What Coco Gauff and W.W. Phelps Taught Me About Forgiveness

 In this short yet powerful episode, Clare shares two very different stories —one from the French Open and one from early Latter-day Saint church history —that both shed light on forgiveness, grace, and choosing to respond like Christ. From Coco Gauff extending an olive branch to W.W. Phelps returning to full fellowship, these stories remind us of the power of peacemaking in a world quick to judge. 

Shownotes (clickable links)

 Press conference after match

 W.W. Phelps story 

Praise to the Man Hymn

Transcript

Fair Use & Disclaimer
This podcast episode may contain brief quotes from external sources, used in a positive and respectful manner for discussion, education, and commentary. These references fall under fair use as they are not used for commercial gain, do not replace the original works, and are presented with proper context and attribution.

The views and opinions expressed in this episode are our own and those of our guests. They do not necessarily reflect the official doctrine, beliefs, or positions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Transcript

Candice Buchanan:
Welcome to the Sisters: Latter-Day Voices podcast. I'm Candice.

Clare Craner:
And I’m Clare. Today I’m going to be talking about two very different stories—one from professional tennis and one from early Church history. But both got me thinking about grace, forgiveness, and what it means to respond like Christ.

The first story—my sister-in-law was telling me about the French Open final in Paris. I don’t follow tennis very well, but I’ve been reading—what’s the guy’s name? He’s bald...

Candice Buchanan:
Andre Agassi?

Clare Craner:
Yes! I haven’t finished his book yet, but I’ve been reading it, and it’s fascinating. When you get to that level of tennis—professional level—it’s just so intense.

Anyway, my sister-in-law was telling me about the French Open final. The match was between Coco Gauff, the American tennis player currently ranked number two in the world, and Aryna Sabalenka, who’s from Belarus and ranked number one. They played on June 7th of this year—and Coco won.

Candice Buchanan:
Okay.

Clare Craner:
So I watched the press conference held right after. Aryna was being asked all these questions by journalists, and I don’t know if they just don’t give the players time to cool off, but it’s right after the match. And the journalists—wow—they were just brutal.

And you and I both watch the Formula 1 series on Netflix, and I’ve noticed journalists there can be so cutthroat.

Candice Buchanan:
They really are.

Clare Craner:
Right? They ask such hard questions.

Candice Buchanan:
Because they want a story. I think it would be so hard to be an athlete. You already have high emotions, then you have to do an interview immediately after, and still be professional and say all the right things. That would be really difficult.

Clare Craner:
I don’t know a ton about tennis, but in F1 they’re always worried about keeping their seat with the team. So it’s like: “Why didn’t you do better this time?” “Are you worried about your seat?” “Do you think you’ll be replaced?” They ask brutal questions constantly.

So just being an athlete at that level takes a completely different mindset. You have to prepare yourself: “They’re going to be mean. They’re going to be critical.” And these journalists were mean.

One of them basically asked—though not in these exact words—“Why did you suck compared to your opponent?” And Aryna tried to answer calmly, but then she said this, and it’s what got her in trouble. She said:

“I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes. Kind of like from easy balls.”

And that quote just created a firestorm. The next day—June 8th—there was huge backlash. Media criticism, fans going after her, commentators attacking her—it was just relentless. She was being canceled immediately, like: “How dare you say that about your opponent?”

Candice Buchanan:
It’s crazy to me that that is the kind of thing people latch on to. In today’s social media age, one little mistake just blows up so quickly. And it’s kind of sad how much we feed on it.

Clare Craner:
It really is. But later, Aryna publicly apologized. She also privately apologized to Coco. She admitted she was unprofessional, that it was emotion-driven, and she realized it was wrong.

But what stood out was Coco’s response. She could’ve kept the fire going. She could’ve said, “She didn’t give me credit. I played better!” But instead, she said something along the lines of: “That’s great if she apologized. Let’s move on.”

And she did.

A couple of weeks later, on June 28th, Coco posted this quote:

“The olive branch was extended and accepted. We’re good. So you guys should be too.”

And she posted a TikTok of the two of them dancing, basically saying, “It’s over, move on.”

How cool is that? She chose to be the bigger person. She chose to be a peacemaker. She did exactly what Jesus would’ve done. Everyone else wanted to cancel Aryna—but Coco responded with grace. And I just thought that was such an incredible story.

Candice Buchanan:
Mhm.

Clare Craner:
Now, my dad was telling me this story—I don’t know if it’s a well-known Church story—but he said, “You should look into this.” So I did, and I’ll link the article in our notes.

It’s about W.W. Phelps. He wrote several Church hymns, and he was a printer and publisher living in New York during the time of Joseph Smith. He heard the gospel, believed right away, and was baptized. He was a great contributor—he helped print Church materials and was trusted by Church leadership.

He was there when the Saints were persecuted and kicked out of Jackson County, Missouri. His family helped others relocate. For a while, he even lived with Joseph and Emma.

But in 1836, he got into trouble. He used Church funds to buy land for himself and John Whitmer. A Church council met, and by 1838, he was disfellowshipped.

That’s when he flipped. Instead of being a strong advocate for the Church, he became a strong opponent. He helped influence Missouri’s extermination order, which eventually led to the Haun’s Mill massacre, where 18 men and boys were killed. He also gave false testimony that contributed to Joseph Smith’s imprisonment in Liberty Jail.

So—very serious things.

Eventually, he hit rock bottom. He realized what he had done and decided to write to Joseph Smith, apologizing and asking for forgiveness.

Weeks went by. He hadn’t heard back and didn’t know if he ever would. But here’s what the article says:

“For several long weeks, Phelps awaited the Prophet’s reply. In the meantime, in Nauvoo, Illinois, a miracle was taking place. This miracle bespeaks the Christlike character of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that he taught his followers.

Joseph Smith read Phelps’ letter to Church leaders—many of whom had shared a prison cell with him. Then, united in their decision, the Prophet called together the Saints—widows, orphans, victims of persecution—and read them the letter. Afterwards, the Prophet asked for a vote: Who would be willing to forgive Brother Phelps and welcome him back in full fellowship?

Remarkably, every hand shot up.”

And then Joseph wrote back to Phelps and said:

“Come on, dear brother, since the war is past, for friends at first are friends again at last.”

Just like the tennis story—this is on a whole other level—but Joseph and the Saints had every right not to forgive. Yet they chose grace. They chose to be like Christ.

And here’s the coolest part—W.W. Phelps later wrote Praise to the Man, that hymn we all sing about Joseph Smith. When you read the lyrics again, knowing their history, it hits differently.

Forgiveness changes people. When we respond like Christ, we choose healing. I hold on to grudges sometimes, thinking, “They don’t deserve it.” But if someone like Phelps could be forgiven—then I can forgive, too.

Candice Buchanan:
We all can. Those are both really good stories—and so needed in today’s world. People get so heated, especially behind a screen. They’re bolder, harsher.

Clare Craner:
Exactly. Like the Prophet said in Conference recently—be a peacemaker.

Candice Buchanan:
I love it. That’s a great message.

Clare Craner:
All right, that’s all for today. Thank you for listening, and we’ll see you next—

Candice & Clare (together):
Week!

Candice Buchanan:
Bye!