I Am Worthy of Mercy

It’s Christmas week 2025. A time to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. A time to remember all He has done for us as Savior and Redeemer. We reflect not only on that glorious night, but on His life, teachings, and mercy.

This year, I’m drawn to the mercy Christ showed in His mortal life. I think of the tenderness shown to those He healed. I also reflect on the mercy He has shown me in my life. Elder Matthew S. Holland, in “Forsake Not Your Own Mercy,” quotes this description of God from Jonah, which also applies to Christ: “God … that is, ‘merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.”

Elder Holland uses the story of Jonah to show that God’s mercy is available to all. Jonah ran away from God’s call to preach repentance to Nineveh. He chose to go against God’s will. This led to a series of events depositing Jonah in the belly of a great fish. For three days, Jonah was kept in the fish. Jonah cried for mercy when he knew he had made a mistake. He prayed that God would help him and that Jonah would return.

Part of Jonah’s cry included, “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord” (Jonah 2:8-9). Jonah realized that we listen to other voices when we have made mistakes. Those voices will tell us that we are not good enough for God to take notice of us. They tell us we are worthless. They drag us down and give us no hope. This is a lie! We are never outside the bounds of mercy!

“You have immediate access to divine help and healing despite your human flaws. This awe-inspiring mercy comes in and through Jesus Christ” (emphasis added). As Jonah, we just need to seek mercy through prayer and supplication. The promise is that we will receive mercy from Jesus. Elder Holland states: “He offers it to you as your ‘own,’ meaning it is perfectly suited to you, designed to relieve your individual agonies and heal your particular pains.”

I have been “in the belly of the whale” as Jonah. Addiction can make you feel that way. I know what it’s like to think that I am not worthy to receive mercy from a perfect Savior. It is a dark place. Yet, in my experience, even though it seemed absolutely dark, there was a light. Something that could be seen, even if it was tiny. I know that looking to that light in the darkness will cause it to grow. His light brings His mercy. These two, working together, lift us out of darkness. They bring hope, which brings faith, which inspires us to get out of the belly of the whale and back on the covenant path.

I plead with anyone reading this to not forsake your own mercy! The love of Christ is infinite, boundless, and, most importantly, available to all of God’s children. I know, because I have experienced it. I know, because I continue to experience it and it is marvelous!

Elder Holland invites us as follows: “Whether we are facing a deep, Jonah-like catastrophe or the everyday challenges of our imperfect world, the invitation is the same: Forsake not your own mercy. Look to the sign of Jonah, the living Christ, He who rose from His three-day grave having conquered all—for you. Turn to Him. Believe in Him. Serve Him. Smile. For in Him, and Him alone, is found the full and happy healing from the Fall, healing we all so urgently need and humbly seek.”

During this time of celebrating Christ’s birth, I echo Elder Holland’s invitation. Forsake not your own mercy! Look to Him who angels declared to shepherds would be born to Mary. Look to Him who the wise men brought gifts. Look to Him who, in mortality, mercifully healed and taught all who would come. Reach out to Him and know that He is there, ready to do for you the same that He did for others. We are all worthy of His mercy.