speaking in church

Today I gave a talk on repentance in sacrament meeting. I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but I think it went ok. I had a gentleman approach me and ask for my talk, so I hope those scriptures and talks I referred to help him through the repentance process and ultimately closer to Christ. That was my one mission from Bishop- bring people to Christ. Tall order, there!

 Repentance:

What is sin?

James said: “ To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” John described sin as “all unrightousness” and “the transgression of the law.”

Because of the fall of Adam, all of us are going to live a life where we sin. In Moses, the Lord tells us that “All men, everywhere, must repent.” Except for Jesus Christ who was perfect, all of us are required to ask for forgiveness through Christ’s atoning sacrifice.

President Spencer W. Kimball said: “ 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.”

What is repentance?

Repentance is the way provided for us to become free of our sins and be forgiven. When we delay the repentance process our spiritual growth can be slowed down or come to a complete stop.

 Ever face the question “Can ye feel so now?” and not be able to answer that with a strong affirming yes? I bet if you took a step back and really evaluated your thoughts and actions, there is something hindering your growth in the gospel that could be solved by asking for forgiveness, or by forgiving someone who has wronged you.

·         Recognizing sin

In order to repent we must first admit that we have sinned. I really like what Alma says as he counsels his son Corianton, who was unfaithful in his missionary service and commited serious sins. I’m going to read the scripture and then break it down for you.

“Let your sins trouble you- When you have a broken and contrite spirit and are truly looking to do the Lord’s will, it will honestly bother you when your actions and His will are not perfectly aligned.

“with that trouble which shall bring you down to repentance- In order to get back in line with The father’s will, you will need to have a change of heart, and want to pray for forgiveness and the strength needed to forsake your sins.

“do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point” He’s telling you to fully own up to your sins. Don’t justify yourself. Don’t apologize and add the “but”…. I mostly follow the Word of Wisdom, but I occasionally have a cappuccino. I only watch movies with partial nudity, but I don’t look at pornography on the internet. I participate in my calling, but I don’t go out of my way to go above what is being asked of me.

·         Feeling sorrow for our sins

In addition to recognizing our sins we need to feel bad and know that our sins were terrible. Godly sorrow makes you want to repent. Not only is repentance necessary for salvation but it allows the refiner’s fire to work in us. Whereas guilt just makes you feel less than, and mope about- not really doing anything to correct yourself.

·          Confessing our sins

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, but serious sins, such as adultery, fornication, homosexual relations, spouse or child abuse, and the sale or use of illegal drugs, which might affect our standing in the Church, must also be taken up with the Bishop.

What should we do when we know of someone else’s sins?

Elder Lynn A Mickelsen of the seventy has some great ideas:

1. Don’t judge. Leave judgment to the Lord, the perfect judge. Let us not examine or explore others’ sins but look to their divinity. It is not ours to delve into others’ problems but rather to perceive the breadth of their goodness.

 2. We must forgive. Although we may have been personally wounded, the Lord said, “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.” 11

 3. Forget. A relentless memory can canker the most resilient spirit. Leave it alone; lay it down; put it away.

 If the wave of temptation to reveal others’ sins comes over you, don’t tell your neighbor or even your best friend. Go to your bishop. Leave the burden with him. If it is required, report it to the civil or criminal authorities and then leave it alone.

·         Forgiving others

Forgiving others is the hardest part of repentance for me, and yet this is such an important aspect of forgiveness. There are so many scriptures that echo the reasons as to why we need to be forgiving of others. D&C 64:9:

“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. “ The word condemned makes me think of a run-down building. I think of all the maintenance needed to get this house into turn-key shape. Had the owner of the building just fixed the small leak in the pipes, would the basement had flood? If they had just washed the outside every once in a while would the paint be chipping? If they had just cleaned the gutters every season would there be so much water damage to the roof? When we procrastinate our repentance, we are putting off the work our spirit needs to become more Christ-like. The prophets have declared that “this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God.” We need to be quick to repent and thorough. There is no sin that can be hidden from the Lord, and as we repent often, the atonement is able to work in us, and we will grow to be stronger in our faith, family and callings.

