Editor's note: Our bi-weekly Friday column, “Found in the footnotes,” explores some of the footnotes from remarks given by General Authorities and General Officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Come, Follow Me reading for May 24–30 is only two sections long, Doctrine and Covenants 58–59, but within those 89 verses are words that Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf called some of the most inspiring and encouraging in scripture.
In order to find his comment, you have to look at a footnote of his April 2021 general conference address, but first, let's look at what he shared from the pulpit. Elder Uchtdorf said:
Because of God’s perfect love for us and the eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our sins—both great and small—can be blotted out and remembered no more. We can stand before Him pure, worthy, and sanctified.
My heart overflows with gratitude for my Heavenly Father. I realize that He has not doomed His children to stumble through mortality without hope for a bright and eternal future. He has provided instructions that reveal the way back to Him. And at the center of it all is His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice for us.
The Savior’s infinite Atonement completely changes the way we may view our transgressions and imperfections. Instead of dwelling on them and feeling irredeemable or hopeless, we can learn from them and feel hopeful. The cleansing gift of repentance allows us to leave our sins behind and emerge a new creature.
Because of Jesus Christ, our failures do not have to define us. They can refine us.
And then in one of the footnotes that accompanies these paragraphs, Elder Uchtdorf shares this beautiful insight:
The words of Doctrine and Covenants 58:42 are some of the most inspiring and encouraging in scripture: “He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” What joy this gives me to know that if I continue to repent, in that future day when I shall fall on my knees before my Savior and Redeemer, He will lift me up and embrace me. My sins will not only be forgiven; they will not even be remembered.
It's nearly impossible to read this footnote along with the words of Elder Uchtdorf’s address and not feel hopeful, inspired, and encouraged. Yes, admittedly we all have failures along our journey of mortality, but those failures refine us. And in the Savior’s mind, those failures do not define us, they are not even remembered.
► You may also like: What Elder Uchtdorf taught about having a soul prepared for the unimaginable future
The start of this Come, Follow Me reading has a powerful promise: “For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:4).
Now this promise has two parts. The part of the promise that excites us is likely the blessings, the promise of being crowned with much glory. The part that might be less exciting? That blessing will come “after much tribulation.”
In his general conference remarks, Elder Uchtdorf shared:
Yes, the world is in turmoil. And yes, we have weaknesses. But we do not need to hang our heads in despair, because we can trust God, we can trust His Son, Jesus Christ, and we can accept the gift of the Spirit to guide us on this path toward a life filled with joy and divine happiness.
Regardless of tribulation or sin, because of the Savior and His promises, we know that, as Elder Uchtdorf said, “a magnificent and supernal future is possible—not because of who we are but because of who God is.”
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The General Conference Addresses Journal Edition has all the text of the General Conference addresses from April 2021 in one spiral-bound paperback. Extra-wide, lined margins give you space to record your impressions and document insights you receive. Create an enduring record to make this general conference truly unforgettable. Available now at DeseretBook.com.
