Spencer W.
Kimball, “The
Gospel of Repentance,” Tambuli, Mar. 1983, 1
We are so grateful that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with the gospel of
repentance.
It is central to all that makes up the gospel plan. Repentance
is the
Lord’s law of growth, his principle of development, and
his plan for happiness. We are deeply grateful that we have his definite
promise that where there has been sin and error, they can be followed by
sincere and sufficient repentance that will in turn be rewarded with
forgiveness.
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest,” said the Master. (Matt. 11:28.)
The
glorious thing about the whole matter of repentance is that the
scriptures are as full of the Lord’s assurances
that he will forgive as they are full of his commands for
us to repent, to change our lives and bring them into full conformity with his
wonderful teachings.
God is good. He is eager to forgive. He wants us to perfect ourselves and
maintain control of ourselves. He does not want Satan and others to control our
lives. We must learn that keeping our Heavenly Father’s commandments represents
the
only path to total control of ourselves, the only way to find
joy, truth, and fulfillment in this life and in eternity.
Thus, the Lord has told us who have been given these truths anew in this
last dispensation to “say nothing but repentance unto this
generation; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according
to my commandments.” (D&C 6:9.) “Wherefore, you
are called to cry repentance unto this people.” (D&C
18:14.) And when the early Saints were
going into Missouri, the Lord instructed the leaders:
“Let them preach by the way, and bear testimony of the truth in all
places, and call upon the rich, the high and the
low, and the poor to repent.
“And let them build up churches, inasmuch as the inhabitants of
the
earth will repent.” (D&C 58:47-48.)
Today is our day for repentance. It is a day for each of
us to take stock of our situations and to change our lives as necessary.
When we make mistakes, we need to travel the road of
repentance.
We need to have a personal testimony of this miracle that
brings forgiveness. Each one of us needs to understand that repentance
can be properly applied in his life as well as in the lives of
others. Thus, the mission of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is to call people everywhere to repentance
so that they might know the joys of gospel living. The
cry of repentance is to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
We make no apology for raising our voices to a world that is ripening in
sin. The adversary is subtle. He is cunning. He knows that he cannot
induce good men and women to immediately do major evils, so he moves slyly,
whispering half-truths until he has his intended captives following him.
Because the age-old sins continue with us today, the Lord has spoken
anew:
“Thou shalt not kill. …
“Thou shalt not steal. …
“Thou shalt not lie. …
“Thou shalt not commit adultery. …
“Thou shalt not speak evil of thy neighbor. …
“If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments.
“And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of
thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them. …
“Thou shalt not be proud in thy heart. …
“Thou shalt not be idle. …
“Thou shalt live together in love. …
“Thou shalt take the things which thou hast received, which
have been given unto thee in my scriptures for a law, to be my law to govern my
church;
“And he that doeth according to these things shall be saved, and he that
doeth them not shall be damned if he so continue.” (D&C
42:18, 30, 40-60.)
Sexual sins are some of the great sins of
our generation. Tragically, movies, television, popular music, books, magazines
all seem to glamorize sexual perversions. They seem to preach that nothing
is holy, not even marriage vows. The lustful woman is the
heroine and is justified; the lustful hero is made out to be incapable of
doing wrong. It reminds us of Isaiah who said, “Wo unto them that call
evil good, and good evil.” (Isa.
5:20.)
Our Heavenly Father’s fundamental teachings are the same yesterday,
today, and forever. Even though the world has turned to much evil, the
Lord’s church cannot and will not change the Master’s
teachings.
How grateful we are that our Heavenly Father has given us the gift of
repentance.
And how sad it is if we do not recognize that each day is the time for us to
make needed improvements: “But wo unto him that has the law given, yea,
that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth
them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for
awful is his state!” (2 Ne. 9:27.)
