Tag: Repentance

Three Steps of Repentance

The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel teaches a profound doctrine with respect to repentance. “If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.” (Ezek. 33:15.)

Here we have three steps in repentance:

  1. Restore the pledge
  2. Commit to change
  3. Forsake the sin

Notice the phrase ‘restore the pledge.’ What pledge? Each makes pledges to our Father in heaven. Some have been made here on earth, baptism, confirmation, temple ordinances, and the sacrament. All of us made pledges before we were born.

What is Repentance?

Elder Burton explains repentance by going to the Old Testament. The OT was written in Hebrew and the word for repentance is shube. The meaning of the word is ‘to turn away’ or ‘to change.’

We are commanded to preach repentance. If you consider the meaning of shube, then we are commanded to preach the concept of living differently, to turn away from sin or to change the way we live.

When the Bishop exhorts us to repent, he is suggesting we change or turn away from harmful habits and turn unto the Lord.

What Repentance is Not

Perhaps an understanding of what repentance is not would help us gain clarity on this 1st principle of the gospel.

Repentance is not:

  • Suffering
  • Punishment
  • Confession
  • Remorse
  • Sorrow

These feelings may accompany repentance, but they are not repentance.

Quoting Elder Burton: “As a General Authority, I have prepared information for the First Presidency to use in considering applications to readmit repentant transgressors into the Church and to restore priesthood and temple blessings. Many times a Bishop will write, I feel he has suffered enough!” Elder Burton continues,

“But suffering is not repentance.”

 

Why is Repentance so negative?

Why does repentance seem so negative?

According to Elder Theodore M. Burton the most basic principles of the gospel can be those least understood. A basic and fundamental principle of the gospel is repentance (Ensign, August 1988. The Meaning Of Repentance).

In and out of the church repentance carries a negative meaning. When an ecclesiastical leader stands before his congregation and exhorts the members to repent, as a general rule they do not feel comfortable, at peace, or spiritually motivated about his call to repentance.

Why?

The Complete Meaning Of Repentance

In church we learn the 4 Rs of repentance:

1. Recognition. We must recognize what we have done wrong.

2. Remorse. We must feel godly sorrow for our mistakes.

3. Restitution. We must try to restore what has been lost as a result of our transgressions.

4. Resolve. We must resolve never to commit the sin again.

The Book of Mormon teaches us at least 66 Rs:

Why the Lord can’t always bless us

What is the primary purpose for communicating?  The answer is also the primary purpose for praying.

The primary purpose for communicating and for praying is to seek understanding.  Let’s take prayer for example, many times when we pray we try to convince the Lord to see things our way.  That is called praying or communicating for agreement.

We pray for our Father to bless us with certain things (better job, new car, a new friend, wife or husband.)  And when He doesn’t respond the way we want, we become angry, frustrated, claim that things are not fair, that the heavens are closed, or that we gave the Lord a chance but He didn’t come through etc.