When I was preparing to be baptized I spent many nights on my knees praying and literally crying asking for forgiveness. I had 25 years to resolve within just a few short months between the time I started taking missionary discussions and the date I had set for my baptism. Luckily I was in my 3^rd trimester of pregnancy and sleep was non existent because that became my opportunity to lay my cards out on the table before the Lord. One of the scriptures I had come across really struck a chord with me. I had a really strained relationship with my sister and hadn’t seen her in over a year, I hadn’t really gotten to know her husband yet, and that just really bothered me. I knew after reading this scripture that I was going to need to resolve things between us before I could worthily partake of my baptismal covenants.

The scripture was 3Nephi 12:24 and it reads: “Go thy way unto thy  brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I will receive you.”

That’s a pretty blunt “get it together” from the Lord and I knew I needed to make changes and I needed an opportunity to mend our relationship. That’s exactly what I prayed for, and then there was a knock on the door. My sister was there with her husband, asking me and my family over for dinner.  I couldn’t believe it and it was just one of those miracles during my early conversion that just really let me know that if I have the desire to repent and make restitution, the Lord is going to provide a way for me to do so.

There’s another scripture that is less… intimidating, but it invites you to keep the Lord up-to-date with all your doings, and it’s something I encourage my children to do.

“Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God, and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”

I look at that scripture, which was Alma 37:37 in two different ways, one being: Literally take the end of the day to pray to Heavenly Father and confess all your sins, share your highlights and low lights of the day, pray for protection while you sleep, and pray again in the morning. But I also see it in a more symbolic way: that while you are praying, knowing that you are imperfect, pray for your future-not-always-humble-and-quick-to-repent self, that the Lord might protect you from temptation and when you are “asleep” to the Spirit’s prompting, that you will once again be able to discern right from wrong. And when you come to that point, that you can be full of gratitude to be worthy of having the Spirit as your companion, that you might continue to have a bright spirit about you and that your desire to sin will lessen. Sometimes I’m great at repenting in the moment, and sometimes I need to pray to know what to repent about, to have the Spirit bring to my remembrance my short comings.

·         Restitution

If our sinful nature has affected someone else, we need to go and make it right with them. We must go and restore what we have taken, or if it’s a name that we have soiled, we need to go and undo anything we have done to tarnish their reputation. This is called restitution and is one of the final steps of the repentance process.

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.

Once we have completed restitution, we are promised that God will not mention our sins to us when we are judged.

·         Move forward

Now it’s time to move forward, to leave your sins with Christ, who has already carried that burden for you, and go on in obedience to God’s commandments. 

These last few weeks have been kind of a whirlwind in our house. My mother had a stroke, when we got her home from the hospital, we received word that a gal in her ward had an aneurysm and wasn’t going to pull through. That next week a childhood friend of mines mother passed away suddenly. What all these things made me remember is that this life is a gift, and it is so short and fleeting. Let us be quick to repent, thoroughly and fully. Let us not procrastinate, making repentance seem overwhelming and the grace of God seem so far distant. He is willing to forgive us immediately once we have confessed our sins. Let us forsake the YOLO mentality of today. (2 Ne. 28:8.)

“And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”

Elder Oaks call these “attitudes and positions of such persons [as] exactly opposite those of the Savior.

I know that repentance, when done correctly and with the right heart, allows us to be immediately forgiven. I know that forgiving others, no matter how hard it might be, is a commandment from the Lord, and that strict obedience will allow us to stand spotless before him on judgement day. I know that Christ was sacrificed as a gift to us, so we would be able to repent and be perfected through his atonement.  I know that Christ lives and wants nothing more than to have you back home with him, and because you are a member of His church, I know that is also a sincere desire in your heart as well.