For family scripture study tonight, my family just read the story of Jonah, or perhaps rather, the story of Nineveh. Jonah had been instructed to warn the people of Nineveh that destruction awaited them at a certain time if they didn't repent. But the people did repent and fasted, and they were spared. As the given time passed, destructionless, Jonah remarked on how merciful the Lord is, and there is some truth to that.
I don't believe that the Lord actually wants to destroy anyone. He isn't itching for any opportunity to punish people for stepping out of line. He is merciful. He is willing and eager to forgive. Though our actions caused Him suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, His suffering is over, and He would rather forgive us than cause us to suffer, too.
I am grateful for the mercy of the Lord and for the example He has shown of extending forgiveness to others. We should be just as forgiving, if not even more so. "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men" (D&C 64:10). And given how forgiving God often is, that's saying something. God wants to forgive, and so should we.
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