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Part 4 of 4 "Forgiveness of sins" in the Autumn 2015 VISION Newsletter
In the international District Apostle Meeting in March of this year, Chief Apostle Schneider shared some thoughts concerning the forgiveness of sins and the importance it has in our spiritual lives. Here is the fourth main part of his teaching.
4. Forgiveness of sins is indispensable in preparing for Holy Communion
The forgiveness of sins is necessary for our worthy partaking of Holy Communion, which is crucial for our salvation and for us to live in Christ. Forgiveness of sins is an important step before Holy Communion because we must be pure in order to have communion with Christ. Holy Communion is for those who are committed to turn away from evil and follow Christ, and through the repentance of our sins, we are honoring this commitment. Holy Communion allows the congregation to also be in fellowship with one another, while we commune with Christ. The Chief Apostle said, “True communion is only possible if [the congregation] has forgiven each other.” Our desire to reconcile with one another is necessary for us to partake in Holy Communion together. Because Holy Communion is an indispensable part of our spiritual lives, we need to put in the work to prepare ourselves to have our sins forgiven.
We can see, through this understanding from Chief Apostle Schneider, that the forgiveness of sins is much deeper than we may have thought or felt. It is not just a brief moment in the divine service, but rather is something that involves our preparation for the divine service, our sanctification, our spiritual well-being, our unity, and our worthy partaking of Holy Communion.