Does God forgive
and forget when there has been no confession and repentance by those who are accountable? Apparently not.
1 But as for us, His children, He has set out a forgiving requirement:
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (New Testament | Matthew 6:14-15; also Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 13:14-15)
21 ¶ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (New Testament | Matthew 18:21-22)
10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 64:10)
Thus, the forgiveness command seems unconditional in that we are to forgive offences against us whether or not the offender confesses or seeks forgiveness; but
what about forgetting offences if there has been no confession and repentance
2?
Would
forgetting offences not offend “be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves”
3 when dealing with unrepentant, repeat offenders? Surely, we have learned by personal and historical experience, that forgetting or ignoring repeating patterns of: 1) power abuse; 2) the pride cycle; 3) apostasy; and 4) deception leads to inevitable corruption. Indeed, we have arrived at this present hour of political, cultural, social, and even religious corruption because we have forgotten too much; because we cannot seem to remember.
So, if power abuse appears to ease for a time, should we forget government, PHO (public health official), and other authorities' actions and promises? Should we forget the assurances of “safe and effective”? As injuries and deaths continue to mount, how many confessions, expressions of repentance, and pleas for forgiveness by narrative advocates have we heard? How many admissions: “We were tragically wrong; please forgive us”? On the other hand: how many prayers for the deceived and the complicit have we offered? How many prayers about our own weaknesses and offences
4?
Perhaps the coming great shaking, will shake us all awake to the tragic reality of the 1 thru 4 recycling patterns that were accelerated over the past, two plus years? Will the world-recognized symbol of our faith survive the shaking? the de- and “reconstruction”? If it does not, what will it reveal? Or will we remain blind to a déjà vu?
5
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All bold emphasis added below
1.
Old Testament | Joshua 24:18-20 18 And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.
19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.
20 If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
Old Testament | 2 Chronicles 6:30 30 Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and
render unto every man according unto all his ways,
Old Testament | 2 Chronicles 7:14 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Old Testament | Jeremiah 36:3 3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may
return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:23-24 23 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.
24 And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 12:9 9 And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore,
forgive him not.
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 4:10 10 And again, believe that
ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 26:29-30 29 Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and
if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.
30 Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.
Book of Mormon | Ether 2:15 15 And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were with him. And the Lord said unto him: I will forgive thee and thy brethren of their sins; but
thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my Spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my thoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land choice above all other lands.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 1:31-33 31 For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;
32 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
33 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 29:43-45 43 And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe;
44 And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for
they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not;
45 For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 42:25-26 25 But he that has committed adultery and
repents with all his heart, and forsaketh it, and doeth it no more, thou shalt forgive;
26 But if he doeth it again, he shall not be forgiven, but shall be cast out.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 61:2 2 Behold, verily thus saith the Lord unto you, O ye elders of my church, who are assembled upon this spot, whose sins are now forgiven you, for I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am
merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts;
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 64:7-9 7 Nevertheless, he [Joseph Smith, Jr.] has sinned; but verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto
those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death.
8 My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened.
9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye
ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 82:1 1 VERILY, verily, I say unto you, my servants, that inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 84:61 61 For I will forgive you of your sins with this commandment—that you
remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer, in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated unto you.
2. Additional forgiveness verses:
Unconditional
New Testament | Mark 11:25-26 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
New Testament | Luke 6:37 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
New Testament | Luke 11:4 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
Conditional?:
New Testament | Luke 17:3-4 3 ¶ Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and
if he repent, forgive him.
4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 26:29-31 29 Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and
if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.
30 Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.
31 And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor's trespasses
when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 98:39-48 39 And again, verily I say unto you, if after thine enemy has come upon thee the first time, he repent and come unto thee praying thy forgiveness,
thou shalt forgive him, and shalt hold it no more as a testimony against thine enemy—
40 And so on unto the second and third time; and
as oft as thine enemy repenteth of the trespass wherewith he has trespassed against thee, thou shalt forgive him, until seventy times seven.
41 And if he trespass against thee and repent not the first time, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him.
42 And if he trespass against thee the second time, and repent not, nevertheless thou shalt forgive him.
43 And if he trespass against thee the third time, and repent not, thou shalt also forgive him.
44 But
if he trespass against thee the fourth time thou shalt not forgive him, but shalt bring these testimonies before the Lord; and they shall not be blotted out until he repent and reward thee four–fold in all things wherewith he has trespassed against thee.
45 And if he do this, thou shalt forgive him with all thine heart; and if he do not this, I, the Lord, will avenge thee of thine enemy an hundred–fold;
46 And upon his children, and upon his children's children of all them that hate me, unto the third and fourth generation.
47 But if the children shall repent, or the children's children, and turn to the Lord their God, with all their hearts and with all their might, mind, and strength, and restore four–fold for all their trespasses wherewith they have trespassed, or wherewith their fathers have trespassed, or their fathers' fathers, then thine indignation shall be turned away;
48 And vengeance shall no more come upon them, saith the Lord thy God, and their trespasses shall never be brought any more as a testimony before the Lord against them. Amen.
3.
New Testament | Matthew 10:16-17
16¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17 But beware of men:
JST New Testament | Matthew 10:14-15 14 ¶ Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise
servants, and
as harmless as doves.
15 But beware of men:
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 111:11
11 Therefore, be ye as wise as serpents and yet without sin; and I will order all things for your good, as fast as ye are able to receive them. Amen.
4.
New Testament | 1 John 1:8-9 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Book of Mormon | Alma 38:14 14 Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord,
forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea,
acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.
New Testament | Romans 3:23 23 For
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
New Testament | Romans 5:12 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned:
5.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 45:16, 38 16 And
I will show it plainly as I showed it unto my disciples as I stood before them in the flesh, and spake unto them, saying: As ye have asked of me concerning the signs of my coming, in the day when I shall come in my glory in the clouds of heaven, to fulfil the promises that I have made unto your fathers, ...
38 Even so it shall be in that day
when they shall see all these things, then shall they know that the hour is nigh.
Note: will we see any déjà vu of these things described in the verses between D&C 45:16 and 38?
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 45:18-37
18 And now ye behold this temple which is in Jerusalem, which ye call the house of God, and your enemies say that this house shall never fall.
19 But, verily I say unto you, that desolation shall come upon this generation as a thief in the night, and this people shall be destroyed and scattered among all nations.
20 And this temple which ye now see shall be thrown down that there shall not be left one stone upon another.
21 And it shall come to pass, that this generation of Jews shall not pass away until every desolation which I have told you concerning them shall come to pass.
22 Ye say that ye know that the end of the world cometh; ye say also that ye know that the heavens and the earth shall pass away;
23 And in this ye say truly, for so it is; but these things which I have told you shall not pass away until all shall be fulfilled.
24 And this I have told you concerning Jerusalem; and when that day shall come, shall a remnant be scattered among all nations;
25 But they shall be gathered again; but they shall remain until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
26 And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth.
27 And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.
28 And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel;
29 But they receive it not; for they perceive not the light, and they turn their hearts from me because of the precepts of men.
30 And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
31 And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.
32 But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved; but among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices and curse God and die.
33 And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they will take up the sword, one against another, and they will kill one another.
34 And now, when I the Lord had spoken these words unto my disciples, they were troubled.
35 And I said unto them: Be not troubled, for,
when all these things shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled.
36 And when the light shall begin to break forth, it shall be with them like unto a parable which I will show you—
37 Ye look and behold the fig–trees, and ye see them with your eyes, and ye say when they begin to shoot forth, and their leaves are yet tender, that summer is now nigh at hand;
