Forgiveness in Families

Forgiveness is one of the attributes upon which successful families and marriages are built according to the Proclamation on the Family.  We can see examples of this in the scriptures.  Perhaps the most famous is that of Joseph in Egypt.  After being nearly killed by his brothers they sold him into slavery.  Because of this he suffered immensely, spent time in prison, went years without seeing his family, and his father mourned immeasurably.  Despite all of this, when he finally revealed himself to his brothers, his words to those who had caused him so much suffering were, “Be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5).  What a man!  He freely forgave his brothers and even tried to comfort their anguish at their sins.  Because of his ability to forgive, his family was joined back together and ultimately their physical lives were all saved.  Another less obvious example of forgiveness is what happened to Alma and his son Corianton.  Corianton committed serious sin, and Alma rebuked his son for his behavior and taught him the plan of salvation in Alma 39-42.  Alma told Corianton, “When they saw your conduct they would not believe in my words” (Alma 39:11).  Yet despite the trouble his son had caused him, I think Alma showed a powerful example of forgiveness in the way that Corianton was treated after this.  We don’t have many details, but we do see that Alma sent Corianton to continue to preach the word despite his transgressions.  Having committed such a serious sin, Alma might have prohibited Corianton from preaching anymore because of a fear that he might do the same thing again.  But Alma clearly forgave his son and even put great trust in him.  At the end of his rebuke and teaching, Alma said, “O my son, ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people.  And now, my son, go thy way, declare the word with truth and soberness, that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance” (Alma 42:31).  Alma believed in Corianton and his ability to change and become the kind of person the Lord needed him to be.  That forgiveness and trust from Alma paid off, for Corianton became a successful missionary (see Alma 49:30).  Both of these scriptural stories show how us how forgiveness indeed has great power to bless families.