Sometimes a Seminary lesson lingers in my thoughts for days after I teach. It's a little haunting (but in a good way). Clearly there's an important message trying to take hold!
I've had a broken record replay of one line King Lamoni's father said when he understood that Aaron was speaking truth. His exact words are: "and I will give away all my sins to know thee." ("thee" meaning God) (Alma 22:18)
That sentence is really profound! Because that is exactly what it takes to know God! Giving up all my sins! Not just the grave and horrific sins! All of them! Which would include (shudder, gasp) ...even my "favorite sins!"
"What am I willing to give up to know God?"
Favorite Sins are those things I justify (for a myriad of reasons) while deep down I know they are wrong! After all, they usually aren't SO terrible! At least not in my estimation! Or are they? Is hanging onto my favorite sins and the clever rationalizing perhaps the very thing that keeps me from progressing spiritually? From really knowing my Heavenly Father?
And I can cling onto my favorite sins with a very tight grip! I'll give you umpteen excuses why "they" are not-so-bad! I mean it's all relative, right?
But I think the recurring phrase in my head: "I will give away all my sins to know thee" might be taunting me with the ultimate realization that while I will always fall short, I need to try. Instead of explaining the "favorite sins" I need to concede that my justifications can be completely ridiculous!
For instance, I'm critical when people are judgmental; it totally bugs me! But, here's the rub (and the hard part to admit to): Aren't I being judgmental myself when I judge people who judge people? Hmmm....
President Howard W. Hunter sums things up well when he said in General Conference, April 1993: "Contrition is costly - it costs us our pride and our insensitivity, but it especially costs us our sins. For, as King Lamoni's father knew twenty centuries ago, this is the price of true hope. 'O, God,' he cried, 'wilt thou make thyself know unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee'. When we, too, are willing to give away all our sins to know him and follow him, we, too, will be filled with the joy of eternal life."
