Latest / Scripture Central / ”Stand Forever” Ep. 22 | The Truth—Repentance and Forgiveness | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge

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”Stand Forever” Ep. 22 | The Truth—Repentance and Forgiveness | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge · Scripture Central

• 0:00
  How can you know if you've been forgiven?
• 0:01
  That's a good question, but it's not the best question.
• 0:05
  Most sin does not result in immediate cataclysmic spiritual
• 0:13
  death, but sets in motion a process that will end in death
• 0:18
  without intervention. Remorse for sin is part of
• 0:21
  repentance, but it has never been the plan of our Father to
• 0:26
  wallow in it forever. Christ suffered in Gethsemane
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  for that very recent The plan has never been to go alone.
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  You need the help of heaven. Look to the past long enough to
• 0:45
  learn and repent, and then turn around.
• 0:51
  Look ahead and go. The Lord has said, Say nothing
• 1:14
  but repentance unto this generation, Keep my
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  commandments, and assist to bring forth my work according to
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  my commandments, and you shall be blessed.
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  So what does that mean? Say, say nothing, say nothing
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  but repentance. It is a bit perplexing because
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  he also said to go to all the world and preach the gospel
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  everywhere to everyone. And while repentance is an
• 1:46
  essential part of the gospel, it's not the whole of it.
• 1:50
  Hello, I'm Larry Corbridge, and this is episode 22 of the Stand
• 1:57
  Forever series. I'm happy that you've joined us.
• 2:00
  In this episode, we will unpack that scripture and repentance is
• 2:05
  a vital part of the path leading to the fulfillment of your
• 2:09
  divine potential. In past episodes, we concluded
• 2:15
  that a purposeful life leading to the to the fulfillment of
• 2:19
  your divine potential requires knowing where you are going.
• 2:25
  You know, we could call that point B and where you are now
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  point A, and then plot the course in between.
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  We determined the course is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, also
• 2:38
  known as the doctrine of Christ, including faith in the Lord
• 2:43
  Jesus Christ, repentance, ordinances and covenants,
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  beginning with baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring
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  to the end, building up the Kingdom of God is an active
• 2:57
  contributing member of that Kingdom.
• 3:02
  In the last episode we looked at faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  We concluded that of all the principles of redeeming truth,
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  of all the laws of the gospel, faith in Christ maybe is
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  probably the one which, if more fully understood and applied,
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  would generate the greatest return, the greatest benefit.
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  Faith leads us to repentance. What is repentance and and how
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  do you know if you've been forgiven?
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  Synonyms for repentance might include sanctifying change,
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  perhaps, or improvement. And if so, we might take the
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  Lord's admonition to say nothing but repentance unto this
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  generation as meaning say nothing but continual
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  improvement to become more like the Lord.
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  Another, less common way of thinking about repentance is as
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  a subset of ambition. From the first attempts of an an
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  infant to feed herself or walk unaided across the room, we are
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  all driven by a divine urge to improve, to do better.
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  That drive is sometimes referred to as ambition.
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  It drives one to train harder, to run faster or farther, ski
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  better, jump higher, improve a golf swing, score more points,
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  provide better for a family, speak better, think better, be a
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  better spouse, parent or grandparents, organize a closet,
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  clean a house, mow the lawn, learn more or improve.
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  In any aspect of life, no one sets out to do or become less.
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  No one has a goal to become what dishonest or or worse than
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  before. It is the drive that urges
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  people to improve and ultimately realize the full measure of
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  their divine potential. We are hardwired to improve.
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  That drive is part of your divine DNA.
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  It is embedded in your very being.
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  It is universal. The same among men and women,
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  children and adults. So repentance, at least.
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  I'd like you to think about this as repentance.
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  Being a subset of that more comprehensive universal divine
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  drive to improve we could call ambition.
