"Freedom in Reconciliation"
Adult Study Class with Elder Andrew Dunning
September 13th, 2026
To View or Download a PDF of the slides used in this adult study class, CLICK HERE
Complete Study Notes for this class are located below the video player.
To View or Download a printable version of these study notes, CLICK HERE
ADULT STUDY CLASS SUMMARY AT A GLANCE
Elder Andrew Dunning defines reconciliation as repairing, restoring, and reuniting people who have been separated or alienated. God initiates reconciliation through Jesus Christ and then entrusts His people with a ministry of reconciliation. Because God first reaches toward us, disciples are called to move toward peace rather than wait indefinitely for someone else to act.
The class carefully distinguishes forgiveness, reconciliation, and restored trust. Forgiveness releases revenge and leaves judgment with God, but it does not pretend that wrongdoing never happened. Reconciliation requires truth, repentance, accountability, and appropriate action from those involved. Trust may need to be rebuilt gradually, and loving boundaries remain appropriate when there has been betrayal, abuse, addiction, or repeated destructive behavior.
Reconciliation begins with honest self-examination: recognize the conflict, repent of one’s own contribution, release resentment to God, reach out appropriately, and restore what can be restored over time. The goal is not to solve every relationship at once but to take the next faithful step. Christ is the supreme example, praying for His persecutors and calling His followers to love enemies, pray for those who hurt them, and overcome generational cycles of hostility through grace.
TOP 7 KEYWORDS
Reconciliation, Forgiveness, Repentance, Accountability, Trust, Boundaries, Peace
TOP 7 KEY INSIGHTS
God came toward humanity through Christ and made believers ambassadors of reconciliation. Christian peacemaking is a response to grace already received.
Why It Matters: The first movement toward restored relationship is modeled by God, so disciples need not wait for the other person to act first.
Forgiveness releases revenge and entrusts judgment to God; reconciliation seeks repaired relationship and normally requires truth, repentance, and participation.
Why It Matters: A person can forgive from the heart without claiming that trust or relationship has already been restored.
A peacekeeper may avoid conflict, but a peacemaker humbly enters difficult conversations and works toward understanding, correction, restitution, and peace.
Why It Matters: Avoidance can preserve outward quiet while resentment and misunderstanding continue beneath the surface.
Reconciliation is not a cover for wrongdoing. Christlike love takes sin seriously while offering repentance as an invitation to freedom rather than a weapon of condemnation.
Why It Matters: Restoration becomes possible when people are loved enough to hear truth and given room to repent and change.
Forgiveness may be offered immediately, but restored trust can require demonstrated repentance, consistent choices, and time.
Why It Matters: Patience honors genuine change without demanding that the wounded person ignore wisdom, consequences, or safety.
Believers may forgive while limiting access, avoiding destructive topics, protecting vulnerable people, or requiring changed behavior before closeness returns.
Why It Matters: A boundary can reject repeated harm without rejecting the offender’s worth or the possibility of future restoration.
The gospel interrupted inherited hatred between Nephites and Lamanites, and the class described forgiveness changing families, communities, and cultures.
Why It Matters: One person’s Spirit-led decision to release resentment can open a path that previous generations could not see.
TOP 7 DAILY STEPS OF FAITH
Name one relationship that needs attention and honestly identify its present condition, the emotions you carry, and the specific injury involved.
Reflective Question: What am I avoiding, rehearsing, minimizing, or refusing to name?
Ask what belongs to you: harmful words, pride, gossip, refusal to listen, retaliation, avoidance, or waiting stubbornly for the other person to move first.
Reflective Question: What do I need to acknowledge before God and, when appropriate, confess to another person?
Choose forgiveness again whenever the injury returns to mind, surrendering punishment and final judgment to the Lord.
Reflective Question: Am I seeking freedom in Christ, or continuing to rehearse the offense until resentment controls me?
Talk to God about the person before talking about the person to others. Ask for love, wisdom, protection, truth, and the appropriate next step.
Reflective Question: How might prayer change my heart, words, expectations, and view of the other person?
When it is safe and wise, initiate contact through a conversation, letter, visit, apology, or offer to listen rather than waiting for the other person.
Reflective Question: What is one peaceful action I can take this week without trying to solve everything at once?
Separate forgiveness from immediate trust, and set limits that protect against betrayal, abuse, addiction, or repeated destructive behavior.
Reflective Question: What boundary would allow me to act in love without enabling further harm?
Make restitution where needed and allow trust to grow through repentance, accountability, consistency, and time.
Reflective Question: Am I demanding instant perfection, or am I faithfully watching for evidence of honest change?
GOD REVEALED
This class reveals a God who does not remain distant from broken relationships. In Jesus Christ, He moves first, bears the cost of sin, refuses to count trespasses against those who return, and calls His people into a ministry of reconciliation. God joins mercy with truth: He loves sinners without approving destruction, offers repentance as a gift, and makes restoration possible without denying accountability. He requires His children to release revenge because judgment belongs to Him, yet He does not require them to pretend that harm is harmless or that trust needs no rebuilding. God grants agency, teaches wise boundaries, receives honest repentance, and patiently works through time. Christ’s prayer for His persecutors shows the depth of divine love, while His command to go and be reconciled shows that grace produces movement. God can free a wounded heart from resentment, transform enemies into neighbors, and interrupt cycles of hostility that have lasted for generations. He comes to us so that we may come to Him, then works through us to bring peace to one another.
SCRIPTURES IN THIS STUDY
DIRECT SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Andrew grounds the class in God’s work through Christ and the calling given to reconciled believers.
Why It Matters: Reconciliation is not merely a private benefit; it becomes a ministry carried into broken relationships and communities.
Jesus commands movement toward reconciliation rather than passive waiting.
Why It Matters: Worship and relationship cannot be separated; disciples are called to take the appropriate first step toward peace.
Andrew distinguishes active peacemaking from merely keeping quiet or avoiding conflict.
Why It Matters: God’s children resemble Him when they humbly work through conflict in pursuit of genuine peace.
The Lord exposes unforgiveness within the believing community and commands disciples to surrender judgment to Him.
Why It Matters: Forgiveness frees believers from the corrosive work of rehearsed resentment even when consequences and boundaries remain.
The baptismal covenant teaches believers to see even wounded or offending people as souls who need God’s grace.
Why It Matters: Reconciliation grows when disciples move from labeling an enemy to recognizing a person in need of truth, comfort, and redemption.
Jesus prays for those causing His suffering and becomes the supreme example of forgiveness under injustice.
Why It Matters: The power to forgive is rooted not in minimizing pain but in receiving and reflecting the love of Christ.
GENERAL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Andrew points to the Lord’s framework for taking wrongdoing seriously within the church while seeking repentance, protection, accountability, and restoration.
Why It Matters: Rules serve their divine purpose only when applied with truth, love, and a genuine desire to recover people rather than condemn them.
The class connects patience and refusal of revenge with the need for appropriate boundaries when offenses are serious or repeated.
Why It Matters: Forgiveness does not require immediate trust, unsafe access, or denial of destructive behavior.
The discussion of forgiving seventy times seven emphasizes repeated release whenever remembered pain returns.
Why It Matters: Forgiveness may be a continuing spiritual decision rather than a single emotion or moment.
Jesus commands His followers to love their enemies, bless those who curse them, do good, and pray for those who persecute them.
Why It Matters: Prayer turns attention toward Christ and can reshape the wounded person’s heart even before the relationship changes.
The class recalls the Lord’s declaration that vengeance belongs to Him.
Why It Matters: Releasing revenge does not deny justice; it places final judgment in God’s hands and frees the believer to pursue peace.
Leave a Reply