Toothless

To my son, 

              Since you lost a tooth yesterday, I’m going to write to you today about what the Savior said on this subject. When Jesus taught the people during His mortal ministry, He showed them how to live a higher law of love and service. Here is one of His teachings: “And behold, it is written, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; But I say unto you, that ye shall not resist evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also; And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also; And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away” (3 Nephi 12:38-42). In other words, our attitude should not be one of revenge, where if someone knocks out our tooth we try to knock out theirs. Rather, the Savior taught that we should not seek retribution for wrongs done to us but instead show love and kindness in response. President Nelson once taught, “Jesus taught people how to live with one another…. He taught the Golden Rule: ‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.’ This principle is found in nearly every major religion…. With compassion and forbearance, it replaces the retaliatory reactions of ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ If we were to stay on that old and unproductive path, we would be but blind and toothless.” If we always sought revenge for every perceived injustice and wrong done unto us, refusing to forgive anything, we would indeed soon find ourselves metaphorically blind and toothless, always escalating every situation with more and more contention.        

                Of course, in the moment when someone does something to make us upset, it can be very difficult to do as Jesus taught here. But I promise that letting it go instead of letting it get to us is always a better response. Sometimes to do that you need to leave a situation when you are upset in order to calm down and take time before responding to some injury. One of the best ways to respond when we are frustrated or offended or hurt is to say a silent prayer to Heavenly Father to get His help to calm down and not respond in anger. We can also pray for those whom we are upset with—I know it sounds strange, but that is exactly what the Savior asked us to do: “And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy; But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good” (3 Nephi 12:43-45). We can pray for those who hurt us, we can ask the Lord to bless those who make us angry, and He can help both them and us in the process. I encourage you to try your very best to follow this counsel from the Lord—don’t go through your life blind and toothless!

Love,

Dad