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  Repentance is the drive to specifically become more like
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  the Lord. It is not autonomic as breathing
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  or the beat of your heart, but it is as natural as eating and
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  sleeping. Yes, what we otherwise call the
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  natural man and Satan resist change.
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  That is true. But your divine nature is
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  stronger and urges you to continually improve, to realize
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  your full potential. That process of of refinement is
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  repentance. If faith in Christ is to look to
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  Him, learn of Him, and trust Him, Repentance is to apply what
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  you learn. It's that simple.
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  It is striving to align your life with His as best you know,
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  to do your will with His as you know it, your mind with His as
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  you know it, your your heart with His as you know it, your
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  actions with His as you know them.
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  If you are off course, repentance is turning back to
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  God, making the corrections necessary to turn back on
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  course. Jesus said the Father sent me to
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  bless you in turning away everyone of you from your
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  iniquities. If you're on course, repentance
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  is the constant vigilance and discipline to stay on course,
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  move forward, and apply what you learn as you do.
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  It is to advance from 1° of light and and knowledge to the
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  next, and from there to the next and on and on.
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  It is the glorious process of divine evolution, applying what
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  you learn. Exercising faith in Christ,
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  however, is more than forsaking sin.
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  Although repentance is usually linked with overcoming evil, its
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  sweep is as broad as the yawning gap between who you are now and
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  who you can become. Many of your weaknesses are not
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  evil, they're just deficiencies if the shortfall in comparison
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  to who the Lord is and your full potential.
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  One person, for example, may have faith to be healed and
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  another not. There are as many variations of
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  knowledge as people, and yet everyone falls woefully short of
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  the knowledge of God. One may be fearful and another
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  prone to depression. Perhaps those deficiencies are
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  not evil. They're just part of the gap in
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  the process of time. All deficiencies listen to this.
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  All deficiencies may be resolved by the Lord, and because of His
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  atonement, by faith in Him. Repentance.
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  In other words, works, ordinances, the gift of the Holy
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  Ghost, and staying on course engaged in God's work.
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  The grace of the Lord is sufficient to make weak things
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  become strong in every way for those who humble themselves
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  before before Him and have faith in Him.
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  But you can't. You can't do it alone.
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  You may change your behavior, but you can't change your nature
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  on your own. You can't undo or compensate for
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  your sins and mistakes, and you can't lay claim to the power of
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  God alone. You can't do it.
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  However great or small your sins may be, they are all sufficient
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  to separate you from the presence and power of God
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  forever, which is the essential problem in life.
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  We all need help. We all need help to bridge the
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  gap. Faith in Christ and repentance
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  are coordinates or waypoints on the course to that hell.
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  Repentance involves, of course, change, which is something the
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  natural man and Satan resist. As we've said now, most of the
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  great fallacies of life, it seems to me, all lead to the
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  same damning conclusion. Specifically, I don't need to
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  change, or in other words, I don't need to repent.
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  They all have this one common denominator to relieve man from
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  the need to improve his thoughts and actions, permitting each to
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  walk after the image of his own God and muddle along at no great
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  cost. They all worship at the throne
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  of the God of convenience, mediocrity, and ease.
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  Here are some of those fallacies.
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  Now I'm sorry this is kind of a long list, but stay with me.
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  There is no God, therefore there are no absolutes, no right and
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  wrong. And that being the case, I don't
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  need to change. God is a spirit without human
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  attributes, form, body parts or passions.
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  A divine mind that permeates the universe, God the Father, Jesus
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  Christ, the Holy Ghost, or our one God capable of manifesting
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  in three personages an omniscient force or spirit that
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  is beyond the comprehension of man.
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  Therefore, I don't need to change.
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  I I I because I can't identify with, much less emulate and
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  ethereal power. I cannot understand.
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  One can't strive to become like something that is fundamentally
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  and eternally different from man another.
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  The atonement makes possible salvation by grace alone.
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  All that is needed is to confess Christ in my heart.
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  Therefore, there's no need to change another.
