Gospel Principles
Unit 6: The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Chapter 19: Repentance
Comments and Resources

Joseph F. Smith taught "True repentance is not only sorrow for sins and humble penitence and contrition before God, but it involves the necessity of turning away from them, a discontinuance of all evil practices and deeds, a through reformation of life, a vital change from evil to good, from vice to virtue, from darkness to light.  Not only so, but to make restitution, so far as it is possible, for all the wrongs we have done, to pay our debts, and restore to God and man their rights--that which is due them from us."  (Gospel Doctrine, pp 100-101.).

During the study of this topic we will learn what repentance is, why it is possible, the steps of repentance, and the blessings of true and sincere repentance.
	

Resources
Gospel Principles, Chapter 19
Jesus the Christ, Chapters 24, 27
The Articles of Faith, Chapter 5

Scriptures :
Enos 1 
Enos prays mightily and gains a remission of his sins The voice of the Lord comes into his mind promising salvation for the Lamanites in a future day Nephites sought to reclaim the Lamanites in their day Enos rejoices in his Redeemer. Between 544 and 420 B.C

Alma 5, 7:14-22, 36
Alma 5  
The words which Alma, the High Priest according to the holy order of God, delivered to the people in their cities and villages throughout the land. Comprising chapter 5. 
To gain salvation, men must repent and keep the commandments, be born again, cleanse their garments through the blood of Christ, be humble and strip themselves from pride and envy, and do the works of righteousness The Good Shepherd calleth his people Those who do evil works are children of the devil Alma testifies of the truth of his doctrine and commands men to repent Names of the righteous shall be written in the book of life. About 83 B.C. 

Alma 7:14-22
  14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. 
  15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism. 
  16 And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me. 
  17 And now my beloved brethren, do you believe these things? Behold, I say unto you, yea, I know that ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in me. And now because your faith is strong concerning that, yea, concerning the things which I have spoken, great is my joy. 
  18 For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of dilemma like your brethren, even so I have found that my desires have been gratified. 
  19 For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight. 
  20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round. 
  21 And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness. 
  22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received. 

Alma 36  
The commandments of Alma to his son Helaman. Comprising chapters 36 and 37. 
Alma testifies to Helaman of his conversion by an angel He suffered the pains of a damned soul; he called upon the name of Jesus, and was then born of God Sweet joy filled his soul He saw concourses of angels praising God His converts have tasted and seen as he did. About 73 B.C. 

Helaman 7:17-29
  17 O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die? Turn ye, turn ye unto the Lord your God. Why has he forsaken you? 
  18 It is because you have hardened your hearts; yea, ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd; yea, ye have provoked him to anger against you. 
  19 And behold, instead of gathering you, except ye will repent, behold, he shall scatter you forth that ye shall become meat for dogs and wild beasts. 
  20 O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you? 
  21 But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world, for the which ye do murder, and plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor, and do all manner of iniquity. 
  22 And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent. For if ye will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those great cities which are round about, which are in the land of our possession, shall be taken away that ye shall have no place in them; for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies. 
  23 For behold, thus saith the Lord: I will not show unto the wicked of my strength, to one more than the other, save it be unto those who repent of their sins, and hearken unto my words. Now therefore, I would that ye should behold, my brethren, that it shall be better for the Lamanites than for you except ye shall repent. 
  24 For behold, they are more righteous than you, for they have not sinned against that great knowledge which ye have received; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them; yea, he will lengthen out their days and increase their seed, even when thou shalt be utterly destroyed except thou shalt repent. 
  25 Yea, wo be unto you because of that great abomination which has come among you; and ye have united yourselves unto it, yea, to that secret band which was established by Gadianton! 
  26 Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches! 
  27 Yea, wo be unto you because of your wickedness and abominations! 
  28 And except ye repent ye shall perish; yea, even your lands shall be taken from you, and ye shall be destroyed from off the face of the earth. 
  29 Behold now, I do not say that these things shall be, of myself, because it is not of myself that I know these things; but behold, I know that these things are true because the Lord God has made them known unto me, therefore I testify that they shall be. 


Ezekiel 33:7-16
  7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. 
  8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. 
  9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. 
  10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 
  11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 
  12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 
  13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he atrust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 
  14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 
  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. 

Luke 15 
Jesus gives the parables of the lost sheep, of the piece of silver, and of the prodigal son. 

