Tuesday, May 30, 2023

D&C 18:10-11 -- On Repentance

"For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.
And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance."
Doctrine and Covenants 18:10-11


Repentance is a simple but beautiful doctrine. If we have done wrong or acted against God, we need to express contrition, or sincerely regret what we did and talk about it with the Lord (Ezra 10:11), and not do it again. Just as Christ told the woman taken in adultery, we need to "go and sin no more" (John 8:11).

There are other admonitions that may or may not go along with repentance, such as Christ urging us to be reconciled with others (Matthew 5:23-24), and the idea of recieving a mighty change of heart so that "we have no more disposition to do evil" ... I don't think that we have to work on all of these things at the same time, but the overall idea is to let go of our sins, and clearing up personal relationships we may have harmed or broken and allowing God to teach us better desires helps with that, although small steps are fine. Quitting the sin is the first step... getting to the point where it isn't tempting anymore can take time, but it is very possible with God's help, as he teaches us a little bit of his perspective.

Today, let's go to the Lord with our sins and talk to him about them, being willing to let them go. He will help us move on and learn new habits and desires as we seek him and put him first in our lives.

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