Repentance & Forgiveness
Objective: Just because individuals are in the same family doesn't mean everyone will always get along. Every single person who has interacted with other individuals can understand this statement. Even with those we care the most about, mistakes are made and forgiveness is sought. Repentance and forgiveness are a part of human relationships and a necessity in healthy family relationships. No one is perfect. We should seek to forgive the wrongs of others and try to right our own wrongs. It's important to recognize that in some cases terrible actions may have been perpetrated against a victim (abuse. whether sexual, physical, or other), and many times the perpetrator is unrepentant. Forgiveness can still be achieved, bringing peace and healing to the victim, even without reconciliation. Forgiveness and reconciliation are different and in certain circumstances do not go hand in hand.
Opening Song: Children's Songbook #99, "Help Me, Dear Father"
Closing Song: Hymn #220, "Lord I Would Follow Thee"
Younger Children:
- Practice saying, "I'm sorry" together out-loud. Explain that we love our family members, but we all make mistakes and will need to say "sorry." When family members apologize, we need to forgive.
- Have the children participate in a role playing activity where they can practice apologizing. Examples of role playing situations could be:
- Accidentally breaking a sibling's/friend's toy
- Saying something unkind or hurtful
- Not letting someone play with you
- Hurting someone (hitting, tripping, pushing, etc.)
- Explain Heavenly Father teaches us that we need to forgive when others have done wrong things, this helps us to be happy in our own lives.
Older Children:
- Teach them the Steps of Forgiveness:
- Recall the hurt.
- Empathize
- Offer the Altruistic Gift of Forgiveness
- Commit Publicly to Forgive
- Hold on to Forgiveness
- Help them understand that simple offenses or misunderstandings can be repaired rather quickly. Serious wrongs, can take years to forgive and usually require additional counseling and resources to achieve. This is okay, there is no set time frame on when you "should" forgive an individual or achieve each individual step. It is a process and you should go at your own pace.
Additional Resources:
- Forgiveness by Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 2005.
- Forgiveness, Gospel Topics
- Successful Marriages & Families: Proclamation Principles & Research Perspectives Edited by Alan T. Hawkins, David C. Dollahite, Thomas W. Draper (Chapter 20)
- The Healing Power of Forgiveness by James E. Faust, General Conference, April 2007.
- Scriptures:
- Matthew 6: 14-15
- Luke 23:34
- Ephesians 4:32
- Genesis 45:1–5, 15
- Matthew 18:21–22
- 1 Nephi 7:16–21
- Doctrine and Covenants 64:9–14
Useful Tips for All Lessons:
- I love to use the Sing-Along app on my ipad/phone. It contains all the church Hymns and Children's songs in sing-along format with words and a moving ball for the timing. There are pictures that go along with each song, or you can customize the songs with your own pictures. It's a wonderful, easy app that I LOVE! Another benefit is the ability to make a Playlist in the app. I will quickly make a Playlist of particular songs I am using for a lesson so I don’t have to waste time searching for them during the lesson. It’s great!
- I also frequently use the Sacred Music App on my devices. It’s nice to have the choice of sheet music, words, or both for each song. I also use the Playlist feature to make songs easily accessible during lessons, as mentioned for the app above.
- Last, but definitely not least, is the Media App. I use this when I am searching for a particular picture or video to help emphasize my lesson topic. Probably my favorite feature of this app is the ability to edit videos. So if I just want to use part of a talk given by a General Authority, then I can cut out the rest and have the succinct clip I need for my lesson. It really is the best! I also like the ability to put together “Presentations” in the “My Media” section of the app. I can save any media I want to use for a particular lesson and it’s all right there ready for me during the lesson.
