by Steve and Claudia Goodman
Sorting Through the Sands of Time.
Today’s youth face a society preoccupied with endless sifting through the dirt of the past with a teaspoon and a magnifying glass. The media often seems bent on exposing every microscopic flaw and blowing it up to gigantic proportion for public display and criticism. People are obsessed with finding someone to blame. From dissecting every particle of 9-11, to sensationalizing prominent murders, to coloring the lives of political figures, the public seems to take distorted delight in savoring every tainted detail, in hopes of throwing a more sinister light on the past. Is there anyone who can survive such scrutiny? Or do all men stand condemned?
A few years ago a group of young people went for a hike. Unexpectedly one of the girls was attacked and bitten by a rattlesnake. Enraged, her companions set off in hot pursuit of the snake. It took them almost a half-hour to corner it and chop it to pieces to avenge their wrongs. With grim satisfaction they returned only to discover that in their haste to right what had already transpired, they had completely forgotten about the present victim, who was now in critical condition. Their fury in focusing on the past instead of the future cost that girl her leg and almost her life. (See H. Burke Peterson, “Removing the Poison of an Unforgiving Spirit,” Ensign, Nov. 1983, 59)
The Past is Already Past.
In their glee to expose every tiny shortcoming and punish it to the max, are there those who are forgetting a few basic principles? The past is already past. Once we have learned from it, why must we endlessly dig up every skeleton in every closet, when our time could be used so much more profitably to secure our precarious tomorrows? Are we facing the future-or killing the past that is already dead?
When holy men came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, they hastened Lot saying, “Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters., lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.Escape for thy life; look not behind thee.” (Genesis 19:15,17) But Lot’s wife couldn’t resist dwelling on the past. She looked back, “and she became a pillar of salt.” (Genesis 19:26) If we allow ourselves to become too preoccupied with the past, it may destroy us, just as it did Lot’s wife.
“One Cannot Build on Weakness-Only on Strength.”
As we analyze the past, we must recognize the fact that every single one of us makes mistakes. How would we fare if every move we made were examined under the same powerful magnifying glass we tend to use on others? A prominent psychiatrist, Dr. Rudolf Dreikurs, said, “Recall to your mind the times that you have succeeded, and try again. Dwelling on your mistakes saps your courage. Remember, one cannot build on weakness-only on strength.”
There is a tendency for people to criticize past events in order to justify their own actions. However, true humanitarians are above finding ways to pin weaknesses on others. One great example is Ronald Reagan. His critics said of him: “I can’t recall a President, or any politician for that matter, whose most vocal opponents still respected and admired him.He could disagree without being disagreeable, a lesson we could all learn.” He knew how to stand firm for the right without compromise. Yet he had no need to drag past events through the mud in order to prove his point. Instead, he drew out the good and expanded on it, pointing toward a promising future.
In our fervor to right past wrongs, let us make certain that we recognize past mistakes for what they usually are-honest attempts by good people to do the best they can. The Savior set a beautiful example for us. When the woman was taken in adultery, his profound reply to the accusers was, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” When all were convicted by their own conscience and left one by one, he asked her, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” (John 8:7,10-11) What a lesson we can learn in holding out a future of hope to someone instead of dwelling so incessantly on past mistakes that we squash the offender into the ground.
The Battle Lies Ahead, Not Behind.
The past can provide us some valuable insight and experience. However, dwelling on it doesn’t accomplish anything. Hindsight is only valuable if we apply it to the future. As Rafiki, the wise old baboon in Walt Disney’s The Lion King, points out, “Change is good. The past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it-or learn from it.” Once we face our own past and learn from it, however, endless stone-turning only enlarges old wounds and delays our forward progress in becoming all we are destined to be.
The Lion King’s father tells him, “You have forgotten who you are. You are more than you have become. You must take your place in the circle of life. Remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king.” As we help our children remember who they are-children of the one true King, we can help them focus on taking their place in fulfilling the missions they were foreordained to accomplish in preparation for the return of the King.
Under the inspiration of heaven, Joseph Smith said: “.Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage.and on, on to the victory!” (D&C 128:22) Then let us unite and move forward together, focusing on a strong future instead of a weak past, and the victory will be ours!
