Learning to Forgive

Today I read Genesis 42 where Joseph see's his brothers for the first time in over 20 years. What a bittersweet moment that must have been for him. I can only imagine what kind of feelings he must have felt in that moment when he saw them. Those of you familiar with the story will remember that he actually treated them quite poorly at first and accused them of being spies and threw them into prison for 3 days.

Stories like this are comforting to me. That may sound odd but what I mean by that is, when we read the scriptures it is very easy to come to the conclusion that prophets are perfect. They are God's chosen people and they do everything the Lord asks them to do. However stories like this one or about Jonah and Nephi disprove this theory and remind us that prophets are people too and despite being further along the path of perfection than some of us are, they are still prone to make mistakes from time to time. Here Joseph uses his position and power to get a little revenge on his brothers, or so the story has always read to me. There is no real reason for putting his brethren into prison other than he wanted to that I have ever thought of.

However, despite his rough treatment of them, he still loves them and gives them all their money back and allows them all to return to their father and families except for Simeon. I have often wondered if Simeon was the mastermind behind throwing Joseph into the pit and that is why he chose Simeon to stay behind. I'm not sure we are ever told. But perhaps despite it being over 20 years later, all the old feelings of hurt and betrayal came bubbling to the surface upon seeing his brothers again. I'm pretty sure they would. It's easy to forgive someone when they are not around and even think you have forgiven them, but once they come around and you hear their voice again, it is easy to have all that repressed anger and resentment come up to the surface.

They say time heals all wounds. I agree with this to a degree. What truly heals all wounds is Jesus Christ and the Atonement. Christ suffered for all of us so that we might live. He also, however, took upon Himself all the pain and agony of mankind so that we could overcome our physical, emotional and spiritual pains in this life. If we rely upon Him, we will be able to do things we never knew we could do, such as forgive those who have hurt us. The old saying goes that to err is human but to forgive is divine, this, I believe, is because most of us lack the ability to truly forgive on our own, especially the big hurts. We have to ask for help from Heavenly Father. And if it is our true desire, then He will help us overcome the hurt and be able to forgive those who have done wrong by us. That is a truly wonderful feeling when it happens. Like a heavy burden being lifted off or our shoulders. It is a wonderful feeling.

Whether Joseph needed help or not, he most certainly eventually forgives them completely as we will see. Joseph was truly a remarkable man in every sense that we know about. I like to think that he was able to forgive his brothers on his own but I'll know that only when I meet him someday. I look forward to it. Until tomorrow.