Faith and Repentance 3
Nature of Repentance-The term repentance is used in the scriptures with several different meanings, but, as representing the duty required of all who would obtain forgiveness for transgression it indicates a godly sorrow for sin, producing a reformation of life, and embodies (1) a conviction of guilt; (2) a desire to be relieved from the hurtful effects of sin; and (3) an earnest determination to forsake sin and to accomplish good. Repentance is a result of contrition of soul, which springs from a deep sense of humility, and this in turn is dependent upon the exercise of an abiding faith in God. Repentance therefore properly ranks as the second principle of the Gospel, closely associated with and immediately following faith. As soon as one has come to recognize the existence and authority of God, he feels a respect for divine laws, and a conviction of his own unworthiness. His wish to please the Father, whom he has so long ignored, will impel him to forsake sin; and this impulse will acquire added strength from the sinner’s natural and commendable desire to make reparation, if possible, and so avert the dire results of his own waywardness. With the zeal inspired by fresh conviction, he will crave an opportunity of showing by good works the sincerity of his newly developed faith; and he will regard the remission of his sins as the most desirable of blessings. Then he will learn that this gift of mercy is granted on certain specific conditions. The first step toward the blessed state of forgiveness consists in the sinner confessing his sins; the second, in his forgiving others who have sinned against him; and the third in his showing his acceptance of Christ‘s atoning sacrifice by complying with the divine requirements.
1. Confession of Sins is essential, for without it repentance is incomplete. John tells us: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We read also: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” And unto the saints in this dispensation the Lord has said: “Verily I say unto you, I, the Lord, forgive sins unto those who confess their sins before me and ask forgiveness, who have not sinned unto death.” And that this act of confession is included in repentance is shown by the Lord’s words: “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”
2. The Sinner Must be Willing to Forgive Others, if he hopes to obtain forgiveness. A man’s repentance is but superficial if his heart be not softened to the degree of tolerance for the weaknesses of his fellows. In teaching His hearers how to pray, the Savior instructed them to supplicate the Father: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” He gave them no assurance of forgiveness if in their hearts they forgave not one another: “For,” said He, “if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Forgiveness between man and man, to be acceptable before the Lord, must be unbounded. In answering Peter’s question: “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him-till seven times?” the Master replied: “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven”; clearly intending to teach that man must ever be ready to forgive. On another occasion He taught the disciples, saying: “If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him.”
Illustrating further the divine purpose to mete unto men the measure they mete unto their fellows the Savior put forth a parable of a king to whom one of his subjects owed a large sum of money, ten thousand talents; but when the debtor humbled himself and pleaded for mercy, the compassionate heart of the king was moved and he forgave his servant the debt. But the same servant, going out from the presence of the king, met a fellow servant who was indebted to him in a small sum, and, forgetting the mercy so recently shown unto himself, he seized his fellow servant and cast him into prison till he would pay the debt. Then the king, hearing of this, sent for the wicked servant, and, denouncing him for his lack of gratitude and consideration, handed him over to the tormenters. The Lord has not promised to listen to petitions nor accept offerings from one who has bitterness in his heart toward others: “First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” In His revealed word to the saints in this day, the Lord has placed particular stress upon this necessary condition: “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”; and to remove all doubt as to the proper subjects for human forgiveness, it is added: “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.”
3. Confidence in Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice constitutes the third essential condition in obtaining remission of sins. The name of Jesus Christ is the only name under heaven whereby men may be saved; and we are taught to offer our petitions to the Father in the name of the Son. Adam received this instruction from the mouth of an angel, and the Savior personally instructed the Nephites to the same effect. But no person can truthfully profess faith in Christ and refuse to obey His commandments; therefore obedience is essential to remission of sin; and the truly repentant sinner will eagerly seek to learn what is required of him.
Repentance, to be worthy of its name, must comprise something more than a mere self-acknowledgment of error; it does not consist in lamentations and wordy confessions, but in the heartfelt recognition of guilt, which carries with it a horror for sin and a resolute determination to make amends for the past and to do better in the future. If such a conviction be genuine it is marked by that godly sorrow which, as Paul has said, “worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” Apostle Orson Pratt has wisely said: “It would be of no use for a sinner to confess his sins to God unless he were determined to forsake them; it would be of no benefit to him to feel sorry that he had done wrong unless he intended to do wrong no more; it would be folly for him to confess before God that he had injured his fellow man unless he were determined to do all in his power to make restitution. Repentance, then, is not only a confession of sins, with a sorrowful, contrite heart, but a fixed, settled purpose to refrain from every evil way.”
Repentance Essential to Salvation-This evidence of sincerity, this beginning of a better life, is required of every candidate for salvation. In the obtaining of divine mercy, repentance is as indispensable as faith; it must be as extensive as sin. Where can we find a sinless mortal? Sagely did the preacher of old declare: “There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Who, therefore, has no need of forgiveness, or who is exempt from the requirements of repentance? God has promised forgiveness unto those who truly repent; it is unto such that the advantages of individual salvation, through the atonement of Christ, are extended. Isaiah thus admonishes to repentance, with assuring promises of forgiveness: “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
The burden of inspired teachers in every age has been the call to repentance. To this effect was heard the voice of John crying in the wilderness, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And the Savior followed with “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” and, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” So too proclaimed the apostles of old, that God “commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” And in the present dispensation has come the word: “We know that all men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.”
Repentance a Gift from God-Repentance is a means of pardon and is therefore one of God’s great gifts to man. It is not to be had for the careless asking; it may not be found upon the highway; nevertheless it is given with boundless liberality unto those who have brought forth works that warrant its bestowal. That is to say, all who prepare themselves for repentance will be led by the humbling and softening influence of the Holy Spirit to the actual possession of this great gift. When Peter was charged by his fellow worshipers with a breach of law in that he had associated with Gentiles, he told his hearers of the divine manifestations he had so recently received; they believed and declared: “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Paul also, in writing to the Romans, teaches that repentance comes through the goodness of God.
Repentance Not Always Possible-The gift of repentance is extended to men as they humble themselves before the Lord; it is the testimony of the Spirit in their hearts. If they hearken not unto the monitor it will leave them, for the Spirit of God strives not ever with man. Repentance becomes more difficult as sin is more wilful; it is by humility and contrition of the heart that sinners may increase their faith in God, and so obtain from Him the gift of repentance. As the time of repentance is procrastinated, the ability to repent grows weaker; neglect of opportunity in holy things develops inability. In giving commandment to Joseph Smith in the early days of the present Church, the Lord said: “For 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; And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.”
Repentance Here and Hereafter-Alma, a Nephite prophet, described the period of earthly existence as a probationary state, granted unto man for repentance; yet we learn from the scriptures that repentance may be obtained, under certain conditions, beyond the veil of mortality. Between the times of His death and resurrection, Christ “preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah”; these the Son visited, and unto them He preached the Gospel, “that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.”
No soul is justified in postponing his efforts to repent because of this assurance of longsuffering and mercy. We know not fully on what terms repentance will be obtainable in the hereafter; but to suppose that the soul who has wilfully rejected the opportunity of repentance in this life will find it easy to repent there is contrary to reason. To procrastinate the day of repentance is to deliberately place ourselves in the power of the adversary. Thus Amulek taught and admonished the multitude of old: “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; * * * therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; * * * Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his.”