Today in church, one of our Young Women gave an awesome talk about repentance. She shared a wonderful story she heard in another talk that illustrated her topic perfectly. So here it is, in a nutshell... and please forgive my memory!
One afternoon, a little boy named "Johnny" was playing in the woods behind his grandparent's house with his new sling shot, trying to get the hang of it. Eventually growing tired, he decided to come back inside, but noticed a duck a little way off. Without thought, he took aim and fired. To his astonishment, he hit the duck and killed it instantly.
His little stomach sunk with the enormity of what he had done, and was terrified anyone would find out. So he quickly decided to hide the evidence by burying the dead duck at the bottom of the wood pile. When he finished however, he was horrified to discover his little sister "Mary" had seen the whole thing. Before he could respond, Grandma called them in for dinner.
After a long and quiet dinner, when Grandma asked Mary to help washing, she replied, "Oh, but Johnny told me HE really wanted to help with the dishes!" She then whispered to Johnny, "Remember the duck".
The next day, the family wanted to go to the movies, but Grandma needed help there at home with various chores. Mary was asked to stay, but said, "Oh, but Johnny REALLY wanted to stay and help Grandma." and again whispered "Remember the duck". So Johnny stayed instead while the rest of the family went to the movie.
Soon, Johnny grew tired of his sister's manipulation and found the courage to confess to his grandmother. He tearfully told her the whole story.
Grandma listened patiently and then lovingly replied, " I know, I saw the whole thing from the kitchen window and I've already forgiven you. I was just waiting for you to tell the truth."
Our sweet YW then reminded us that like Grandma, when we make mistakes, our Heavenly Father sees everything and is just waiting for us to repent. We can lift the burden of sin in our lives, by ignoring the manipulations of the Adversary and humbly going through the repentance process. I know that because of the Atonement of Christ, we can gain forgiveness and move on, doing good things, and trying a little harder!!!! What a wonderful gift, not only at Christmas, but every day of the year!
2 comments:
Our youth give some amazing talks. I loved all three today. It was a very uplifting day.
That's a great story. And the sister in it cracked me up..."remember the duck"
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