REPENT of wrong doings!
"If you have become entangled in sin from poor choices, please decide
to come back now. You know how to begin. Do it now. We love you. We need
you. God will help you."
"There are . . . many members of the Church who are lax and careless
and who continually procrastinate. They live the gospel casually but not
devoutly. They have complied with some requirements but are not valiant.
They do no major crime but merely fail to do the things
required--things like paying tithing, living the Word of Wisdom,
having family prayers, fasting, attending meetings, serving. . .
". . . The Lord will not translate one's good hopes and
desires and intentions into works. Each of us must do that for himself. . .
"Only the valiant will be exalted and receive the highest degree
of glory, hence 'many are called, but few are chosen.' As the Savior put it, '. . . strait is the gate, and narrow
the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.' And
conversely, '. . . wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth
to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.' (Matt. 7:13,
14.)" |
How grateful I
am for the understanding we have of this great principle of forgiveness. It is not a harsh
principle, as I thought when I was a boy. It is kind and merciful. The
Hebrew root of the word means, simply, 'to turn,' or to return, to
God. Jehovah pled with the children of Israel: 'Return . . . and I will
not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful . . . and I will
not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast
transgressed against the Lord thy God' (Jeremiah
3:12-13).
"When we acknowledge our sins, confess them and
forsake them, and turn to God, He will forgive us." |
"When there has been wrongdoing and then there has come repentance,
followed by forgiveness, then literally the offender who was lost is found,
and he who was dead is made alive."
"Do we frequently reject the Lord's love that He pours out upon us
in much more abundance than we are willing to receive? Do we think we have
to be perfect in order to deserve His love? When we allow ourselves to feel
'encircled about eternally in the arms of his love',
we feel safe, and we realize that we don't need to be immediately
perfect. We must acknowledge that perfection is a process. This is a gospel
of eternal progress, and we must remember to appreciate the
journey." |