family members of a person who is physically ill. Modern versions are performed within the family by a family elder, or by the individual alone. Popular recognition The need to forgive is widely recognized by the public, but they are often at a loss for ways to accomplish it. For example, in a large representative sampling of American people on various religious topics in 1988, the Gallup Organization found that 94% said it was important to forgive, but 85% said they needed some outside help to be able to forgive. However, not even regular prayer was found to be effective. Akin to forgiveness is mercy, so even if a person is not able to complete the forgiveness process they can still show mercy, especially when so many wrongs are done out of weakness rather than malice. The Gallup poll revealed that the only thing that was effective was "meditative prayer". Forgiveness as a tool has been extensively used in restorative justice programs, after the abolition of apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa), run for victims and perpetrators of Rwandan genocide, the violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and Northern Ireland conflict, which has also been documented in film, Beyond Right and Wrong: Stories of Justice and Forgiveness (2012). Forgiveness theory can be found and applied to religion, relationships, health, individual, interventions, and much more. Forgiveness is an important trait to understand and possess because it is something that everyone has to experience in their both personal and professional life. Forgiveness is associated with the theory of emotion because it is largely drawn from a person's emotional connection and level with the situation. Forgiveness is something that most people are taught to understand and practice at a young age. Because forgiveness is an emotion there is not an exact originator of it but there are several theorists, psychologists, and sociologists who link it to other theories or apply theories to help understand the concept. The philosopher Joseph Butler (Fifteen Sermons) defined forgiveness as "overcoming of resentment, the overcoming of moral hatred, as a speech act, and as forbearance". Forgiveness in relationships Forgiveness in marriage is an important aspect in a marriage. When two individuals are able to forgive each other it results in a long happy marriage. Forgiveness can help prevent problems from accruing in the married couple's future. In a 2005 study, researchers were interested in figuring out whether forgiveness is