"I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death. 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. 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. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."
1. On forgiveness:
Among all the tumult of moves to Kirtland, a church organizing an entire new economic system, early dissensions and sensationalized publications critical of the newcomers, and revelations surrounding a Zion the church would need to carefully prepare for a move to, it's easy to forget that 25-year-old Joseph Smith was a young father, dealing with his own family's struggles. Not even six months prior to this Section's revelation on September 11th, 1831, Joseph and Emma had lost twins, both dying on the day they were born. Infant mortality rates in the 1800s were sky-high compared to now, with no modern medicine available, as were the risks of death due to childbirth. It so happened that another couple in the community where the Smiths lost their twins gave birth to twins on the same day. Tragedy struck their family too, but this time it was the mother who expired in the act of giving life, both children surviving her. The father, bereft as he must have been, knew and trusted the Smiths enough to give the twins over to them for adoption nearly immediately. Emma and Joseph's consolation at the loss of their own came in the form of being able to care for others.
But, at the time of this revelation, they couldn't have known that tragedy would strike again, in another short seven months. One of the rescued twins hung on for five days, sick of an illness he contracted by exposure on the cold March Saturday night when a mob broke the door by his bed so they could strangle, torture, tar, and feather Joseph for reasons history hasn't worked out a settled account of (although, evidence is clear that it was not, as some suppose, anger over an accusation the Smith had taken advantage of a teenager in the Johnson home where he was staying, because those claims come from parties not present, 40 years after the events, and are ahistorical with respect to the institution of polygamy, which hadn't occurred yet). Among the mob members, were some former church members who had soured on the church for its religious beliefs, for its economic practices, and for its "alarming" growth in the area, one of whom had been waging a very public and very personal war of words in area newspapers.
Because the next day was Sunday, and he was scheduled to preach, Smith and those who could care for him spent the night removing the tar, ignoring the pain, and getting presentable for the next day's audience. There were mob members in attendance at the meeting, Smith reports, and despite the recent burns and torn flesh, he delivered a homily and baptized new members. I don't know if any personally asked forgiveness. I don't know the contents of the homily. But I know the tar mob had him down about 12 to 1 the night before, and made more serious threats to his life and person than the heat of the sticky pitch, and yet his response was to preach the Gospel to them, rather than sick the better odds of his much more numerous followers on them in a revenge play. He recorded the events and his emotions are evident in his choice of details, but he doesn't reveal the heart-wrenching feeling the loss of that child must have caused him, the inability to comfort his wife it must have caused him, or any other direct remonstrances in his writings. He names names, and points out what groups the mob members represented, but he doesn't insult or rail against them, let alone release more direct forms of anger. I can't tell his heart--if or when that pain was ever fully let go--but the signs are that he practiced what he preached: forgiveness.
The above passage, delivered before Smith knew this would happen, contains the spirit Smith lived by. There are several ways to restate the lessons for effect. God can judge hearts, humans can't, so those who try are usurpers and lose the Spirit's comfort and guidance. Christ atoned for sins, humans can't, so those who refuse to forgive are demonstrating lack of confidence in the Savior and His ability to forgive. The Almighty has power to assign sentences or pardons, and does so according to His omniscience, which humans don't have, so those who withhold forgiveness from a brother can only do so out of ignorance, doubt, and enmity, none of which are characteristics of the Deity we emulate.
This is not to say that forgiveness is easy. In fact, I can hardly think of a more difficult attribute of Christ to cultivate. And I think that's part of the reason the Lord organized His children into families. Families--that fundamental unit of celestial societies--are charged to be the ideal place where children can experience love, law, and commitment despite all challenges, where they can grow into correct use of their agency, in the full light of their infinite potential, under a protective atmosphere of care. Not all families rise to this ideal, of course, but to the extent they do, families are also laboratories for forgiveness. Spouses and children have to learn patience for each other, and choose the covenant relationship over whatever temporary temptations there might be to exact revenge among those who we can hide our weaknesses from the least. Families teach us to be like Him partly because we have to repeatedly train ourselves to let go of the things that don't really matter eternally, even while we orient ourselves and help our children orient their agency upward. Families are the perfect structure for the development of self-sacrificial character. What could describe the Savior's love more aptly?
2. On chastening:
Among the above cited passage's words, is a reference to disciples withholding forgiveness, at least temporarily, and deserving chastening for the evil. I find no clear and direct record in the New Testament of such an occasion of chastening. There are several others, which varied in the "soreness" of rebuke, including: Peter's ignorant outburst not wishing the Savior to be sacrificed; James' and John's desire to call down fire upon a recalcitrant Samaritan village; and a few minor instances of lack of faith. It's possible that this is an oblique reference to one of these, or that it's a direct reference to an occasion we don't have the record of, but which Christ can reveal to His prophets from His own experience.
What seems obvious, however, is that just as there is a relationship between repentance and forgiveness--between seeking Christ's atoning power, and accepting Christ's atoning power--there is also a relationship between love and chastening. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy. Only parents who love their children communicate appropriate boundaries, and then exercise appropriate discipline when the boundaries are breached. God's charity often has to pass through whatever harshness or manner of scolding will get through to us. And I'm glad His nature is gentle, because my skull is thick, and I usually deserve more than I get. In fact, if it's His design to sanctify us all--all who will--then in recognition of the depth of injury we put Him to every time we sink back into behaviors unbecoming of His infinite purity and holiness, thereby thwarting our own eternal potential, we should be spending every waking minute expecting and accepting His chastisements. Because ultimately His plan is that none of us get what we deserve, but instead that we get His grace.
May our will align with His in acceptance of chastisements and forgiveness.
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