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  All that is necessary is to be to be saved is confession and
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  the sacraments. Therefore I don't need to change
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  or Some are predestined to salvation while others are not.
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  Therefore I don't need to change or.
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  The afterlife is comprised of only two destinations, heaven
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  and hell. The wicked go to hell, and
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  everybody else, the half hearted, the indifferent, the
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  lukewarm, along with the faithful and valiant.
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  I'll go to the only other destination, which is heaven.
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  Mediocrity smuggling marches into heaven with her hordes
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  following after her, trampling justice as they go, and they all
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  sit down with those that sacrificed everything, even
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  their very lies, in defense of the truth.
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  Therefore what? There's no need to knock myself
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  out to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth
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  of God. I don't need to change.
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  Here's another, There are no prophets who are apostles in our
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  day. Religious leaders today only
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  speak of the scripture long ago revealed, and the scriptures are
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  subject to individual interpretation.
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  There is no one who can say today.
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  Thus saith the Lord of God. And so we are left to interpret
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  and pick and choose among among what has been revealed according
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  to our needs and biases. Therefore, I'm free to go and do
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  as I choose and as I think best. Here's another.
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  A loving God will save all his children.
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  This is a big one. A loving God will save all of
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  his children. Therefore, I don't need to
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  change or the moral code of yesterday is antiquated,
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  unsophisticated and small minded.
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  Therefore, I can live however I choose if it does not harm
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  anyone else. Live my own truth.
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  I don't need to change or all is lost.
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  There is no hope. I can't change, so what's the
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  use of trying? I can't be forgiven for all that
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  I all I have done. I'm bad, It's too late.
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  Therefore there's no need to change.
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  Here's another I can't be perfect, so why try?
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  Or I'm a nobody, not good enough, I can't attain to
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  eternal life, therefore there's no reason to change.
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  Or I can't keep the commandments, so why try?
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  Or I'm not worthy of God's love. Or to be among the Saints, so
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  there's no need to change. Or it's not, it's not that bad.
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  And if we're guilty in the end, God will beat us with a few
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  stripes and at last we will all be saved in the Kingdom of God.
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  Therefore, I don't need to change or I'm OK just the way I
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  am, Maybe even awesome. I just need to be myself and
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  live by my truth. Therefore there is no need to
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  change another. The church is not true.
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  Therefore, I don't need to change, or I can live the gospel
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  on my own. I don't need the church to tell
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  me how to live. Therefore, I can March to the
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  beat of my own drum, worship after the image of my own God,
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  and I don't need to change. Now, it may be that not everyone
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  accepts any one of those fallacies for the express
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  purpose of avoiding change, but that is the outcome, and you can
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  be sure Satan promotes them for that very reason.
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  He will and does thwart positive change.
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  In other words, repentance at every turn.
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  So here's another question. Does sin alienate the Spirit?
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  Or is it the failure to repent that results in spiritual death?
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  The question may at first seem academic, maybe even silly.
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  We might think of course sin would alienate the Spirit, but
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  if so, those of us who are prone to air would be spiritual
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  zombies. There is scriptural support for
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  actually for both propositions. As for the belief that sin
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  causes the Spirit to withdraw, the Lord said he that looketh
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  upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith and shall
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  not have the Spirit, and if he repents not, he should be cast
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  out. Does does this mean no one who
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  has entertained an immoral thought can have the Spirit?
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  The Lord cannot in in the words of the Scripture, the Lord
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  cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance and
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  Mormon records the Spirit of the Lord does not dwell in an unholy
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  temple. King Benjamin warned, If you
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  should transgress and go contrary to that which has been
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  spoken, that you do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of
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  the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in
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  wisdoms paths, that you may be blessed, prospered and
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  preserved. The same cometh out in open
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  rebellion against God. Therefore he listeth to obey the
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  evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness.
