Whenever I feel guilt, is it because of sin?

Or, is feeling guilty, always, to some degree, a measure of guilt from sin?

The words to a hymn written by Eliza R. Snow's (How Great the Wisdom and the Love,” Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no. 195) has me thinking about this question:

His precious blood he freely spilt;
His life he freely gave,
A sinless sacrifice for guilt,
A dying world to save.

In the second verse (quoted above) we read the line, "A sinless sacrifice for guilt," talking about Jesus Christ's atonement and one purpose that He gave His life: to spare us guilt or make it possible that we need not feel guilt because of any sin we have committed.

We have all experienced guilt.  "Do you feel guilty?" We might be asked if, for example, we have stollen a candy bar from the local supermarket.  My question, however, is: do we always feel guilt, only, because we have sinned?  We all know that it is wrong to steel.  We all know that intentionally making a choice that we know is wrong and that we should not do, is sin (we can talk about the legality of things some other time, but to do so now would only confuse the issue...  Regardless, the fact remains that being against the law does not necessarily factor into one's morality...  We can address that at some other time--now stop confusing the issue; I told you that would happen...).

Let's think of times that you might feel "guilt" but you didn't sin.  Let's say that you embarrassed your friend and she started crying...you feel guilty about it, but did you sin?  I am afraid that this may sound judgmental because all that we have to look at is my description of the facts at hand, but, yes, the reason you feel guilt about making your friend feel embarrassed and cry is because you have sinned.  If you start to justify yourself when we're only talking about the scenario that I've written, then I suggest that maybe you (you that are feeling guilty!) need to revisit something in your own past and ask forgiveness of someone...

Let's say that you feel guilt over stubbing your toe on the sidewalk some morning.  Well...stop it!  There is no reason to feel guilty over stubbing your own toe.  In fact, I am going to tell you something else: you aren't feeling "guilt."  You maybe feel embarrassed.  Maybe feel like you shouldn't have done that, but don't say you feel guilt.  You feel something and you know that feeling guilt makes you, at least, feel uncomfortable, but that's not what you feel when you simply stub your toe.  Let's reserve that word, "guilt," for times that one (possibly you or possibly someone else...) has sinned and not for silly acts of embarrassment.  The answer that I've just given to my own question is: No, you don't feel guilt for a reason other that for sin (but, didn't you just give an answer to your own question by just restating the original question in a statement form where the question is ruled out and one is left with just the answer to the question itself?  Well, that is what one does when it's a single-person-dialogue, otherwise known as a monologue, and the actor asks himself a question: he or she simply answers her/himself.  Not satisfying enough?  Take the question and start your own dialogue with somebody that you trust enough to help you discover the answer to your own question--be warned though, my answer simply came about by changing the question (I could just reword the question to make it not even need to be answered: If I only ever feel actual guilt because of sin, what is it called when I act in such a way that I think I am experiencing built, but, in fact am not?).

Now we can get at the meat of the issue: Why do we feel guilt because of sin?

I was told last Sunday what one person believed and it coincided with my thoughts and feelings as to the reason we feel guilt...  It is because...

Why do you think?

Let your answers come flooding in.  Take down that blogspot server because of too many people trying to post at the same time!

JPS