Genesis 45:14-15
Question
Because of Joseph’s integrity, he forgave his brothers instead of punishing them.
How has maintaining your integrity by doing the right thing brought blessings to your life and the lives of your loved ones?
Scripture
14 And he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.
Genesis 45:14-15
Quote
Joseph, the son of Jacob, was a model of integrity. … Joseph’s integrity placed him among the greatest of our Heavenly Father’s sons. He did what was right and good; he was trustworthy and incorruptible, self-disciplined never to violate a trust.
Because of his integrity and righteousness, Joseph was favored and blessed of the Lord in every circumstance. His life is evidence that “all things work together for good to [those who] love God.” …
During the famine, Joseph’s brothers, who had sold him as a slave twenty-two years earlier, came to Egypt to obtain food. Not recognizing him, they bowed down to him because of his high office.
In a tender, touching scene, Joseph identified himself to his brothers and forgave them. I suppose he could have retaliated for their mistreatment of him by making them slaves, having them imprisoned, or even having them put to death. But he did what was right and good….
Through Joseph, the Lord preserved the children of Israel and provided a place in Egypt for them to flourish and increase.
This story is well known, but I urge you to read it again, focusing your attention on the integrity of Joseph and on the blessings it brought to him. He became the birthright son in the house of Israel and received an inheritance in the lands of the Americas. The Lord permitted him to prophesy of Moses, who would deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, and of Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restoration of the gospel in the latter days.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
Bethene Zetterquist Photography 