The Savior Wants to Forgive

One of the hardest thing about maintaining a daily, spiritual blog is continually finding fresh things to blog about. I read the scriptures every night, and I usually get an insight or two out of that, but frequently, the insights I gain are either too personal to share, or repeated messages of things I've already shared. Then again, how many times have we heard a lesson on Faith or Repentance? I suppose if God doesn't have a problem repeating Himself, neither should I.

Last night, in our family scripture reading, we read 3 Nephi, chapter 9. In the previous chapter, the record relates the cataclysmic event in which many cities were destroyed by the hand of the Lord, then a terrible darkness came over the land, so no one could see anything. Out of the darkness, the voice of the Lord spoke to the survivors of the great destruction, telling them what all He had done, and then he said:

O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? 

Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.
3 Nephi 9: 13-14

What strikes me about this invitation is that the Lord wants to forgive them. He wants to heal them and welcome them into the Kingdom of God. Even as He had just demonstrated His power and justice in destroying the wicked, that's not what He wants. It's necessary sometimes, but it's not what He wants. He wants us to repent so He can take our sins upon Himself and accept us into the fold of God.

I'm comforted in knowing that the Savior is always eager to forgive our sins and help us to repent. No matter what mistakes we've made, no matter what bad habits we struggle against, Jesus Christ will always be there, willing and waiting, to help us overcome our obstacles and shortcomings and become more like He is.

I sometimes feel like I'm hopeless, but thanks mostly to scriptures like these, deep down I know that I never am. As Elder Holland said, "It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines." As I'm sure I've said before, I find it very comforting that the Savior wants to forgive.