By Rachel Geary
You are not good enough for me. Repenting of sins is fine for other people. Fine for the bishop and for God, but not for me. The Atonement makes people pure again in theory, but because you’ve had to use it you will never be good enough for me. God may have forgotten your sins and the Savior’s sacrifice may have turned the scarlet mark of your sins into driven white snow, but I will ever see you covered in the taint of your past decisions.
I can do this; I can wrap my fist about your past and brandish it at will because your sins are not my sins of choice. When I stumble, it is on smaller blocks, and my fall is not as great.
Are these words too harsh? Maybe if I said them differently they would be easier to accept, even repeat. “I would never date anyone who, in the past, has used alcohol or had sex. I mean, its better to date someone who has never given into temptation. They’re stronger, better people. It doesn’t matter if they’re temple worthy now, you never know. I just don’t want to be put in that position.” Or, “I could never be really good friends with a church member who has abused drugs or broken the law of chastity. They knew better when they sinned. Even if they repented, who's to say if things got hard they wouldn’t slip?”
You are not good enough for me. Repenting of sins is fine for other people. Fine for the bishop and for God, but not for me. The Atonement makes people pure again in theory, but because you’ve had to use it you will never be good enough for me. God may have forgotten your sins and the Savior’s sacrifice may have turned the scarlet mark of your sins into driven white snow, but I will ever see you covered in the taint of your past decisions.
I can do this; I can wrap my fist about your past and brandish it at will because your sins are not my sins of choice. When I stumble, it is on smaller blocks, and my fall is not as great.
Are these words too harsh? Maybe if I said them differently they would be easier to accept, even repeat. “I would never date anyone who, in the past, has used alcohol or had sex. I mean, its better to date someone who has never given into temptation. They’re stronger, better people. It doesn’t matter if they’re temple worthy now, you never know. I just don’t want to be put in that position.” Or, “I could never be really good friends with a church member who has abused drugs or broken the law of chastity. They knew better when they sinned. Even if they repented, who's to say if things got hard they wouldn’t slip?”
Does this sound better, familiar even? The meaning is the same: those who sin differently than I do will never meet my standards of earthly perfection, regardless of their gospel standing.
Alma the younger was described as a wicked and idolatrous man who, with the sons of Mosiah, set out to destroy the church. If his story had stopped there, Alma the younger would be remembered as a villain of the scriptures, but it does not. He repented and went on to serve a mission and became a beloved prophet. The angelic visit that initiated the 180° change in his life did not provide Alma with extra forgiveness or an extra portion of God’s love, and he was cleansed long before his prophetic call. All people who embrace the Atonement are no different than Alma the younger, whether they are family, friends, or strangers.
But what of those who have not given into these particular temptations, doesn’t that mean they’re safe? David of the Old Testament was favored of the Lord from his youth. He slew Goliath, lead his army in righteousness, and stayed his forces when Abigail offered herself as a sacrifice in her husband’s place.
A few years later however, after the Lord continued to bless David immensely, including making him king, David looked from his rooftop and coveted. Using all the tools at his disposal, David got what he most wanted while simultaneously losing everything he needed. As it is possible for people to turn away from sin and be blessed, it is possible for those to turn from blessings and to sin.
So how do you wash the taint from your own eyes when someone entrusts you with the knowledge of their past? You may choose to forgive them, but for what? For stumbling and falling before you met? For sinning differently than you? Exactly what absolution can you provide? Offering a personal pardon for someone’s past is not an extension of a tender mercy, but a patronizing condescension, and an expression of pride.
Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Pride, swearing, being unchaste, little lies as well as large ones, taking the Lord’s name in vain, all of these sins, small and large, separate us from God. Each and everyone of these requires the Atonement of God; each and everyone of these without that atonement will keep us out of the presence of God. When we are cleansed through the Atonement, and stand before God in the last days, He will not remember the sins washed away in Gethsemane and on Golgotha. He will see us clean before him regardless of what we might have done in our lives, and wrap us in the arms of his love.
Knowing someone’s past does not change who they are, but our internal narrative changes. We need to change that narrative to reflect the love of God the Father. Know that all fall short of the glory of God, but know one has fallen beneath you.
Alma the younger was described as a wicked and idolatrous man who, with the sons of Mosiah, set out to destroy the church. If his story had stopped there, Alma the younger would be remembered as a villain of the scriptures, but it does not. He repented and went on to serve a mission and became a beloved prophet. The angelic visit that initiated the 180° change in his life did not provide Alma with extra forgiveness or an extra portion of God’s love, and he was cleansed long before his prophetic call. All people who embrace the Atonement are no different than Alma the younger, whether they are family, friends, or strangers.
But what of those who have not given into these particular temptations, doesn’t that mean they’re safe? David of the Old Testament was favored of the Lord from his youth. He slew Goliath, lead his army in righteousness, and stayed his forces when Abigail offered herself as a sacrifice in her husband’s place.
A few years later however, after the Lord continued to bless David immensely, including making him king, David looked from his rooftop and coveted. Using all the tools at his disposal, David got what he most wanted while simultaneously losing everything he needed. As it is possible for people to turn away from sin and be blessed, it is possible for those to turn from blessings and to sin.
So how do you wash the taint from your own eyes when someone entrusts you with the knowledge of their past? You may choose to forgive them, but for what? For stumbling and falling before you met? For sinning differently than you? Exactly what absolution can you provide? Offering a personal pardon for someone’s past is not an extension of a tender mercy, but a patronizing condescension, and an expression of pride.
Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Pride, swearing, being unchaste, little lies as well as large ones, taking the Lord’s name in vain, all of these sins, small and large, separate us from God. Each and everyone of these requires the Atonement of God; each and everyone of these without that atonement will keep us out of the presence of God. When we are cleansed through the Atonement, and stand before God in the last days, He will not remember the sins washed away in Gethsemane and on Golgotha. He will see us clean before him regardless of what we might have done in our lives, and wrap us in the arms of his love.
Knowing someone’s past does not change who they are, but our internal narrative changes. We need to change that narrative to reflect the love of God the Father. Know that all fall short of the glory of God, but know one has fallen beneath you.