Chris Williams: Forgiveness and the Worth of a Soul
All In
DB Podcasts
4.8 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 20 November 2019
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On Feb. 9, 2007, Chris Williams and his family were driving home from a night out together when their vehicle was struck by a 17-year-old drunk driver. That night, Chris lost his wife, Michelle, who was pregnant with their fifth child; his son Ben; and his daughter, Anna. Three days later, Chris Williams spoke publicly for the first time following the accident and extended unconditional forgiveness to that 17-year-old young man, a decision he has stood by for more than 12 years.
"Yes, He was there to help me. Yes, He was there to make everything okay and to start to heal me. But the next invitation after I let it go was, would I help Him in bringing this young man home?"
Show Notes:
2:29- Life Before the Accident
7:00- Life After the Accident
8:28- Blending Families
10:14- “What She Would Do”
13:46- Having Walked In Those Shoes
17:43- Lessons Learned on the Scene of the Accident
23:34- “I’m Sorry”
25:45- Conversations with God
30:46- Meeting Cameron
33:36- Forgiveness- A Source of Power
37:08- Invitation to Act
38:38- The Atonement Covers Every Type of Situation
42:02- On the Other Side
46:56- What Does It Mean To Be “All In” the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On today's episode, you will hear from Chris Williams, a devoted father who in February 2007, |
| 0:08.0 | lost half of his family when a drunk driver hit their vehicle. Chris's message of forgiveness spread |
| 0:15.0 | in the days, weeks, and months following the accident. And in his book, Let It Go, he tells the |
| 0:21.4 | story of that forgiveness. His book is one of many you can access on Bookshelf Plus, and you can |
| 0:28.4 | begin a free 30-day trial of Bookshelf Plus by visiting desertbook.com slash all-in. |
| 0:36.9 | Many of us are familiar with the story in Victor Hugo's timeless novel, |
| 0:42.2 | Les Miserables, where Jean-Valjans shows up to a bishop's house asking for a place to stay. |
| 0:49.2 | Valjans still silver from the bishop and then runs away in the night, but he is caught by police |
| 0:55.6 | who return him to the bishop's home. In arguably one of the most powerful examples of forgiveness |
| 1:02.8 | in literature, the bishop tells the police that he gave the silver to Jean-Valjans as a gift. |
| 1:10.0 | After the police left, the bishop says to Valjans, forget not. Never forget that you have promised |
| 1:17.6 | me to use this silver to become an honest man. Jean-Valjans, my brother, you belong no longer to |
| 1:24.9 | evil but to good. It is your soul that I am buying for you. In many ways, this is the same gift |
| 1:33.2 | Chris Williams offered the 17-year-old drunk driver who hit his family, killing his pregnant wife |
| 1:40.4 | and two of their children. In many ways, it was a soul that Chris Williams was buying. |
| 1:47.6 | This is All-in, an LDS living podcast where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be |
| 1:54.0 | all-in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I'm Morgan Jones and I am so honored to have Chris Williams |
| 2:00.3 | here with me today. Chris, welcome. Thank you so much for having me. Well, I have admired you |
| 2:06.6 | from afar for a very long time. I remember I read your book when it first came out and |
| 2:12.0 | have always been so impressed by your story. And so I appreciate your example and your willingness |
| 2:19.2 | to be here and to share this with us today. Thank you. It's just an honor to be here. It's an |
| 2:24.9 | honor to disparoitness of Christ and that he's accessible to all. You have always done a good job |
... |
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