Psalm 25:7
Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord.
No one is as wise in youth as he or she eventually becomes with maturity and age. This is no excuse for transgression, but heaven and the leaders of the Church strive to be generous and forgiving of youthful sins and transgressions. Surely God and the prophets have done everything possible down through time to warn, to caution, to counsel—and, when necessary, to discipline—youth, but at the same time every effort has also been made to help and heal, to assist the young man or young woman to repent and move on, leaving their mistakes behind and realizing what a vast world of opportunity and peace awaits the repentant in their mature years.
Every youth faces “fool’s hill” less experienced and less wise than a seasoned person would, but with help—and, if needed, forgiveness—he or she can successfully make it over that hump and on the other side see a life filled with promised blessings and happiness. Every young person who has sinned needs to know that God forgives, that He is a God of mercy, that repentance gives every person—young or old—the chance to overcome errors through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Such a gift shouldn’t be taken for granted, but fortunately for all of us, this is the gospel of the second chance and the church of the happy ending.
Every youth who is willing to feel sorrow for sin, who will pay the price to seek the Lord’s forgiveness and His enabling power to change his or her life, and who will strive to live in a better way no matter what the mistakes of the past have been, is entitled to cry unto the Lord—and be reassured that the plea will be honored—“Remember not the sins of my youth.”
One last observation: If God is willing to forgive and forget sins truly repented of—“the same is forgiven and I, the Lord, remember them no more”84—then surely we must do the same. Nothing is more un-Christian than to keep bringing up past sins—those of others or our own—thereby refusing to let them die. This is to deny the Atonement of Christ. This is to block divine forgiveness. This is to keep alive what God Himself wants buried. Whether it be in a youth or an adult, forgive their transgression. Let the Atonement have full sway. Let the future be bright even if the past wasn’t. You and I and all mankind are one day going to plead for such grace. Let’s show our Christian discipleship by granting it to others.
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