Repentance

     

Repentance does not mean big or large changes at once

When we study the gospel of Jesus Christ we learn how He wants us to repent and follow him. Many have changed their ways and views because of the bible and Book of Mormon. Part of faith is change and even when we feel that faith is not enough to change ourselves or others then I invite you to re think what faith is. In Mathew 4:17 he says "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 

To be in the kingdom in heaven we must repent and change, it is good to believe but if we truly have faith then we must change to be with him. He will always love us no matter who we are but to show our love for him, we must make those sacrifices. 

Repentance can be hard especially if we have to make big sacrifices, but something I learned is that repentance has six parts. The first one is recognize that what you are doing is wrong. 

 We are all humans and sometimes we can be stubborn on the actions we do. When I was in junior high school, bullying was one of the biggest problems in our school, same with cheating on tests and starting rumors about others. Now I was one of the people who just loved rumors, I would even start some myself. But it came to a point where I really did hurt one of my friends and I realized that what I was doing was wrong, that it was a bad choice. We must learn to watch our own actions, are we doing something to someone that it would look right in the eyes of others? Am I doing this to help only myself? Am I doing it out of anger? Is it something I would like to be done to me?

The second step is to stop. 

   One of the experiences Jesus Christ had while he was in Jerusalem was about a woman who the Pharisees brought to Jesus Christ. She had committed adultery and accounting to their law  (the law of Moses) she was to be stoned to death. As they where asking him he then said "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." As the multitude left he told the woman he would not condem her either and to sin no more. John 8: 1-11.  

    The third step is to confess

    Letting our Heavenly Father know about our sins is not a weakness but it is a strength. He knows what we have done and he just wants us to confess so that we can repent and become whole again. Even when we feel that it is the same sin over and over again, we must  always confess otherwise the rest of the repentance process will not work. 

 The fourth step is to make restitution 

  

 If we steal we must give it back. We need to do whatever we can to make things right again. We need to correct all the problems we have caused. 

   The fifth step is to keep Gods commandments 

  

    Keeping the commandments of God will give us strength to overcome any problems we might have. Jhon 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." We must show Jesus Christ and God our love toward them by keeping their commandments. This includes living the gospel, giving service, forgiving others and attending church meetings.

   The sixth step is to acknowledge the savior 

   John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Repentance is a realization to recognize that we can become whole again because of Jesus Christ. If we feel that our sins are to great or that God will not forgive you, then I ask of you to think again. Jesus Christ will always has his hand towards us to help us stand up. And if we truly repent then we will be filled with happiness and joy again. 

God wants to forgive our sins, we can read the story of Alma in the Book of Mormon, how somebody trying to destroy the church of God was stopped by an angel and later repented and he became one of the biggest prophets in the Book of Mormon. Same with the apostle Paul, he was forgiven for all that he did and because of him, he could travel around preaching about Jesus Christ. In Mathew 5:13 we read "But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." And in Alma 38:14 "Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say, o Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy, yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times." 

We must all ask for forgiveness, and God promises us he will reach his hand down for us.