It’s okay to experience negative emotions in our family relationships. Disappointment, pain, sorrow, and sadness are all part of our mortal experience.
But it’s not healthy to hold on to those feelings. They can be like stones piling up, one by one, to make a wall of hurt and pain. That wall is divisive. It can destroy peace, unity, love and trust.
Our family relationships need the healing that comes from processing our emotions fully. Even when divorce has occurred, we may still need to work through all of the negative emotions, in order to come to place of personal healing.
Elder Oaks taught, “Don’t treasure up past wrongs. Festering is destructive; forgiveness is divine.”
In order to process negative emotions, we first need to acknowledge them. It can be helpful to talk openly about them in a safe environment, in order to understand and learn from them. And then we need to rely on the Savior to help us completely forgive.
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