Good morning Brothers and Sisters. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Meriam Kopsa. I typically respond to Meri, but either is just fine. Steven and I have been in the ward nearly 3 months now, having previously moved from SeaTac, WA and we so far love it here. We’ve been married for nearly 2 wonderful years and am thankful we still have eternity to go. I would go into details about how we met, but I assure you Steven recalls our first date far better than I do. (And those chuckling out there obviously agree). It’s been about 8 years since I’ve given a talk, so I’m hoping to put to use all I learned in Speech 101 a few years back when I was in college since I am no public speaker. I pray the spirit of my message will be understood in case I speak too fast or jumble what I have written to share with you.
But first a little about me since I am new to the ward and have not yet been able to acquaint myself to each of you. I am an artist in many forms; drawing, music, and dancing, to name a few, are my favorites and strongest of talents. I was born and raised in Washington to a family that promoted my artistic expression and raised me up in the gospel. Though artistic, I’ve pursued after the profession of childcare which my personality thrives in, since I’m silly and creative. I have a love for animals which has been healthfully nurtured by my parents since they both are veterinarians. I also just turned 25 and noted 2 things about being half way up the hill; I still don’t know everything and I’m still not perfect. It sometimes looks like I’ll be forever making mistakes and sinning. Thankfully we have a loving Heavenly Father with a plan so you and I can return to him someday. It just so happens that I’ve been asked to talk on the message given in April’s General Conference by Elder Craig A Cardon, “the Savior Wants to Forgive.”
For me, I find myself forgetting, from time to time, how much the Savior loves me and wants to forgive me. I let my guilt and negativity for faltering cloud my mind. I tend to find myself like Simba, from the Lion King, avoiding the issue and hoping something will come along and be my Rafiki; soundly whacking me on the head to remind me of who I am. I guess what I’m hinting at is, this seems to have been an inspired topic meant for me to talk about for the next 12 minutes. With that, I feel as though I’m to focus my talk on two ways we can remember that the Savior wants to forgive us.
The first way that I thought could help us remember that the Savior wants to forgive us is by ‘Remembering Who We Are.’ An Anonymous author in April’s 2008 Ensign wrote of her experience about a phrase her mother would say to her:
"It was around my 14th birthday when my mother started talking in code. Just as I would be running out the door, she would call out, “Remember who you are!” I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but I would feign understanding and yell over my shoulder, “OK, Mom. Bye!”
I decided my mother’s message was the result of her being a registered nurse for about 25 years. Maybe she had seen children who had been left with amnesia after some horrible accident. She just wants me to make sure that if I am ever hurt, I will remember my name and other vital information.
As I was growing up, life with my family was not always pleasant. After one particularly bad night, I remember staring at myself in the mirror, hardly recognizing the reflection staring back... Thoughts of running away crossed my mind. Even worse, ideas of ending my unhappy life wormed their way into my confused thought process. I looked into the mirror once more and the words “I don’t even know myself” tumbled from my lips. That was when I heard my mother’s phrase repeated clearly and distinctly in my mind: “Remember who you are!”
I can describe that moment only as enlightening. For the first time, I realized what my mother’s message meant: it was her plea for me to remember my divine heritage."
Interestingly enough, I had a similar experience to this anonymous author. I recall during my time in Young Womens, especially during my high school years, my mother almost without fail would say to me, “Meri. Remember” every morning before heading off to school. I, unlike the author, questioned my mother when I first heard it, stating, “Remember what?” At that age I was quite forgetful and my head was racing with what it was I had potentially forgotten. My loving mother smiled and informed me that I was to remember I am a Daughter of God. I smiled, while keeping to myself my smart remark of, ‘I already knew that, Mom.” Yet like the author, that constant reminder proved beneficial years down the road when I had lost my way for a time. AS you can see, that constant reminder of who I was helped me lead back to where I am now.
This author then continued on to list ways we can learn and be reminded of our divine heritage:
"To help us combat our trials, Heavenly Father has given us tools for increasing our understanding of our divine heritage. We have the scriptures, which show us how others have recognized their roles as sons and daughters of God and have acted accordingly. The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect example of one who understood His divine heritage. The scriptures tell us that in His youth He “increased in wisdom and stature.”. The more His understanding grew, the better prepared He was to fulfill His role as the Savior of the world.
We have the prophets, who teach us about our divine nature and potential. We have the priesthood, which enables us to receive inspired blessings that affirm our relationship to Heavenly Father. We have temples, where we may participate in instructive and sacred ordinances. We also have the means for direct communication with Heavenly Father through prayer. This can help us during those times when we forget who we are."
