Despite our best efforts, we will inevitably fall short because we are human. This human experience teaches us that we need the Savior and His atoning sacrifice. His invitation to us is always to return to Him; His love for us is constant. Hosea 14:4 says, “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from Israel.” We can find comfort in Christ taking action to forgive, heal, and love us individually.
In a journal entry dated April 7, 1844, Wilford Woodruff recorded Sidney Rigdon’s sermon: “Any man, Publicans, sinners, scoundrels or anybody else, could repent & receive the gospel & become a member of the kingdom . . . for when Jesus came he came to call sinners & Harlots into the kingdom. It doesn’t require much of an exertion of the mind; much depends, however, upon the decision of the mind. It depends upon one action of the mind. A man remarked to me He did not belong to a church, was not worthy, but this is a mistake. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He saves the unworthy. The Lord will offer a man salvation he says he is not worth, but what would you want your son to do if he was unworthy? He should return to his father, so with God.”1
Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we all have the opportunity to repent of our sins and turn our hearts and minds to God. Salvation is offered to all, no matter our stature or circumstance. It is up to us to partake of it and follow the Savior. He is always ready and waiting to offer us healing and forgiveness. Wilford Woodruff understood this and preached it wholeheartedly, reminding us that we must be willing to offer to forgive as often as we ask to be forgiven.
Anna Buis is a graduate of BYU–Idaho, with associate degrees in English and family history and a bachelor degree in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in family history. She volunteers on the Research and Biography Team for the Wilford Woodruff Papers Project. Researching the lives of the early Saints, among others, has deepened her understanding that God truly loves all of His children. She likes to be with her family, visit art museums, and volunteer in her community.
To learn more about the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation and how you can support this historic project, please visit wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.
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