Stephen E. Robinson wrote:
When my son Michael was six or seven, he did something I thought was wrong. He is my only son and I wanted him to be better than I was. So when he slipped up, I sent him to his room with the instructions, “Don’t you dare come out until I come out and get you!”
And then I forgot. Some hours later, as I was watching television, I heard his door open and tentative footsteps coming down the hall. I slapped my forehead and ran to meet him. There he was with swollen eyes and tears on his cheeks. He looked up at me, not quite sure if he should have come out and said, “Dad, can’t we ever be friends again?” I melted and pulled him to me. He’s my boy and I love him.
We all do things that disappoint our Father in Heaven, that separate us from his presence, his Spirit. There are times when we get sent to our rooms, spiritually though not physically. When that happens we sometimes lift up our eyes and say, “O Father, can’t we be friends again?” The answer found in all the scriptures, is a resounding Ÿes—through the atonement of Christ.” Stephen E. Robinson, The Gift of the Atonement (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2001), 133