Articles of Faith 1:4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

Topical Guide: <http://Scriptures.lds.org/en/tg/contents> 
                        Change
                       Confess
                       Confession
                       Forgive, Forgiveness
                       Guilt, Guilty
                       Man, New, Spiritually Reborn
                       Remission of Sins
                       Repent, Repentance
                       Turn

Bible Dictionary:  <http://Scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/contents>
                             Confession
                             Repentance


Concept 1: We All Need to Repent

'Faith in Jesus Christ naturally leads to repentance.  There has been the need for repentance in the world from the time of Adam to the present day.  The Lord instructed Adam, "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 there, or dwell in his presence.." (Moses 6:57).


We All Need to Repent

We come to earth for the purpose of growing and progressing.  This is a lifelong process.  During this time we all sin.  We all have need to repent.  Sometimes because of our weaknesses, and sometimes because of willful disobedience.  In the Bible we read that "there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. " (Ecclesiastes 7:20) and that "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. " (1 John 1:8).

What is sin?  The Apostle James said, "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."  (James 4:17).  Another Apostle described sin as "all unrighteousness" (1 John 5:17).

That is why the Lord said, "all men, everywhere, must repent" (Moses 6:57).  Except for Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life, everyone who has lived upon the earth has sinned.  Our Heavenly Father in his great Love has provided us this opportunity to repent of our sins.

Discussion

Why do all people need to repent?'


Concept 2: What is Repentance

'Repentance is the way provided for us to become free from our sins and receive forgiveness for them.  Sins slow our spiritual progression and can even stop it.  Repentance makes it possible for us to grow and develop spiritually again.

The privilege of repenting is made possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ.  In a way we do not fully understand, Jesus paid for our sins.  President Joseph Fielding Smith said of this:

"I have suffered pain, you have suffered pain, and sometimes it has been quite severe; but I cannot comprehend pain... that would cause the blood, like sweat, to come out upon the body.  It was something terrible, something terrific...

"There was no man ever born into this world that could have stood under that weight of the load that was upon the Son of God, when he was carrying my sins and yours and making it possible that we might escape from our sins" (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:130-31).

Repentance sometimes requires great courage, much strength, many tears, unceasing prayers, and untiring efforts to live the commandments of the Lord.

Discussion

What does the word repentance mean to you?'


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.'


Concept 4: How Repentance Helps Us

'As we repent, the atonement of Jesus Christ becomes fully effective in our lives, and the Lord forgives our sins.  We become free from bondage of our sins, and we find joy.

Alma recounted his experience of repenting from his sinful past: 

"My soul was harrowed up [troubled] to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.

"Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments. 

"...So great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.

"...It came to pass that as I was...harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered  also to have heard my father prophesy...concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

"Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me...

"And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains pains no ...

"And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

"...There can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy" (Alma 36:12-14,17-21).

Discussion

Read Alma 36:6-28  
	Discuss the agony 


Concept 5: When Should We Repent?

'The prophets have declared that "life is the time for men to prepare to meet God" (Alma 34:32).  We should repent now, every day.  When we get up in the morning, we should examine ourselves to see whether the Spirit of God is with us.  At night before we go to sleep, we should review our acts and words of the day and ask the Lord to show us the things for which we need to repent.  By repenting every day and having the Lord forgive our sins, we will experience the daily process of becoming perfect. As with Alma, our happiness and joy can be sweet and exquisite.

Discussion

  Think of how difficult it is to learn something new all at once.  By contrast, think of how easy it is to practice each day until we gain mastery.  How is this like repentance?

Additional Scriptures 

Matthew 9:10-13; Luke 13:3; Ezekiel 18:30  (repent or perish)

Matthew 9:10-13
  10  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. 
  11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? 
  12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. 
  13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. 

Luke 13:3
  3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.  

Ezekiel 18:30
  30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.  

2 Corinthians 7:9-10  (godly sorrow)
  9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 
  10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 


Mosiah 4:10-12 (steps to repentance)
  10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them. 
  11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. 
  12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true. 


Isaiah 1:18; Mosiah 26:28-32 (repentance brings forgiveness)
Isaiah 1:18
 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool 

Mosiah 26:28-32
  28 Therefore I say unto you, that he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive into my church, for him I will not receive at the last day. 
  29 Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also. 
  30 Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. 
  31 And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor s trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation. 
  32 Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be observed from this time forward. 

D&C 58:42  (sins remembered no more)
Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.  

2 Nephi 9:23 (repentance necessary to salvation)
And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. 

2 Nephi 2:21 (repent while in the flesh)'
  21 And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh; wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents. 


-----------------
Moroni 10:4-5
"4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 
  5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

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