Tuesday, July 16, 2019

3 Nephi 22:4 -- On Being Free From Shame

"Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more."
3 Nephi 22:4


After this verse the Lord says "For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee" (verse 7).  And that is important to remember as we discuss this, because it helps us understand that none of our trials or afflictions are forever.  Here though, I wanted to focus on this idea that we don't have to always bear the shame of our failures and inadequacies.  We don't have to worry about the things that we've lost or that we don't have or that we ever did wrong, as long as we are changing and growing and repenting and becoming better.  God isn't going to throw our sins and mistakes back in our faces, because we're moving past those things, and we're becoming better than that.

To be clear, we *do* have to worry if we refuse to change and we get stuck in a rut and stop progressing.  If we choose to be a person that embraces a certain type of sin, and we choose not to change that, then those are the things that are going to stand between us and God at the last day.  God can't help us if we aren't willing to be helped.  But we don't have to have anything impeding that relationship if we don't want to.  Even if it is just in tiny ways, as long as we are really making an effort to change and grow, God will help us along.

Today, let's take advantage of the limited time 100% Zero Shame deal that the Lord is offering us.  Let's talk to him about the things that we are ashamed of, even if we don't know how to change, and he will help us to repent and change and be free of that burden.  Let's act now. ;)

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