Today's reading focused on church disciplinary councils. I for one hope to forever avoid this blessed event. My dad always returned from these spiritually and emotionally drained. I'm guessing mostly because it is just hard to see people who are a) trying to do the right thing, but keep getting their hand caught in some sort of sinful cookie jar, or b) have to deal with people that have been caught doing something wrong and just wanted to get away with it without suffering the consequences.
However, the reading was insightful in that it reminded me that even though the thought of a disciplinary council is scary, it isn't to punish or blame the sinner. It is to allow them the opportunity to repent and feel the love of our Savior once again. That being said, I still hope to never be part of a church disciplinary council. I would rather avoid sin than have to go through the repentance process. My mom teases me that the only reason I will get to the celestial kingdom is because I am afraid of getting in trouble, and not because I genuinely want to be the best person I can be. She is mostly right, but only in the sense that I hate getting caught doing something wrong, and I always feel guilty when I do. So rather than live with that, I just do the right thing to keep myself from having to "fess up."
I am grateful for the gospel and the opportunity it provides us to repent and make up for the things that we do wrong. Reading about church disciplinary councils helped me to realize that they aren't instituted to air dirty laundry in public, or chastise someone for sinning, but rather to help those who are caught in a web of sin to find their way back to Christ.
