldn't overcome this struggle on my own. Sometimes I have felt hopeless because I messed up again and again and didn't think I could ever overcome this weakness. I have wondered if the Savior really would help me again and again. And again. (To see a post I wrote about this, click on this link: "Food, Self Worth, and the Real Me" ... and here is the follow-up post.)

The following is a friend's recent post on Facebook. It was very timely, and something I needed to hear. She shares a beautiful testimony about families and the hope of eternal life, and then she illustrates the Savior's ability to forgive.

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Christ.



These past few months I've been challenging myself to recognize the blessings in my life and become more grateful for them. I am so so thankful for the atonement. Knowing that it is not the end when we have made mistakes is such a powerful thing to know. We have second chances. Third chances, fourth chances, and fifth chances even. However many chances it takes for us to get things right, The Lord is waiting and wanting to forgive. That knowledge to me is priceless. As long as we are striving, struggling, and desiring, the Lord is waiting with a forgiving heart and open arms. At times when I have made wrong choices and felt that I could not carry on, I have felt overwhelming peace and reassurance that the Lord has mercy and enough love to carry me through tough times. I'm thankful for trials big and small so that we are able to come closer to our Savior and have him help us through. I love knowing that we all have the same end goal in mind, just how we get there is different. I love love love the gospel with all of my heart, and my great family who would do anything for me. I'm thankful for a forgiving Savior and brother who has paid for my mistakes. I'm thankful for the knowledge that none of us are perfect, yet are capable of a perfect love, and lastly I'm thankful for our Father in Heaven who wants the best for us and is waiting until we are with him again.

Each of us struggles with something. And each of us messes up, sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes over and over and over again. How can the Savior love us enough to continue to forgive us?

Although we may feel otherwise, Jesus Christ wants to forgive us. In an April 2013 conference talk, Elder Craig A. Cardon said that Christ "does not excuse us in our sins. He does not condone our return to past sins. But when we repent and obey His gospel, He forgives us. . . . If we exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the enabling power of His Atonement strengthens us in our moment of need, and His redeeming power sanctifies us as we '[put] off the natural man.' This brings hope to all, especially to those who feel that recurring human weakness is beyond the Savior's willingness to help and to save." This last sentence is crucial in our repentance process, and it is a principle I am still trying to understand. For me, the most important thing to remember is that no matter how many times I sin, I can always come to my Savior and ask Him for strength to overcome my sins. It doesn't seem fair to me that I can mess up so many times and He will continue to give me chances, but because of that I am eternally grateful. He will never give up on me. Or anyone. The beauty of this principle is that "He allows for improvement over time rather than demanding immediate perfection." We have a lifetime to become like Him.

2 Nephi 9:23 - Why does God command us to have "perfect faith"?

2 Nephi 9:23 reads, "And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God."

Faith is an attribute that must be developed over time. Faith is manifest by a desire and willingness to follow God's commandments and to yield to the Holy Spirit. (See Loren C. Dunn, "Building Bridges to Faith" 1981).

Having faith in Jesus Christ leads us to change our lives for the better, and this change is called repentance. In a talk given by Richard G. Scott in the October 2000 General Conference, Elder Scott said, "Why have our Father and His Son commanded us to repent? Because they love us. . . . It is our Master and His redeeming act that make it possible for us to avoid such condemnation. It is done through faith in Jesus Christ, obedience to His commandments, and enduring in righteousness to the end" (Richard G. Scott, "The Path to Peace and Joy")

Having perfect faith does not mean that we are perfect, but that we know in whom we trust and we live our lives accordingly. We recognize our need for constant repentance, and we trust in God's plan for us. Perfect faith involves being one with God, repentant, and humble.

Prophets in the scriptures have constantly reminded us of Jesus Christ's role in our salvation: "There is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ" (Helaman 5:9). It is not possible to have perfect faith in any being besides Jesus Christ Himself. It is only through Him that we can reach salvation, and He has given us the way.

In another General Conference talk in 1997, Elder Scott said, "I witness that 'redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah . . . unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered' (2 Nephi 2:6-7). This absolute requisite of a 'broken heart and a contrite spirit' prescribes the need to be submissive, compliant, humble (that is, teachable), and willingly obedient. Finally, I witness 'how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah' (2 Nephi 2:8).
"Jesus Christ possessed merits that no other child of Heavenly Father could possibly have. . . . Our Master lived a perfect, sinless life and therefore was free from the demands of justice. He was and is perfect in every attribute, including love, compassion, patience, obedience, forgiveness, and humility. His mercy pays our debt to justice when we repent and obey Him. Even with our best efforts to obey His teachings we will still fall short, yet because of His grace we will be saved 'after all we can do' (2 Nephi 25:23)."
(Richard G. Scott, "Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer," April 1997)

I testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and by exercising perfect faith in Him we can have access to His grace and mercy, and we can someday join Him, perfected, in the Kingdom of Heaven with our Father.

Moroni 10:32-33 - How do we become perfect in Christ through the Atonement? How does grace fit in?

Moroni says, "If ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ. . . . And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot."

It almost sounds like we have to become perfect before we can receive God's grace and remission of sins through the power of the atonement. But that is fortunately not the case. God doesn't wait for us to become perfect before He blesses us, because that would be impossible. Instead of waiting at the top of the hill of life, Christ is walking right beside us. We are not alone. The atonement isn't just about making it to the end, it's a process of human development.

In 2 Nephi 25:23, Nephi says "that it is by grace we are saved, after all we can do." Again, it seems that we cannot be saved until after we have done everything that we can. But the word after is referring to a form of separation rather than a form of time. God's grace is sufficient for us despite all we can do. We receive grace before, during, and after we do all that we can.
It is quite exhausting to think of all that we need to do to qualify for God's grace. We go, go, go because we love God and we know that nothing we can do is sufficient to pay Him back for the atonement. That's where we're wrong. God accepts any sacrifice we can give, even when we both know it's not our all. We love God, but He loves us too. We need to accept His sacrifice, not try to impress Him with all the sacrifices we're trying to make. When we find ourselves only halfway there, rather than getting discouraged we just need to turn to God. Every step of ours is noticed and appreciated by God. (See Brad Wilcox, The Continuous Atonement.)

It looks like it isn't God's grace that is insufficient, it is our own actions. God's grace is always there. But it is not sufficient for us until we become "perfect in Christ," which means we are always striving to follow His example. It is up to us to be worthy enough to receive of God's grace. A great example from the scriptures that illustrates this point is found in Mosiah 18 where Alma organizes the Church of Christ and ordains priests. Verse 26 says, "And the priests were not to depend on the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God." We are not to depend on other people but our own labor in order to receive the grace of God. That is how we will gain spiritual knowledge and grace.

Verse 33 says the Father is under covenant to remit our sins when we become perfect in Christ. It is part of a spiritual and everlasting covenant for God to forgive us of our sins when we truly repent and come unto Christ. That means we have the power to become perfect through Christ! D&C 82:10 reads, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." He is bound by covenant to bless us when we follow His commandments. I don't think we realize how powerful our agency actually is. When we choose the right, we are guaranteed to receive of God's blessings. How cool!!

Something else interesting I found comes from Alma 32. In this chapter, Alma compares God's word to a seed that cannot grow unless it is planted and nourished. Verses 38-39 read, "If ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out. Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof." So we have a choice whether or not we will nourish the seed. God's word is always good, but it is up to us to plant it in our hearts and nourish it. God's grace is always present, but we must do our part in order for it to take effect in our lives.