Thomas
S. Monson, That
We May Touch Heaven (October 1990)
If any has stumbled in his journey,
there is a way back. The process is called repentance. Our Savior died to
provide you and me that blessed gift. Though the path is difficult, the promise
is real: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
(Isa. 1:18.)
Neal
A. Maxwell, Repentance
(October 1991)
As we do repent, however, special
assurances await: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isa. 1:18.)
“All his transgressions … shall not be
mentioned unto him.” (Ezek. 18:22.)
Boyd
K. Packer, The
Brilliant Morning of Forgiveness (October 1995)
Letters come from those who have made
tragic mistakes. They ask, “Can I ever be forgiven?”
The answer is yes!
The gospel teaches us that relief from
torment and guilt can be earned through repentance. Save for those few who
defect to perdition after having known a fulness, there is no habit, no
addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no offense exempted from the promise
of complete forgiveness.
“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.” That is, Isaiah
continued, “if ye be willing and obedient.”
Gordon
B. Hinckley, "Be
Ye Clean" (April 1996)
. . . As we beat the carpet, the dust
would fly, and we would have to keep going until there was no dust left. We
detested that work. But when all of it was done, and everything was back in
place, the result was wonderful. The house was clean, our spirits renewed. The
whole world looked better.
This is what some of us need to do
with our lives. Isaiah said:
“Wash you, make you clean; put away
the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
“Learn to do well. …
“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” (Isa. 1:16–18).
“Be ye clean that bear the vessels of
the Lord” (D&C 133:5). Thus has He spoken to us in modern revelation. Be
clean in body. Be clean in mind. Be clean in language. Be clean in dress and
manner.
Gordon
B. Hinckley, Stand
True and Faithful (April 1996)
Forgiveness is a mark of divinity.
There is hope for you. Your lives are ahead, and they can be filled with
happiness, even though the past may have been marred by sin. This is a work of
saving and assisting people with their problems. This is the purpose of the
gospel.
The Prophet Isaiah declared:
“Wash you, make you clean; put away
the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil. …
“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” (Isa. 1:16, 18).
This is the time, this is the very
hour, to repent of any evil in the past, to ask for forgiveness, to stand a
little taller and then to go forward with confidence and faith.
Spencer
V. Jones, Overcoming
the Stench of Sin (April 2003)
[God the Father] sent a Savior, His
Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins (see Alma 22:14).
In the Garden of Gethsemane, as Christ
demonstrated perfect obedience, His anguish caused Him, “even God, the greatest
of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer
both body and spirit” (D&C 19:18). Then He allowed Himself to be “lifted up
upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world” (1 Ne. 11:33).
“He suffered the pain of all men, that
all men might repent and come unto him. … And how great is his joy in the soul
that repenteth!” (D&C 18:11, 13).
The Savior has indicated how to know
“if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them”
(D&C 58:43). Then comes the miraculous promise, “Though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isa. 1:18).
If the Spirit is pricking your heart
to correct something in your life, know this: your soul is precious. Heavenly
Father wants you to be part of His eternal family.
I lovingly plead, “Do not
procrastinate the day of your repentance” (Alma 34:33). Start the process now.
Remove the stench of sin with the remedy of repentance. Then, through the
Atonement, the Savior can wash you clean. I so testify in the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
Gordon
B. Hinckley, "I
am Clean" (April 2007)
. . .
It is an old saying among us that “cleanliness is next to godliness.”
Said Isaiah the prophet:
“Wash you, make you clean; put away
the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
“Learn to do well; …
“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” (Isaiah 1:16–18).
In modern revelation the Lord has
said: “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord” (D&C 133:5).
Tad
R. Callister, The
Atonement of Jesus Christ (April 2019)
The Savior overcame sin and guilt for
all those who repent. So deep and expansive is His cleansing power that Isaiah
promised, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”
Sharon
Eubank, Christ: The
Light That Shines in Darkness (April 2019)
The scarlet dye of the Old Testament
was not only colorful but also colorfast, meaning that its vivid color stuck to
the wool and would not fade no matter how many times it was washed. Satan
wields this reasoning like a club: white wool stained scarlet can never go back
to being white. But Jesus Christ declares, “My ways [are] higher than your
ways,” and the miracle of His grace is that when we repent of our sins, His
scarlet blood returns us to purity. It isn’t logical, but it is nevertheless
true.
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.”1 The Lord says emphatically: he or she “who has repented of … sins, the
same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” In essence: Come,
let us reason together. You made mistakes; all come short. Come unto me and
repent. I will remember the sin no more. You can be whole again. I have a work
for you to do. Christ makes wool white.
Further
Reading:
Refuting
Matthew Paulson on Isaiah 1:18
Objects
from the Scriptures: Scarlet, Crimson, Snow, and Wool, New Era
(February 2016)