The things this author listed were the same things I had listed when I was brainstorming ways we can remember who we are especially in regard to the Prophets. I don’t think there is a single conference that goes by without one or more reminders of our divine heritage from our Prophet, Apostles and all the leaders we receive guidance from.
There was one thing she didn’t note that I felt was equally important was that of our songs and hymns. One of them we learned in Primary and is an ever constant reminder throughout our life that we are all God’s children. “I am a Child of God.” That simple phrase iterates who we are while reminding us the importance to seek, learn and grow in the gospel throughout the three verses and chorus. Another is song that I love is a Child’s Prayer where in the 2nd verse, who I felt was the voice of a parent answering the child’s plea, saying, “Pray, he is there. Speak he is listening. You are his child. His love now surrounds you.” These songs may be intended for the primary children, but the meanings of the words are just as important for us to remember so we won’t forget who we are.
As you can see, there are plenty of constant reminders in our lives that help us ‘remember. Unfortunately it is not a complete safeguard against the trials and temptations that will rise up against us. Our testimony of being children of God will help strengthen us in those times of adversity, but often we will find ourselves faltering. So a second way to help us remember the Savior wants to forgive us is by remembering, that though we may sin and make mistakes, we have a brother and father in heaven who love us dearly. The greatest manifestation of this love was given to us by our Heavenly Father and brother Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, all wise and loving, provided a way in which we can be forgiven so we can return to live with him again. He sent his son, our brother, Jesus Christ, to atone for us.
In the pamphlet True to the Faith, under Atonement, we read:
"The word atone means to reconcile, or to restore to harmony. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be reconciled to our Heavenly Father. We can ultimately dwell in His presence forever, having been “made perfect through Jesus” (see D&C 76:62, 69).
Jesus Christ “was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem [His] people” (Ether 3:14). In the premortal spirit world, Heavenly Father presented the eternal plan of salvation, which required an infinite and eternal Atonement. The premortal Jesus, then known as Jehovah, humbly declared that He would do the will of the Father in fulfilling the plan (seeMoses 4:2). Thus He was foreordained to carry out the Atonement—to come to the earth, suffer the penalty for our sins, die on the cross, and be resurrected.(Revelation 13:8; see also 1 Peter 1:19–20; Moses 7:47).
The Atonement is the supreme expression of our Heavenly Father’s love for us (see John 3:16). It is also the greatest expression of the Savior’s love for the Father and for us"
The pamphlet goes on to explain in depth the Atonement, but I like how in the introduction it informs us of what it does and why it was done. The last two sentences particularly highlight why it is the Savior voluntarily atoned for us: It is because he loves us and therefore wants to forgive us. Elder Craig A Cardon spoke about this in his talk given in April’s General Conference. He highlighted one of the important things about the atonement that we must do in order to receive his forgiveness. He says:
No one need suppose that this forgiveness comes without repentance. Indeed, the Lord has declared, “I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness.”.”24 While the Lord“cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance,”25 yet He differentiates the relative gravity of some sins. He declares the gravity of murder and emphasizes the seriousness of sexual sin such as adultery.28 With regard to repeated serious sexual sin, He makes known the increased difficulty of receiving His forgiveness.29 And He has said that “he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.”30 Yet, in His mercy, He allows for improvement over time rather than demanding immediate perfection. Even with the multitude of sins occasioned by the weakness of mortality, as often as we repent and seek His forgiveness, He forgives again and again.31
In this forgiveness we see the enabling and the redeeming power of the Atonement harmoniously and graciously applied. If we exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the enabling power of His Atonement strengthens us in our moment of need,14 and His redeeming power sanctifies us as we “[put] off the natural man.”15 This brings hope to all, especially to those who feel that recurring human weakness is beyond the Savior’s willingness to help and to save.
What a wonderful gift our Heavenly Father has given us. He knew we would falter for this is our time to learn and grow. And because he cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, our loving brother, Jesus Christ, offered himself, to take upon our sins. How fortunate we are to be part of an eternal family that has such love for each and everyone of us.
It is my firm testimony that as we remember who we are and how much the savior and our Heavenly Father loves us, that we can come to know that the Saviour wants to forgive us. He wants us to be happy and He wants us to come home. Repentance may not be easy nor painless, but through it we will find greater joy as we as we draw closer to our Heavenly Father. Let us learn from the past and not burden ourselves with guilt, but press forward in faith. I conclude with the 4th verse from hymn number 146 Gently Raise the Sacred Strain:
Holy, holy is the Lord.
Precious, precious is his word: …
Repent and live; Repent and live
Tho your sins be crimson red,
Oh, repent, and he’ll forgive. Oh, repent, and he’ll forgive.
I testify these things are true and would like to leave them with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen
