To Become Innocent

I have to admit singles wards have one huge bonus, quite Sacrament Meetings. And yesterday was no difference. I don’t know if you listen to country music but you Kenny Chesney sings a song an it he has a line about the preacher preaching just to him. That is exactly how I felt yesterday in sacrament. Our speaker spoke of innocence. He taught that there are two kinds of innocence, that of a child and that of being justified before God.

With out going into all the tiny details I will tell of what stuck with me the most. He taught of how we as sinners can become innocent again. The fist key step to our becoming innocent is to take responsibility for what we did. Shortly after Adam and Eve partook of the fruit God came and talked to them of what they did. Adam said he took of the fruit for Eve did. Eve said she partook because the Serpant told her to and so on. No one took accountability for their actions not knowing they had done wrong. That is the first step. We must take accountability for our actions knowing we sinned. Once we take accountability and repent we have been forgiven of our sins but we are not as of yet innocent again.

We are not innocent of our sins yet for we still carry the guilt in our hearts. We say to one another I cannot associate with you, or you would not want to know me if you know what I did. As the Brother taught it we are caught up in a competition of ugliness. We compare ourselves to others and say my past is worst/uglier then yours, my trails are harder, my life is worse, etc. This competition of ugliness will never allow us to become innocent again. Little children are innocent for they do not know right from wrong. They cannot compare what they have done to what others have done for they don’t know they did wrong. They have no guilt to carry.

To be innocent again we have to become like little children. We have to let go of the guilt. We need to learn to fully trust in Jesus Christ knowing that through our repentance and his atoning sacrifice our sins are taken away from us; that we are free and forgiven. We have to trust that we are pure again, that our sins have been erased. To become innocent again we have to let go of guilt and fear.

As I was reading my scriptures last night a deeper thought on this subject came to me. I was reading the April conference talk title “All Things to Give Thee Experience” (or something like that.) As I was reading the talk I realized that just as it is required for us to fully trust in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice to be made pure. To let go of the guilt and stop comparing ugliness of sins. There is another ugliness we like to compare, the one of comparing trails. We often hear people say you just wouldn’t understand, my trail is worse then yours, you would never want to be a part of this, etc. But here again we are failing to trust and are comparing ugliness again. This time the harm is different. We are failing to see and remember that Heavenly Father has a unique plan for each and everyone of us. I was never meant to go through the same trail as you and you were never intended to go through mine.

Again we have to learn to trust Heavenly Father and that he has a plan and design for each of us.

Have you ever noticed how little children don’t compare who has a worst cold then the other. Three year olds (ok I chose a cute age for this thought) simply see that someone is sick and know that they are too.

To become innocent again we need to become as little children fully trusting in Heavenly Father and his plan for us. Fully trusting in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice. To become innocent we need to let go of the guilt, let go of the game of comparing ugliness.