Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on overcoming pains and hurts in life

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (born December 3, 1940) served as Church Commissioner of Education from 1976-1980, as the president of BYU from 1980-1989, as a Seventy from 1989-1994, and as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles since 1994.

"I testify that forgiving and forsaking offenses, old or new, is central to the grandeur of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I testify that ultimately such spiritual repair can come only from our divine Redeemer, He who rushes to our aid 'with healing in his wings' (Malachi 4:2; see also 2 Nephi 25:13; 3 Nephi 25:2). We thank Him, and our Heavenly Father who sent Him, that renewal and rebirth, a future free from old sorrows and past mistakes, are not only possible, but they have already been purchased, paid for, at an excruciating cost symbolized by the blood of the Lamb who shed it.

"With the apostolic authority granted me by the Savior of the world, I testify of the tranquility to the soul that reconciliation with God and each other will bring if we are meek and courageous enough to pursue it. 'Cease to contend one with another,' the Savior pled. (D&C 136:23.) If you know of an old injury, repair it. Care for one another in love.

"My beloved friends, in our shared ministry of reconciliation, I ask us to be peacemakers—to love peace, to seek peace, to create peace, to cherish peace. I make that appeal in the name of the Prince of Peace, who knows everything about being 'wounded in the house of [His] friends' (Zechariah 13:6; see also D&C 45:52.) but who still found the strength to forgive and forget—and to heal—and be happy."

- Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Ministry of Reconciliation," General Conference October 2018
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This was a beautiful and tender message from Elder Holland, a call to greater love and peace among ourselves as we learn to "forgive and forget" the occasional challenges in our interactions with others. With personal examples and inspired teachings, he invited us all to heed the example and call of the Savior as we learn to overcome grievances and disagreements. We can thereby participate in "the grandeur of the Atonement of Jesus Christ":

Elder Holland's testimony of the tranquility (what a beautiful word!) that comes to the soul in the midst of "reconciliation with God and each other" should urge us all to pursue this path in every way possible. But it requires that we be "meek and courageous enough to pursue it." It is often not an easy thing to overcome our pride as we repair the wounds of the past. But in learning to be true peacemakers, we truly can find the happiness promised by the Savior.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2018)