Day 18: I"ll Go Where You Want Me to Go

I just re-read one of my favorite talks by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland about learning from the past and moving on. He uses the example of Lot's wife and how she turned into a pillar of salt not just because she looked back at the city of Sodom and Gommorah, but in her heart she longed to go back to what she had. She lacked the faith and trust in Heavenly Father that her life could be better than it was. And because of that, she suffered the consequences.

Elder Holland states "God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are, and, where you are willing to go." Jesus Christ suffered for us so that we could use the healing powers of the atonement to forgive others for hurt from the past, and to be forgiven of our past mistakes. HEavenly Father states in the scriptures that he "remembers our sins no more" after we have truly repented. He doesn't live in the past, so we shouldn't either. He's more interested in what we've learned from the past and how it has shaped us for the now and what attitude it gives us about the future. He can lead us to places and people and situations that will help us reach our full potential, but only if we have the faith that is required.