D&C 64:9-11; Matt. 6:14-15; 7:1-5; 18:21-35; 2 Tim. 4:14,16; Rom. 12:19-20; Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, Ludlow, p. 269; Gospel Standards, Grant, p. 32; Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, pp. 240-243; refer in this text to Mosiah 26:30-31 & 3 Ne. 13:14-15
“I consider it is a disgrace to the community, and in the eyes of the Lord, and of Angels, and in the eyes of all the Prophets and Revelators that have ever lived upon the earth, when a community will descend to the low, degraded state of contention with each other; this little bickering, jarring, fault-finding, somebody’s abused me… . Suppose every heart should say, if my neighbor does wrong to me. I will not complain, the Lord will take care of him. Let every heart be firm, and every one say, I will never contend any more with a man for property, I will not be cruel to my fellow-creature, but I will do all the good I can, and as little evil as possible. Now, where would be the wrong of taking this course? This is the way to approximate toward a celestial state.” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 1:32)
“How are we supposed to act when we are offended, misunderstood, unfairly or unkindly treated, or sinned against? What are we supposed to do if we are hurt by those we love, or passed over for promotion, or are falsely accused, or have our motives unfairly assailed? Do we fight back? … Do we revert to an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, or as Tevye says in Fiddler on the Roof, do we come to the realization that this finally leaves us blind and toothless? … We can all be a little more forgiving.” (Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, Nov. 1992, p. 18)
“After his father became ill, Vern Crowley took responsibility for running the family wrecking yard although he was only fifteen years of age. Some customers occasionally took unfair advantage of the young man, and parts were disappearing from the lot overnight. Vern was angry and vowed to catch someone and make an example of him… . Just after his father had started to recover from his illness, Vern was making his rounds of the yard one night at closing time… . In a distant corner of the property, he caught sight of someone carrying a large piece of machinery toward the back fence… . His first thought was to take out his frustrations with his fists and then drag the boy to the front office and call the police… . He had caught his thief, and he intended to get his just dues. Out of nowhere, Vern’s father came along, put his weak and infirm hand on his son’s shoulder, and said, ‘I see you’re a bit upset, Vern. Can I handle this?’ He then walked over to the young would-be thief and put his arm around his shoulder, looked him in the eye for a moment, and said, ‘Son, tell me, why are you doing this? Why were you trying to steal that transmission?’ Then Mr. Crowley started walking toward the office with his arm around the boy, asking questions about the young man’s car problems as they walked. By the time they had arrived at the office, the father said, ‘Well, I think your clutch is gone and that’s causing your problem.’ In the meantime, Vern was fuming. ‘Who cares about his clutch?’ he thought. ‘Let’s call the police and get this over with.’ But his father just kept talking. ‘Vern, get him a clutch. Get him a throwout bearing, too. And get him a pressure plate. That should take care of it.’ The father handed all of the parts to the young man who had attempted robbery and said, ‘Take these. And here’s the transmission, too. You don’t have to steal, young man. Just ask for it… .’ The young man came back to the lot often. Voluntarily, month by month, he paid for all of the parts Vic Crowley had given him, including the transmission. During those visits, he asked Vern why his dad was the way he was and why he did what he did. Vern told him something of their Latter-day Saint beliefs and how much his father loved the Lord and loved people. Eventually the would-be thief was baptized. Vern later said, ‘It’s hard now to describe the feelings I had and what I went through in that experience. I, too, was young. I had caught my crook. I was going to extract the utmost penalty. But my father taught me a different way.’” (Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, May 1992, p. 62)
“When anguish comes from evil acts of others, there should be punishment and corrective action taken, but the offended is not the one to initiate that action. Leave it to others who have that responsibility. Learn to forgive; though terribly hard, it will release you and open the way to a newness of life. Time devoted by one injured to ensure the offender is punished is time wasted in the healing process.” (Richard G. Scott, Ensign, May 1994, p. 9)
“In the listening audience today are Jeff and Joyce Underwood of Pocatello, Idaho… . Their daughter Jeralee, age eleven, was going door to door collecting money for her newspaper route. Jeralee never returned home… . It was learned that Jeralee had been abducted and brutally murdered by an evil man. When her body was found, the whole city was horrified and shocked. Some became angry and wanted to take vengeance. After Jeralee’s body was found, Jeff and Joyce appeared with great composure before the television cameras and other media … Joyce said, …’ I have learned a lot about love this week, and I also know there is a lot of hate. I have looked at the love and want to feel that love, and not the hate. We can forgive.’ … President Kert W. Howard, Jeralee’s stake president, wrote, ‘The Underwoods have received letters from people both in and out of the Church stating that they prayed for Jeralee, and they hadn’t prayed in years, and because of this, they had a renewed desire to return to the Church.’ President Howard continued, ‘We will never know the extent of activation and rededication this single event has caused. Who knows the far-reaching effects Jeralee’s life will have for generations untold.’ Many have come into the Church because they wanted to know what kind of a religion could give the Underwoods their spiritual strength.” (James E. Faust, Ensign, May 1994, pp. 6-7)
“[Refusing to forgive others is] to hold hostage those whom the Lord would wish to set free.” (Neal A. Maxwell, Conference Report, Oct. 1991)
“We must speak no ill of anyone. We must see the good in each other and speak well of each other whenever we can… . We must forgive and bear no malice toward those who offend us. The Savior set the example from the cross: ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23:34). We do not know the hearts of those who offend us. Nor do we know all the sources of our own anger and hurt.” (Henry B. Erying, Ensign, May 1998, p. 68)