Emulate Jesus Christ -- Post 24: Let Guilt Be A Stepping Stone to Progress.
- judyrix
- Jul 5
- 3 min read
By Judy Rix...
"There's no problem so awful
that you can't add some guilt to it
and make it even worse.”
...Bill Watterson,
Guilt can be a paralyzing barrier to progress or a stepping stone to success.
Healthy guilt encourages improvement, but persistent guilt ties us to the past, emphasizing our mistakes and shortcomings. Focusing on past errors prevents us from moving forward. Jesus Christ provided for our mistakes by giving us the gift of repentance. His atonement paid the price for our sins. By trusting in His grace, we can let go of guilt and find peace.
We Can Gain Insight from the Mistakes of Others.
The scriptures are relevant to our lives, offering real - life stories of people who learned from their mistakes and went on to achieve great things. They used their errors as lessons for progress.
The Book of Mormon recounts how Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah attempted to destroy the church (Mosiah 27). Alma was a prophet's son, and King Mosiah’s sons were princes. They used their influence to harm the church, but repented after an angel intervened. Facing skepticism from their peers, they chose to rely on Christ’s atonement and sought to spread the gospel to the Lamanites, (the Nephite enemies,) despite being mocked. They could have gone on wallowing in their guilt. However, they relied on the cleansing power of Christ’s atonement and went forward doing their best to repair the damage. Over 14 years, their missionary work converted thousands of Lamanites, demonstrated their faith, and transformed both nations for generations. Their story highlights the power of repentance and faith in overcoming past mistakes and achieving greatness.
Guilt Can Lead to Repentence.
In Alma chapters 10 - 15, Zeezrom, an expert lawyer, initially sought to undermine Nephite liberty and was involved in the martyrdom of believers. However, he came to believe Alma and Amulek, repented, and suffered intense guilt. His faith in Christ's redemption led to his healing. Zeezrom then used his persuasive talents for good, relying on the atonement to overcome his guilt and move forward.
Consider Saul of Tarsus (Bible, Acts 9:1 - 31) who initially sought to exterminate Christians to protect Judaism. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, he became Paul and instead of succumbing to guilt, repented and relied on Christ's atonement. He became one of the greatest instruments in the Lord’s hands in taking the gospel to the world.
Our Mistakes Can Become Our Greatest Teachers.
Paul came to God via a mistake. Perhaps he, like Alma, the sons of Mosiah, and Zeezrom became the great servants they did because of their desire to make up for past mistakes. Despite their failures, they trusted in the Savior’s atonement, repented, and moved forward unencumbered by guilt. Accepting the atonement involves releasing guilt and self doubt, and acknowledging the Savior’s power to cleanse.
The Atonement Applies to Everyone, Even You and Me.
We enthusiastically covenanted to fulfill important tasks before coming to this mortal existence, despite our imperfect minds and bodies and the temptations of Satan. God knew we would make mistakes. Becoming like Jesus Christ involves learning from both our mistakes and our obedience. Heavenly Father provided for our mistakes through the gifts of repentance and the atonement.
Satan whispers DIScouragement: “Your sin is too great. You are unworthy of forgiveness.” In contrast, the Savior offers ENcouragement: “Your sins of scarlet will be as white as snow because of my atonement.” (Isaiah 1:18)
During this phase of our earthly journey, we need to live by faith, cling to His promises, and place our trust in the hands of the One who sacrificed His life for us.
Never allow guilt to become a paralyzing obstacle. Instead, use it as a stepping stone toward achieving our dreams and fulfilling our covenants with God.
______
Go to the Source -- What Do the Scriptures and Respected Teachers Say?
"Therefore if that man repenteth not and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord..."
Alma explains that once he repented and cried out to Jesus for mercy, "I could remember my pains no more..."
"I fear that some of us understand just enough about the gospel to feel guilty -- guilty that we are not measuring up to some undefinable standard, but not enough about the atonement to feel the peace and strength, the power and mercy it affords us."
(YouTube, "Shame Versus Guilt," D. Todd Christopherson)
The talk by elder Christoferrson on shame versus guilt is really insightful and worth the time to read. I never like the idea guilt but can see how your approach in dealing with it makes all the difference!