Alma 34:15-18

"And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.
Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save."
Alma 34:15-18


The idea of God is scary sometimes... I guess just like your dad can be scary if you are worried about telling him you crashed his car. :)  We worry about not living up to what God expects of us, and it is completely overwhelming sometimes to think that he expects perfection... and how are we ever going to get there?  And then, when we've done something really bad, we're worried about what he might do, or say, or think of us.  Luckily, there is a way out of that anger or disappointment that we fear.  Repentance.  God's plan provides for justice *and* mercy, but the mercy comes through us changing our ways.  We can't just insincerely say "whoops," and stroll into heaven. :)  We have to change ourselves.  Just like our real fathers would be angry if we were cruel to a brother or sister, or cheated or beat up the neighbor boy... it isn't solved just by saying oops.  We have to make it right.  We have to change ourselves, and grow out of doing those immature and destructive things.
Today, let's talk to our father and work on our faith... our faith to change ourselves into people that are nicer and better.  Perfection is a process, and repentance is a daily thing.  Let's keep learning and growing, and take advantage of the chance that God gives us to escape justice and become something more with Christ than we could ever be without that sacrifice.