Repentance Is Necessary for All
Repentance is not our backup plan; it is the
only plan. “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).
I remember in my late teenage years when I
first began to understand the powerful words of King Benjamin: “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” (Mosiah 4:11). He referred to us being in a worthless and fallen
state. He asked, “Are we not all beggars?” (Mosiah 4:19)
With reflection, I found his teachings
convincing. He explained “[God] is preserving you from day to day, by lending
you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and
ever supporting you from one moment to another” (Mosiah 2:21).
I thought, “It is true that my ability to
breathe, to live and move my body, and to do according to my own will, does not
come from my own accomplishment, but is given to me as a gift from God.” I
compared it to a very young child eating at his parents’ table, not realizing
the efforts necessary for his parents to provide the food each day.
King Benjamin then added even more reason to
appreciate our dependence on our Father. He speaks of “the Atonement which has
been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might
come to him that should put his trust in the Lord” (Mosiah 4:6).
Accepting King Benjamin’s admonition to “repent
of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in
sincerity of heart that he would forgive you” (Mosiah 4:10) brings you closer
to God. And then this piercing message of truth: “And now, if you believe all
these things see that ye do them” (Mosiah 4:10).
I absolutely know that repentance is
necessary for all of us, and for all of our lives. Our faith in Christ and our
willingness to follow Him bring us hope, peace, and love for God and for His
children. We need not feel discouraged when we sense our spiritual progress
seems too slow or when we continue to see the weaknesses in our character. We
must never become “weary in well doing” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33). “Be
faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to
weight thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his
sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy
and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your
mind forever” (Moroni 9:25). Jesus said, “in the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). (Neil
L. Andersen, The Divine Gift of
Forgiveness [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2019], 70-71)