Second chances

One of my most favorite talks ever is His grace is sufficient by Brad Wilcox. It was given at a byu devotional a few years ago but to me it still has one of the most powerful messages. We can be forgiven, no matter how far gone we think we are. Before I get into the talk let me first start by saying how grateful I am that through the atonement we are all granted second chances. President Monson once said, " One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again. For no failure ever need be final." I know personally I have had my fair share of mistakes and have done things in my past that I’m not particularly proud of. There was a time not so long ago that I thought I couldn’t be forgiven for some of the things I had done but then I found the gospel and came to understand how wrong I was.
Anyways back to the talk. It opens with the story of a lady who did not understand what grace was. The speaker tells the lady that Christ paid our debt in full, not all but a few coins, he truly paid it all. All we are asked in return is to show faith in him , repent, make and keep covenants, receive the holy ghost, and endure to the end. That doesn’t seem to bad right? But for some people who don’t truly understand gods grace this can seem kind of impossible. So to help people better understand the speaker compares it to a child learning to play piano. The mom pays for the lessons and only asks for practice in return from the child. Sounds familiar right? Well, the child's practice shows gratitude for what the mom has done and the mom finds joy in seeing her gift used. If the child sees practice as being to hard maybe it's because they do not understand or see with their moms eyes how much better their life could be with practice. The purpose of practice is change. There are never just two options in learning music. It's not a difference between playing at Carnegie Hall or not playing at all. It's about playing the best you can and to just keep practicing. Growth, development, and change all take time. Just like with music, spiritual change is the same way.
None of us is perfect. We all sin and we all make mistakes. I  know that I am far from perfect and that I make mistakes everyday but thanks to the atonement I'm able to have another chance to try again and so are all of you. Many times people fall into the trap of thinking I messed up I’m not good enough anymore, or this is to hard. These people are being taken down into darkness but as Elder Stanfill said, "there is no darkness so dense, so menacing, or so difficult that it cannot be overcome by light." We all make mistakes but there is always a way back to heavenly father. Giving up should never be an option when we have something as wonderful as the atonement.
In October 2011 Elder Holland said, "whoever you are and whatever you have done, you can be forgiven. Every one of you young men can leave behind any transgression with which you may struggle. It is the miracle of forgiveness; it is the miracle of the atonement of the lord Jesus Christ." Now I know that this was directed towards the young men but I believe it applies to every one of us. And how great is that to hear! That we can be forgiven no matter what? To me that is the greatest gift we have ever been given. I’m far from perfect but I am still trying just like I hope all of you are still trying. Our mistakes don’t define us, they help us to learn but do not need to weigh us down. When we repent, through gods grace that weight is gone. Yes the memory remains but only so that we know never to make that same mistake again. We grow, learn, and move forward with heavenly father’s help. I am so great full that we have the atonement and that I was given a second  chance. My mistakes don’t define who I am. They are a part of my past but they’re not a part of me anymore.