In Neil L. Anderson’s book’ “The Divine Gift of Forgiveness,” he shares:
When I was fifteen, I was] in a driving accident while on vacation with my family. . . .the damage was severe and permanent. I had broken my neck and was paralyzed from the chest down. . . . I could barely breathe or speak. . . .
A few days later [I told the nurse that although I was aware that my injury required a long hospital stay] . . . I needed to know when I could go home. . . .”Well, Jason,” [she said,] if you work hard, maybe you’ll be able to go home by Christmas.” . . .
I decided that no matter what the cost, I would be home for Christmas.” . . .
The months that followed were filled with sweat, blood, and tears. . . .
There were many times I wanted to give up. . .
Then . . . I would pray for strength and the power to continue to work. Heavenly Father answered my prayers and gave me the motivation to fight another day. . . .
Finally, I was discharged.
Christmas morning,] my dad . . . asked the children to take a minute to talk about the favorite gift they had received. . . .
“Our best present,” [they responded] “is to have Jason home again.’ . . .
Each of us has been “injured” by this natural man [that] mortality has placed upon us. We’ve been [placed on earth to] prepare ourselves to go home. We must decide that, no matter what the cost, . . .we are willing to do whatever it takes to get there. ~Stephen Jason Hall, “The Gift of Home,” New Era, December 1994 (as quoted from Neil Anderson’s “The Divine Gift of Forgiveness” (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019), p.26
* Quotes with a preamble asterisk * are for a more general audience and not specific to teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
