The Miracle of Forgiveness

[Indy Coug]

[YOUTUBE]E7zwQ_7q-fU[/YOUTUBE]

[Tick's wife]

That's all fine and dandy but if that happened to me, I couldn't forgive. He is a better person than I am or ever will be. Where's the anger and depression?

[CardiacCoug]

Thanks for posting that, Indy. I hope I would be able to forgive in that situation, but I'm not sure I would.

Interesting that the father (Chris Williams) killed an 8-year old boy who ran out in front of his car when he was 16. I found that in this article about the case: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/6...rgiveness.html

Another thought I had: it's probably a good idea for LDS parents who usually just tell their kids "Don't Drink!" to follow that up with something like "If you do ever decide to drink, DON'T DRIVE!!! Drinking alcohol is no big deal whatsoever by comparison with driving after drinking. We will be proud of you and won't get mad if you call us for a ride instead of driving yourself after you have used alcohol. "

I could see LDS kids being so intent on hiding their drinking from parents and neighbors that they wouldn't dare ask for a ride home.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Not to be diminished is the effect Mr. Williams' ability to forgive had on the parents of the kid who caused the accident.

My brother caused an accident when he was driving drunk, and it ended the life of a young girl. The family of the victim were obviously hurt and very upset. That lead to bitterness and a lot of hate and anger that they directed towards not only my brother, but other members of my family. Not long after the accident, my parents and one of my sisters were getting harassed with vindictive and angry hand-written notes left in their mail boxes.

The guilt and suffering my mother went through while trying to cope with the situation was brutal to observe. Such a shame to see what pain she went through because of the choices of others. I'm grateful the parents in this story appear to have had some of their suffering abated.

[TheAzzuri]

Thanks for posting that, Indy. I hope I would be able to forgive in that situation, but I'm not sure I would.

Interesting that the father (Chris Williams) killed an 8-year old boy who ran out in front of his car when he was 16. I found that in this article about the case: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/6...rgiveness.html

Another thought I had: it's probably a good idea for LDS parents who usually just tell their kids "Don't Drink!" to follow that up with something like "If you do ever decide to drink, DON'T DRIVE!!! Drinking alcohol is no big deal whatsoever by comparison with driving after drinking. We will be proud of you and won't get mad if you call us for a ride instead of driving yourself after you have used alcohol. "

I could see LDS kids being so intent on hiding their drinking from parents and neighbors that they wouldn't dare ask for a ride home.

I agree with the sentiment. Idealism needs to be balanced with pragmatism. For that reason, I think the "abstinence only" programs are dangerous. My wife and I intend to make sure our kids see "physical" consequences and not just "spiritual" ones. My wife's sister has made pretty much every mistake in the book (teenage pregnancy, addiction, etc), and thankfully she's very candid about it.

[LA Ute]

Thanks for posting that, Indy. I hope I would be able to forgive in that situation, but I'm not sure I would.

Interesting that the father (Chris Williams) killed an 8-year old boy who ran out in front of his car when he was 16. I found that in this article about the case: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/6...rgiveness.html

Thanks for the links to the DesNews acticle, Cardiac. I remember reading it last December. The video is terrific but I don't think it can be appreciated fully without knowing the rest of the story as told in the article. I wonder why that was left out of the video.

I also hope I would forgive like Mr. Williams, but wonder if I can. I guess knowing how he handled his situation has raised the bar for all of us, in a way.

[smokymountainrain]

Not to be diminished is the effect Mr. Williams' ability to forgive had on the parents of the kid who caused the accident.

My brother caused an accident when he was driving drunk, and it ended the life of a young girl. The family of the victim were obviously hurt and very upset. That lead to bitterness and a lot of hate and anger that they directed towards not only my brother, but other members of my family. Not long after the accident, my parents and one of my sisters were getting harassed with vindictive and angry hand-written notes left in their mail boxes.

The guilt and suffering my mother went through while trying to cope with the situation was brutal to observe. Such a shame to see what pain she went through because of the choices of others. I'm grateful the parents in this story appear to have had some of their suffering abated.

This is an excellent point. What a sad situation your family has had to deal with because of the poor choices of not only your brother but the family of that girl as well. It's one thing to not forgive like Mr Williams did - how many of us would? - but it's another to lash out at people who had no part in the suffering that was caused.

[venkman]

[YOUTUBE]E7zwQ_7q-fU[/YOUTUBE]

Thanks for that Indy. Mr. Williams seems like an amazing man. What strikes me is the apparent effect his ability to forgive has had on the young man who took the lives of his family. That he has the chance to turn his life around is probably due in large measure to Mr. Williams.