Believe That Ye Must Repent

In the First Presidency Christmas Devotional on Sunday, President Nelson said, “We revere the Babe of Bethlehem precisely because He later offered the incomprehensible, infinite sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary. This offering redeems each of us, as we choose to repent and follow Him. Then, as His crowning act on earth, He rose from the tomb on the third day, granting each one of us the unprecedented blessing of resurrection and life after death.” He highlighted once more our need to “take full advantage of the Savior’s Atonement by repenting daily,” a theme that has been consistent in his messages for several years now. He said in April 2019 to the brethren, “I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day. When we choose to repent, we choose to change!” In April 2020 he similarly said, “Our ultimate quest in life is to prepare to meet our Maker. We do this by striving daily to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. And we do that as we repent daily and receive His cleansing, healing, and strengthening power.” In October 2020 he said this: “I invite you to turn your heart, mind, and soul increasingly to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Let that be your new normal. Embrace your new normal by repenting daily. Seek to be increasingly pure in thought, word, and deed.” In April 2022 in general conference he also taught, “Discover the joy of daily repentance. How important is repentance? Alma taught that we should ‘preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord.’ Repentance is required of every accountable person who desires eternal glory. There are no exceptions…. Walking the covenant path, coupled with daily repentance, fuels positive spiritual momentum…. My dear brothers and sisters, with all the pleadings of my heart, I urge you to get on the covenant path and stay there. Experience the joy of repenting daily.” In October 2022 he again said, “Because the Savior, through His infinite Atonement, redeemed each of us from weakness, mistakes, and sin, and because He experienced every pain, worry, and burden you have ever had, then as you truly repent and seek His help, you can rise above this present precarious world…. We cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping covenants that endow us with power.” Again and again, President Nelson has invited us to repent daily in order to experience the joy and power of Jesus Christ.

                I thought of this consistent and repeated invitation from President Nelson as I read these words from King Benjamin today: “And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.” We need to first believe in repentance, and then we need to put that belief into action by truly repenting. Like President Nelson, King Benjamin connected repentance and the forgiveness of sins with joy: “If ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.” He then gave us this magnificent promise, “And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God” (Mosiah 4:10-12). As we daily call on the name of the Lord, asking in humility for forgiveness of our sins, He promises us that we will always rejoice and be filled with His love. With all of these teachings, reminder, and promises, we are left with no excuse. As King Benjamin urged, we must now see that we “do it.”