Gospel Principles
Unit 6: The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Chapter 19: Repentance
Concept 3: How Do We Repent?
"Elder Spencer W. Kimball declared: "There is no royal road to repentance, no privileged path to forgiveness. Every man must follow the same course whether he be rich or poor, educated or untrained, tall or short, prince or pauper, king or commoner.... There is only one way. It is a long road spiked with thorns and briars and pitfalls and problems" (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 149)
Discussion
Why must we repent of our sins?
We Must Recognize Our Sins
The first step of repentance is to admit to ourselves that we have sinned. If we do not admit this, we cannot repent.
Alma counseled his son Corianton, who had been unfaithful in his missionary calling and had committed serious sins: "Let your sins trouble you, with that trouble with shall bring you down unto repentance.... Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins" (Alma 42:29-30). The Scriptures advise us further not to justify our sinful practices (Luke 16:15-16 "15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.").
We cannot hide any act of our lives from ourselves or from the Lord.
We Must Feel Sorrow for Our Sins
In addition to recognizing our sins, we must feel sincere sorrow for what we have done. We must feel that our sins are terrible. We must want to unload and abandon them. The Scriptures tell us, "All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins ... shall be received by baptism in to the his church." (D&C 20:37).
We Must Forsake Our Sins
Our sincere sorrow should lead us to forsake (stop) our sins. If we have stolen something, we will steal no more. If we have lied, we will lie no more. If we have committed adultery, we will stop.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).
We Must Confess Our Sins
Confessing our sins is very important. The Lord has commanded us to confess our sins. Confession relieves a heavy burden from the sinner. The Lord has promised, "I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts;" (D&C 61:2).
We must confess all our sins to the Lord. In addition, we must confess serious sins, such as adultery, fornication, and robbery, which might affect our standing in the Church, to the proper priesthood authority. If we have sinned against another person, we should confess to the person we have injured. Some less serous sins involve no one but ourselves and the Lord. These may be confessed privately to the Lord.
We Must Make Restitution
Part of repentance is to make restitution. This means that as much as possible we must make right any wrong that we have done. For example, a thief should give back what he has stolen. A liar should make the truth known. A gossip who has slandered the character of a person should work to restore the good name of the person he has harmed. As we do these things, God will not mention our sins to us when we are judged. (Ezekiel 33:15-16 "15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.")
We Must Forgive Others
A vital part of repentance is to forgive those who have sinned against us. The Lord will not forgive us unless our hearts are fully cleansed of all hate, bitterness, and bad feelings against other people (3 Nephi 13:14-15 "14 For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.").
"Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin." (D&C 64:9).
We Must Keep the Commandments of God
To make our repentance complete we must keep the commandments of the Lord (D&C 1:32 "Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;) We are not fully repentant if we do not pay tithes or keep the Sabbath day holy or obey the Word of Wisdom. We are not repentant if we do not sustain the authorities of the church and do not love the Lord and our fellowmen. If we do not pray and are unkind to other, we are surely not repentant. When we repent, our life changes.
Elder Kimball said: "Repentance means not only to convict yourselves of the horror of the sin, but to confess it, abandon it, and restore to all who have been damaged to the total extent possible; then spend the balance of your lives trying to live the commandments of the Lord "So he can eventually pardon you and cleanse you" (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p 200).
Discussion
Discuss the steps of repentance."