Faith in God can help us manage anxiety and recover from discouragement.
When Enos prayed all day and into the night, the Lord answered him with the assurance that his sins were forgiven. Enos said, “I knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away” (Enos 1:6). Notice that his trust in God was necessary for him to give up his feelings of guilt.
Subsequently, Enos prayed on behalf of his people, and then on behalf of his enemies, the Lamanites. In both cases, Enos received assurances from the Lord. He said, “I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which [God] had made; wherefore my soul did rest” (Enos 1:17). His confidence in God’s promises allowed him to let go of his anxiety.
On August 1, 1831, the Lord gave the following assurance to a group of people who had recently arrived in Missouri:
He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:42
Commenting on this verse, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf recently said:
What joy this gives me to know that if I continue to repent, in that future day when I shall fall on my knees before my Savior and Redeemer, He will lift me up and embrace me. My sins will not only be forgiven; they will not even be remembered.
“God Among Us,” General Conference, April 2021, footnote 6
Elder Uchtorf went on to explain the implications of this principle for how we respond to failure:
The Savior’s infinite Atonement completely changes the way we may view our transgressions and imperfections. Instead of dwelling on them and feeling irredeemable or hopeless, we can learn from them and feel hopeful….
Because of Jesus Christ, our failures do not have to define us. They can refine us….
If we repent, mistakes do not disqualify us. They are part of our progress.
“God Among Us,” General Conference, April 2021
Today, I will be grateful for the assurance that my sins will be forgiven if I choose to repent. I will follow Enos’s example of trust in God, allowing Him to remove my guilt and my anxiety. I will move forward, trusting the Savior’s power to help me overcome my mistakes and leave them behind.
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