In the early years of the nation, Israel departed from her God and slew her husband, causing the “reproach of thy widowhood”; all of that will be forgotten when she is mercifully gathered into his arms once again.
It is we mortals, in all ages, who have deserted our God and find it incumbent on ourselves to repent and return to him, yet it is he who first makes the conciliatory effort to gather us. He is tireless in his efforts to bring us back into his arms.
“Thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth” is an injunction for ancient Israel but also for us individually. There were two great Josephs whose lives teach us a valuable principle: the foolish, shameful, or simply immature mistakes we make in our youth can be forgiven and forgotten; we can rise above and beyond our past. Joseph, son of Jacob, who was later sold into Egypt, was, while a teenager, rather unwise in broadcasting the dreams of his future greatness to his family members who would someday bow down to him (Genesis 37). And a Joseph in our day admitted, “I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God. In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But I was guilty of levity [light-mindedness], and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been” (Joseph Smith–History 1:28). The Lord will help us “forget the shame of [our] youth” as we repent and show penitence through many good works during our mature years on earth.