Back in 2007, Christopher Williams, a Salt Lake City native, made a decision that changed the rest of his life: He forgave the drunk driver who had killed his pregnant wife and two children in a car accident, according to the Deseret News.
Williams, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, chose to “unconditionally forgive” the 17-year-old driver, according to the Deseret News, because he knew it was what God and his late wife wanted him to do.
"Whoever has done this to us, I forgive them," Williams told Deseret News. "I don't care what the circumstances were, I forgive them."
Now, eight years after the horrific accident, Williams’ story will be seen by hundreds of people across the United States in the film “Just Let Go,” starring Henry Ian Cusick (“Lost,” “Scandal”). The film is due out Sept. 28, and will be a one night only event.
The movie, and Williams’ story, is a reminder for believers about the power of forgiveness, which many Jews and non-Jews are embracing through the Yom Kippur religious holiday. The holiday asks believers to repent for their sins and forgive others for theirs.
Forgiveness is something Christian scripture often encourages in its believers, too. For example, in Matthew 18 Peter asks Jesus about how often he should forgive people for their sins.
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but 77 times.’”
Similarly, the story told in Luke 17 also shows that forgiveness is an important part of having faith, according to Patheos.
“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them,” the verse reads. “Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
And Psalm 51 is a prayer dedicated to forgiveness where the narrator asks God to forgive him or her for their sins.
But forgiveness can be tough, especially in dire circumstances, like Williams’. Many believers had to learn how to forgive their partners after the Ashley Madison hack earlier this summer revealed to some couples that their partners had practiced infidelity and betrayed their lover’s trust.
Similarly, Andrea Jongbloed, the concurrent disorders peer support coordinator at the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, wrote for Relevant this week that she found it hard to forgive her friend who betrayed her trust.
But she soon learned it hurt more to resent her friend than it did to try to forgive her, making her see the importance of forgiveness.
“Resenting others or situations from the past is a dangerous place to be,” Jongbloed wrote. “It is very isolating to focus on distrust and resentment, while everyone else in the situation carries on with life. It is easy to become cynical, and it can make it hard for you to trust new friends in the future.”
Still, forgiveness doesn’t always mean someone shouldn’t face consequences and justice for his or her malevolent actions, according to Lohra Miller, the district attorney who represented Williams after the accident. She told the Deseret News that people shouldn’t be let off the hook for crimes even though they’re forgiven by the victim.
Williams agreed.
"Forgiveness is a source of power,” he said. “But it does not relieve us of consequences.”
For more on forgiveness:
The process of a heartfelt, effective apology
3 religions, 3 approaches to forgiveness in the aftermath of evil
Herb Scribner is a writer for Deseret News National. Send him an email at hscribner@deseretdigital.com or follow him on Twitter @herbscribner.