As repentance gets under way, there must be a deep consciousness of
guilt, and in that consciousness of guilt may come suffering to the
mind, the spirit, and sometimes even to the body. In order to
live with themselves, people who transgress must follow one or the
other of two alternatives. The one is to sear their conscience or
dull their sensitivity with mental tranquilizers so that their transgression
may be continued. Those who choose this alternative eventually become calloused
and lose their desire to repent. The other alternative is to permit
remorse to lead one to total sorrow, then to repentance, and
finally on to eventual forgiveness.
Remember this, that forgiveness can never come without repentance. And repentance
can never come until one has bared his soul and admitted his actions without
excuses or rationalizations. He must admit to himself that he has sinned,
without the slightest minimization of the offense or
rationalizing of its seriousness, or without soft-pedaling its gravity. He must
admit that his sin is as big as it really is and not call a kilogram a gram.
Those persons who choose to meet the issue and transform their lives may
find repentance the harder road at first, put they will find
it the infinitely more desirable path as they taste of its fruits.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation.” (2 Cor. 7:10.) Once we
understand how we have injured ourselves and others and are deeply sorry, we
are ready to follow the process that will rid us of
the
effects of the sin. The next step in the process of
repentance
is to abandon the sin. The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph
Smith, “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold,
he will confess them and forsake them.” (D&C
58:43.) And to the adulteress, the
Master said, “Go, and sin no more.” (John
8:11.)
Prayer is important throughout the entire process of repentance, but it is
vital now. In the process of abandoning a sin, it is often necessary to
abandon persons, places, things, and situations that are associated with the
transgression. This is fundamental. Substitution of a good environment
for a bad can hedge the way between the repenting person
and his past sin.
The next step, confession of the sin, is a very
important aspect of repentance. We must confess and admit our sins to ourselves and
then seriously begin the process of repentance. We must
also confess our sins to our Heavenly Father. Especially grave errors such as
sexual sins must be confessed to the bishop as well.
One begins the process by going to the Lord in “mighty
prayer” as did Enos. Then, if appropriate, one goes to the bishop. The
Lord has a consistent, orderly plan to bless us in this great law of
growth and development, the law of repentance. Every
member of the Church is given a bishop or branch president who through his
very priesthood ordination or calling is a “judge in Israel.” In these matters,
the
bishop is our best earthly friend. He is one who works with the Spirit of
the
Lord in blessing our lives and he keeps all matters completely confidential.
After these steps of sorrowing for sin, abandoning sin, and
confessing sin, comes the great principle of restitution. One
seeks to restore insofar as possible that which was damaged. If he has stolen,
he returns that which was stolen. If he has injured through lies or
evil-speaking, he does all that is possible to establish the truth.
Perhaps one of the reasons murder is so serious is that having taken a life, the
murderer cannot restore it. Restitution in full is not possible. Similarly, it
is not possible to give back robbed virtue. But as fully as he can, the
truly repentant person will make restitution. The prophet Ezekiel
taught, “If the wicked … give again that he had robbed, walk in the
statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live.” (Ezek.
33:15.)
The last step, doing the will of the Father, is vital.
The
Lord informed the Prophet Joseph Smith in these last days:
“I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of
allowance;
“Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of
the
Lord shall be forgiven.” (D&C 1:31-32.)
When one seeks to bring his life into full conformity with our Heavenly
Father’s teachings, then his life of good works is evidence of
his repentance. The Savior truly said:
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles? …
“A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. …
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt.
7:16, 18, 20.)
When necessary, we seek a total transformation in thoughts, ideals,
standards, and actions in order that we may fulfill the assignment given
us by the Savior: “I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your
Father who is in heaven is perfect.” (3
Ne. 12:48.) This step requires no holding back. If one
neglects his tithing, misses his meetings, breaks the Sabbath, or fails
in his prayers and other responsibilities, he is not completely repentant. The
Lord knows, as do we, the degree of full and
sufficient compliance we make with these fundamental aspects of the law of
repentance,
which is really God’s law of progress and fulfillment.
