Understanding Repentance and the Atonement in the Church

1. The Constitution of the Church www.kevinhinckley.com

2. Editor’s Note: • The following slide discusses a common misunderstanding in the church. • The friend in the example talked to me about a fear he had. He was struggling with a particular weakness. He would sin, feel great remorse, honestly and completely repent and then, at some point, repeat the sin. Again he would go through sincere and heartfelt repentance only to repeat, eventually, the original sin. • His fear was, because he had repeated the sin, that 1) he must have been insincere or less than truthful with the Lord during his repentance process. His proof was that he had sinned again. (“TRUE repentance is when you never do it again. And if you ever do, you didn’t really mean it.”) • The -100 in the slide is a metaphor I used, kind of a “100 sin demerit”, kind of thing… • Secondly, because of D&C 82:7, he believed that his subsequent sins had a kind of “compounding effect”; that each time he sinned his past sins were brought forward and combined with his present sins. In effect, each time he sinned he was sinking deeper and deeper. As a result, he had become more and more depressed, gradually losing hope in his ability to “dig out” of the effects of his ongoing weaknesses. I suggested to my friend that he was missing an important part of the Atonement and of the Lord’s statements that “I, the Lord, remember them no more!” • If there are any questions from the class, please read the quote from the seminary manual about this idea. Incidently, following the cross references to D&C 82: 7 would suggest that the sins discussed in that verse seem to focus on someone who joins the church and then leaves it at some point. When they do so, all of their former habits and sinning ways return, sometimes in greater number. • The following slide demonstrates that dilemma and hopefully sparks a class discussion leading to a resolution of this misunderstanding. This then can lead into 1) a discussion about Joseph Smith feeling a need to repent, leading to the First Vision, his subsequent desire to repent, leading to the visit from Moroni and then the truths contained in Section 20 revealed to the Saints about the Savior and our role as Latter Day Saints.

3. A Friend (Mosiah 26:30 …as often as my people repent will I forgive them…) Even though a mighty change occurs at rebirth, no one becomes perfect overnight. So the principle of repentance is needed as one endeavors to go on unto perfection and as he endures to the end. Satan would have him believe that, once forgiven, any misstep is fatal and irreparable. But this passage shows that Satan is a liar. Every young person should have this passage memorized as a source of hope. But he should understand that it is not a license to commit willful sin or try to take unrighteous advantage of the Lord's mercy, for the Lord has also said, "butuntothatsoulwhosinnethshall the formersins [habits, behaviors] return." (D&C 82:7.) Though at first these two scriptures (Mosiah 26:30; D&C 82:7) may seem contradictory, together they teach the true mercy and justice of the Lord. (Seminary Book of Mormon Student’s Manual, Sec 82) Feels Forgiven Sins Again Feels Forgiven Sins Again! Sins Repents - 100 Repents - 100 - 100 - 200 - 100 I feel like I’m digging a hole I can never get out of… - 100 - 100 - 300

4. On April 6th, 1830 Gathered at the Peter Whitmer Farm in Fayette, NY

6. On April 6th, 1830 Gathered at the Peter Whitmer Farm in Fayette, NY About 30-40 persons gathered Six people constituted the formal organization Those six were baptized that day Another four were also baptized- Martin Harris Joseph and Lucy Mack Smith Porter Rockwell

7. Section 20 1 The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April— 2 Which commandments were given to Joseph Smith, Jun., who was called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the first elder of this church; 5 After it was truly manifested unto this first elder that he had received a remission of his sins [the First Vision], he was entangled again in the vanities of the world; 6 But after repenting, and humbling himself sincerely, through faith, God ministered unto him by an holy angel [Moroni], whose countenance was as lightning, and whose garments were pure and white above all other whiteness; 7 And gave unto him commandments which inspired him; …and gave him power from on high" Question: How do commandments “inspire” us?? Don’t they limit what we can do?

8. B.H.Roberts In my interview with David Whitmer, in 1884, as he went over this ground [talking about witnessing the Golden Plates] , led by my questions, when we came to this part of it he said to me that in the progress of turning the leaves, or having them turned by Moroni, and looking upon the engravings, Moroni looked directly at him and said: "David, blessed is he that endureth to the end." When David Whitmer made that remark it seemed to me rather a peculiar thing that he should thus be singled out for such a remark… but the subsequent history of these three witnesses led me to conclude that there was indeed a hidden warning in the words of the angel to David… And it is rather a sad reflection that of these three witnesses he was the only one who died outside of membership in the Church. I wonder if Moroni was not trying to sound a warning to this stubborn man, that perhaps whatever his experiences and trials might be, that at the last he, too, might have been brought into the fold, and might have died within the pale of the Church.

9. Robert L. Millet "The call to discipleship is a call to a higher righteousness. The Saints are asked to put off the natural man, put away the toys of a telestial world, and grow up in the Lord.  They are summoned to be obedient, to keep the commandments, to manifest 'by a godly walk and conversation that they are worthy' of membership in the Church and kingdom of God (D&C 20:69).  They covenant to take upon them the sacred name of Jesus Christ, to bear the same with fidelity and devotion, and to behave as becomes Christians. In short, they covenant before God and man to see to it that their actions evidence their Christian commitment. Disciples are expected to have clean hands. "But there is more. Life in Christ is more than correct behavior, more than appropriate actions, more than what we do. It is being. It is what we are.  True disciples seek that sanctifying influence that derives from the Holy Spirit, so that they come to do the right things for the right reasons. Life in Christ is characterized by pure attitudes, motives, and desires.  Disciples are expected to have pure hearts." (An Eye Single To The Glory of God, p55)

10. Elder Holland Sister Holland and I were married about the time both of us were reading poems like that in BYU classrooms. We were as starstruck—and as fearful—as most of you are at these ages and stages of life. We had absolutely no money. Zero. For a variety of reasons, neither of our families was able to help finance our education. We had a small apartment just south of campus—the smallest we could find: two rooms and a half bath. We were both working too many hours trying to stay afloat financially, but we had no other choice. I remember one fall day—I think it was in the first semester after our marriage in 1963—we were walking together up the hill past the Maeser Building on the sidewalk that led between the President’s Home and the Brimhall Building. Somewhere on that path we stopped and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. Life that day seemed so overwhelming, and the undergraduate plus graduate years that we still anticipated before us seemed monumental, nearly insurmountable. Our love for each other and our commitment to the gospel were strong, but most of all the other temporal things around us seemed particularly ominous. On a spot that I could probably still mark for you today, I turned to Pat and said something like this: “Honey, should we give up? I can get a good job and carve out a good living for us. I can do some things. I’ll be okay without a degree. Should we stop trying to tackle what right now seems so difficult to face?”

11. Elder Holland In my best reenactment of Lot’s wife, I said, in effect, “Let’s go back. Let’s go home. The future holds nothing for us.” Then my beloved little bride did what she has done for 45 years since then. She grabbed me by the lapels and said, “We are not going back. We are not going home. The future holds everything for us.” She stood there in the sunlight that day and gave me a real talk. I don’t recall that she quoted Paul, but there was certainly plenty in her voice that said she was committed to setting aside all that was past in order to “press toward the mark” and seize the prize of God that lay yet ahead. It was a living demonstration of faith. It was “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). So we laughed, kept walking, and finished up sharing a root beer—one glass, two straws—at the then newly constructed Wilkinson Center. BYU Devotional, “Remember Lot’s Wife” 2009