23 - Little Flub
Hatred and anger are surely the most influential and motivating emotions that prevent certain people from being able to forgive one another. If there is also an element of justification to that anger, then it makes it all the harder for someone to overcome that anger and forgive.
That justification generally stems from the other side having made a great mistake or a foolish error. Justified feelings, such as “How could they do that?” and “How could one be so careless, selfish and thoughtless?” based on the other party’s poor behavior, cause many to remain fixed in their anger.
Yet there is a very important point that is overlooked here; and it is hiding in plain sight! Human beings are fallible. The Second Keystone reminds us of the same through an introspective lens: Remember that you are fallible like everyone else; be ready to admit and forgive wrongdoing.
It is impossible for people to live without making mistakes. It is in our nature, infallibility is a part of life.
We are made with the capacity to err, behind which there is much wisdom. It is therefore very wrong to expect someone else to have the will to spend their whole lives without making a mistake. Even the most perfect and virtuous person in the world is still only human, and may forget, be mistaken or be wrong.
Some people may be disappointed or even angered by mistakes and be reluctant to forgive. Yet we are taught that it is better to forgive and encourages each of us to cultivate that virtue in ourselves.
Certainly everyone will wish others to forgive their mistakes and have mercy on them. In the same way, when one makes a mistake, one will want that to be overlooked and forgiven by the people around them.
By reminding members of the Temple of this, the Paraclete reveals that each of us should treat others as we ourselves would wish to be treated. Do unto others, as we’ve oft heard. This is an important command that encourages compassion among people.
Since true believers know that people are created with a tendency to err, they approach them with compassion right at the outset. Temple teachings about repentance reveal that humans are prone to err, but what matters is to abandon the error as soon as one realizes it - and to strive to learn and not to repeat it, as echoed in the Fourth Keystone: Endeavor to learn new things and be educated by others.
So long as we keep the Five Keystones in our heart, we will be very forgiving and compassionate toward one another. We will not harbor hatred toward another because of an error of which she has repented and is seeking to correct. We will know that we cannot judge anyone because of past errors if she sincerely repented of such mistakes, and that what counts is the moral values the person is actively displaying. If they live and keep the Five Keystones in their heart, their words, and their thoughts, that is all that can be asked of them.
