As some of you may know, I teach Gospel Doctrine in my ward. I taught a
lesson last week where we talked about our Savior
Jesus Christ giving signs of the destruction of Jerusalem in years to come,and then signs of the Second Coming. The scripture references we talked about were from the book of
Joseph Smith-Matthew (which is a inspired translation from God through Joseph Smith of Matthew chapter 24- more information about what it is
here). In JS-Matt 1:12-15 it reads:
12 When you, therefore, shall see the abomination ofdesolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, then you shall stand in theholy place; whoso readeth let him understand.
13 Then let them who are in Judea flee into themountains;
14 Let him who is on the housetop flee, and not return to take anything out of his house;
15 Neither let him who is in the field return back to take his clothes;
Christ gave counsel to flee from the destruction into the mountains. We talked about this concept and about fleeing from danger. Along with getting away from the danger and destruction, it's important that we don't look back.
Jeffrey R. Holland gave an excellent talk on this concept, entitled
Faith is for the Future: Remember Lot's Wife. [Who is Lot, and his wife? Quick recap: Lot and his family were commanded to flee from Sodom and Gomorrah because of the cities' wickedness (which would soon be destroyed). As Elder Holland said in his talk: "Surely, surely with the Lord's counsel 'look not behind thee' ringing clearly in her ears, Lot's wife, the record says, 'looked back,' and she was turned into a pillar of salt." Wow.] Lot's wife looked back and longed for the life she had left behind. If she was part of the group that left, I assume that she wasn't committing sins that caused for the cities' destruction, but she longed to be back in her comfort zone, where she was before.
How many times have you or I looked back? Sometimes longing to be as days of old, sometimes looking back with shame or regret?
I feel like for every few days, there is always at least one not-so-good day, or not-so-good moment. Most often, those moments have come as I lay in bed and think about my day. Memories of past actions sink in, and make me feel like I'm still that bad person. It changes, very briefly, how I think and feel. I've made mistakes that I really regret, that make me feel like a pretty horrible person, and make me feel that my Father in Heaven and my Savior are really disappointed in me and that I can never be clean again.
BUT guess what? I'm not that person anymore. I've changed, repented, turn my life toward the right path.
Mistakes do not define me, they refine me. As I turn my heart to the gospel, to the Savior, to those who I know love me despite what I've done in the past, I'm changed. The change is not easy, but worth it. It's never been easy to go and talk to a priesthood leader and change things, but
I testify to you that God's plan is manifest all around us, repentance is REAL, and you can be whole again.
[Sometimes it's necessary to look back, as you learn from your mistakes, repent, and realign yourself with God, especially as you partake of the sacrament every week.] I need to give this advice to myself at times too, but stop looking back with sadness. Yes, the past happened; there is nothing you can do to change it. What you can do is move forward with faith and a determination to be better.
If you need to take action to be able to move forward, like talking with a priesthood leader and fixing those past mistakes, do it
now!
Go forward, but stop looking back. Stop lingering from the past, stop sulking over your past mistakes. Let it go, and move on. "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (In 2015 language: Don't look back once you've started moving forward.)
I have a bright future, and I'm not going to let myself sulk about my past to change that! Keep running.
