Sis. Kristen M. Yee (Oct. '22): "Beauty for Ashes: The Healing Power of Forgiveness"

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 This talk along with a few others spoke directly to me of something I must deal with-- a person whom I must forgive-- a relationship I must work on.  This principle, forgiveness, may be the hardest part, but Sis. Yee provided wonderful counsel and an inspired path to follow in this talk.

The Activity:

  1. Point out that Sis. Yee goes beyond simply telling us that we need to forgive others.  She shares several specific pieces of counsel to help us forgive others.
  2. Divide the class into 5 groups and assign each group one of the following passages to discuss
    1. Par. 20 "The Lord has . . . to be forgiven."
    2. Par. 21 "Please know that . . . away from them."
    3. Par. 24 "Over the years . . . believing the second."
    4. Par. 26 "The Lord has . . . a perfect Father."
    5. Par. 30 "To all who . . . succor we need."
  3. Ask the groups to discuss how each of these passages might provide hope, direction, and comfort to someone struggling to forgive.
  4. Give the groups a few minutes.
  5. Bring the class together again and ask someone from each group to share what they talked about.

Using the Activity:

The first thing I think is important to remember when we are talking about forgiveness is that for people who struggle with it, it is a hard thing.  From my experience, these people are trying to forgive difficult things-- things that I am grateful to have never faced.  So, it is important to allow everyone the room to be wherever they are on this journey.

In terms of the activity, I designed this hoping to highlight the specific pieces of counsel that Sis. Yee gives.  I have heard a number of talks about forgiveness that are not very helpful in pointing the way to forgiveness, but they do make one feel pretty low.  I felt like Sis. Yee's talk did the opposite.  Also, I think there is great power in closely reading the words of our leaders.  

Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope this is helpful.  Please let me know how it goes.  

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