Better than the Past

No matter who we are or how good we are, we make mistakes. We all sin. We trip up and have regrets. We get hurt and we hurt those we love.
Yet, because of the Atonement - Christ's suffering in the garden of Gethsemane, His suffering and death on the cross, and His resurrection - we can move away from all of that. We can become better than our past.
In 1 Nephi 3:7, we are told that "...the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the things which he commandeth them." God gave us commandments even though He knew that we would mess up. He knew that we would struggle and have weaknesses. He also knew that without help, we would not be able to return to live with Him again. So He sent "...His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
Christ came to the earth so that we could return to live in our Heavenly Father's presence. He made it possible for our sins to be washed away if we would repent.
There are some basic steps for repentance:
1. Recognize what you have done wrong and feel sorry for doing it
2. Ask forgiveness from others you have or may have hurt
3. Ask forgiveness from the Lord
4. Let go of the sin and strive to never do it again

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, in a devotional at BYU said, "“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42).
The proviso, of course, is that repentance has to be sincere, but when it is and when honest effort is being made to progress, we are guilty of the greater sin if we keep remembering and recalling and rebashing someone with their earlier mistakes—and that “someone” might be ourselves. We can be so hard on ourselves, often much more so than with others!" (Remember Lot's Wife, January 2009)
Part of the repentance process, part of what allows Christ to wash away our sins, is to forgive and forget those sins that are repented of!
Elder Holland told a story from his own life. He and his wife were newly married and they were struggling to stay afloat of their finances while going to school. He said, 'On a spot that I could probably still mark for you today, I turned to Pat and said something like this: “Honey, should we give up? I can get a good job and carve out a good living for us. I can do some things. I’ll be okay without a degree. Should we stop trying to tackle what right now seems so difficult to face?”...I said, in effect, “Let’s go back. Let’s go home. The future holds nothing for us.”
Then my beloved little bride did what she has done for 45 years since then. She grabbed me by the lapels and said, “We are not going back. We are not going home. The future holds everything for us.”' (Remember Lot's Wife, January 2009)
We cannot go back. If we give up, we try to cut repentance and Christ's Atonement out of the picture. Christ suffered and died for each of us so that we would not have to give up! Do not give up!
A quote from Eleanor Roosevelt says, "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift." Yesterday is history. Remember history so that it is not repeated but do not live in the middle of it. It happened in the past. Forgive and forget. Do not become so wrapped up in the mistakes made in the past that you forget to allow Christ's grace and Atoning sacrifice to turn your life back toward the light of Jesus Christ. For, "...he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42) And neither should we.
Christ has made it possible for us to change. We have the opportunity to be lifted from the darkness of sin and hurt because of and through Christ's Atoning sacrifice. He loved us enough to save us if we would repent. May we ever love Him enough to seek His help and guidance in returning to His Light.