A mid-week svithe

I am not a full svithe payer, but today I feel prompted. And it's not even Sunday. I can't actually svithe on Sunday, because apparently the sound of my typing causes the Spirit to leave my home, in much the same way as me coming home drunk at 2:00 a.m. causes the Spirit to leave my home. Not that I do that. But if I did.

Anyway. I had this thought today, while driving to Salt Lake. I do that a lot, because of my many meetings there, and usually I take the opportunity to listen to recordings of General Conference talks. In this way I review the talks several times before new ones come out, and I never have to pick up a magazine to read them, which was turning out to not happen as much as it should. I like it. So I was driving along, listening to one Robert D. Hales. And right about Point of the Mountain, he said this: Because of His sacrifice for you, He has the power to "remember [your sins] no more."

The "power" to forgive and forget . . . hmmmmm.

I find it difficult to forgive and forget. Why is that? I was going over this in my mind just last Sunday, prior to renewing some covenants. I was trying to come up with some truly forgiving-type feelings. It didn't work. I'm at the point where I can act cordially toward a person who has offended me--that's not so much of a problem--but I harbor these thoughts . . . I can't really say what they are, because you wouldn't like me so much any more. But they aren't so nice. And they need to go. I recognize that. But where are they going to go? And if I forget about them, who is going to remind the Person Who Judges, when it's time, that so-and-so was really mean to me and needs to be punished? Hm?

It looks like I pretty much failed at forgiving the last time I tried. But maybe if I had power, it would be easier. I bet if I asked, I could get some. Or borrow some. Or maybe if I just gave the offending stuff to the person who has power . . . maybe power is a necessary element of forgiving and forgetting. And I don't even have the ability to do it on my own, because I haven't made anything like the ultimate sacrifice. It's worth a try. This stuff is only going to fester anyway. May as well take it out and try to do something different with it. Maybe it's like a fungal infection that the doctor has been trying to treat with antibiotics--a new approach will clear it right up.

So this is me, working on giving the offending stuff away, to one who has indicated a willingness to take it on, and who has the power to "remember [my pettiness, selfishness, and bad attitude] no more." I suspect that will feel quite nice. And I suspect I will have good reason to feel even more grateful than I already do.