This transformation should cause us to be more concerned about others, even
to wanting others to have the blessings we enjoy. In fact, the
Lord has lovingly told us that our sins are forgiven more readily as we bring
souls unto him and remain diligent in bearing testimony to the world. (See D&C
31:5; D&C
84:61; James
5:20.)
Repentance is a glorious and merciful law. Millions of
our Heavenly Father’s children throughout the history of
the
world have successfully applied this wonderful principle, to their benefit and
joy. Shall we not go and do likewise? Millions of Saints have found
peace along this path and lived beautiful and satisfying and abundant lives
with the gospel of repentance as their
guide to personal improvement and to harmony with God.
But if we do not repent, then the Lord clearly lets us know that
there will be discipline and a denial of blessings and
advancement. The Lord teaches that he cannot forgive people in their
sins; he can only save them from the effects of
their abandoned sins. The Lord clearly says, “My blood shall not
cleanse them if they hear me not.” (D&C
29:17.) Hear in this instance means to accept
and abide his teachings.
“Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must
repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of
God, for no unclean thing can dwell in his presence.” (Moses
6:57.) The great and wonderful and miraculous
benefit of the Savior’s atonement cannot have its full saving impact on us
unless we repent. This, the Master lovingly yet candidly lets us know
in unmistakably clear detail:
“Therefore, I command you to repent—repent, lest … your sufferings be
sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear
you know not.
“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not
suffer even as I;
“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of
all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to
suffer both body and spirit …
“Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished
my preparations unto the children of men.” (D&C
19:15-19.)
How grateful we should be that the Lord finished his preparation in
our behalf! Now it is up to us to finish our preparations in our own behalf—by
partaking of his loving forgiveness, which is the reward he eagerly
desires to give all who truly repent.
If we have felt disheartened or inadequate, we need only turn to our
Heavenly Father and plead for his help. He will give it! It is a promise he has
made to us that he will not break. Thus, so long as the Spirit is
striving with us, there is always hope. But when we say “This is the
way I wish to live” or “I am different” or “God made me this way” or “My
parents or upbringing are responsible,” then we have arrived at a tragic state
in our relationship with ourselves and with God.
If we will earnestly seek our Heavenly Father’s help and apply the
steps that constitute the doctrine of repentance, then we
will find peace and joy both in this life and in eternity.
It is our great opportunity to experience the peace of
repentance
and the joy of forgiveness, and then to proclaim that
pathway to others. Once we have found that peace, we are to bear witness of
it and teach others how they can obtain it. This we do by being long-suffering,
gentle, meek, and by having the pure love of Christ for all we
meet. This is our calling as Latter-day Saints. This is our great joy and our
blessing.
Ideas for Home Teachers
Some Points of Emphasis: You may wish to make these
points in your home teaching discussion:
1. God is eager to forgive. He wants us to perfect ourselves and maintain
control of ourselves.
2. Repentance starts with a deep consciousness of guilt. It can
never come until we have admitted our actions without excuses or rationalizations.
3. In the process of abandoning a sin, it is often necessary to
abandon persons, places, things, and situations that are associated with the
transgression.
4. We must confess and admit our sins to ourselves and to Heavenly Father.
Especially grave errors must be confessed to the bishop as well.
5. As fully as we can, we should make restitution. Then a life of
good works is evidence of our repentance.
6. The Lord cannot forgive us in our sins; he can only save us
from our abandoned sins. The Savior’s atonement cannot have its
full saving impact on us unless we repent.
7. If we earnestly seek our Heavenly Father’s help and apply the
steps of repentance, we will find peace and joy both in this life and in
eternity.
Discussion Helps:
1. Relate your personal feelings or experiences about the blessings of
repentance.
Ask family members to share their feelings.
2. Are there scriptural verses or quotations in this article that the
family might read aloud and discuss?
3. Would this discussion be better after a talk with the head of
the
household before the visit?
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