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  Those are sobering statements. But what constitutes an unholy
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  temple? Is it any sin, or is it a course
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  of action, in the words of King Benjamin, going contrary and
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  listening to obey the evil spirit?
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  Is it a single sin, or is it direction?
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  It is surprising that immoral thought is singled out in
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  Scripture as offensive to the Spirit.
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  What about acting on those thoughts?
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  Adultery or other immorality, or lying?
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  Surely if the thought alone is offensive to the Spirit, the
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  execution of the thought is evermore so.
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  The Lord at least has made it clear that evil thought is
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  sufficient to alienate the Spirit, let alone the very act.
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  Now 1 might point to section 121 of the Doctrine Covenants to
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  establish that sin alienates the Spirit, but those verses
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  actually say that whenever one undertakes to cover his sins,
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  whenever one undertakes to cover his sins, the Spirit is grieved
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  and withdraws. The loss of the Spirit because
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  of covering or duplicity is different than the withdrawal of
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  the Spirit because of a single mistake.
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  Hiding or covering sin seems to be especially egregious and
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  offensive to God. Again, in King Benjamin's words,
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  going contrary to that which has been spoken and listening to
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  obey the evil spirit is not a single mistake, but overall
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  direction. Direction is extremely
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  important. Going in the wrong direction is
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  the refusal to learn from mistakes and constitutes a
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  rejection of God, making one an enemy to God.
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  Again, in King Benjamin's words, unless he yields to the
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  enticings of the Holy Spirit, which is to repent, yielding to
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  the Spirit as a natural man, an enemy to God, implies some
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  degree of the Holy Spirit sufficient to entice.
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  One example in support of the second proposition, that the
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  failure to repent results in spiritual death more than the
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  initial mistake is, is Christ twice repeated assertion.
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  Except ye repent, ye shall all perish.
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  Except ye repent, ye shall all perish.
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  The invitation to repent and the warning that death, which I
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  interpret to mean spiritual death, will follow without
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  repentance presupposes 2 things, sin in the 1st place and death
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  yet to happen. Death in the sense of spiritual
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  death. Although catastrophic injuries
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  can result in immediate physical death, the initial invasion of
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  our body by a foreign agent, such as cancer, a virus, or
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  bacteria, usually does not result in immediate death but
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  sets in motion a process that may cause death unless checked
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  by some healing intervention. In a fallen world, all are
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  spiritually vulnerable to equally deadly foreign agents.
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  While catastrophic sinful actions may result in immediate
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  death, most sin is the incursion of a foreign agent that sets in
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  motion a process that will result in spiritual death unless
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  checked, unless checked by the healing intervention of
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  repentance and the redeeming grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  The presence of the Holy Spirit is also not binary, black or
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  white. You either have it or you don't.
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  There are degrees of glory and degrees of spiritual power.
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  This is supported by scriptures that speak of receiving a
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  fullness of the Holy Ghost. A fullness implies lesser
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  degrees as well or preliminary variations of spiritual power.
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  Moses said in resistance to Satan, Blessed be the name of my
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  God, for his spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me.
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  So both answers are correct. Of course, sin is hostile to the
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  Spirit of the Lord, even evil thought.
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  But most sin does not result in immediate cataclysmic spiritual
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  death, but sets in motion a process that will end in death,
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  spiritual death, without intervention.
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  Therefore, in the Lord's words, repent or perish.
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  The Lord has also said about repentance.
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  This By this you may know, if a man repenteth of his sins,
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  behold, he will confess and forsake them.
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  Those those two confessing and forsaking are evidence of
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  repentance, but not the whole of the process.
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  Repentance begins with seeing. It begins with honesty, which
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  gives rise to confession to whom is appropriate.
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  Covering sin is more offensive to God and His Spirit than sin
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  itself, a woman said of her former husband.
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  My previous spouse is a good man.
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  He unfortunately became ensnared in a pornography addiction that
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  consumed him for the majority of our marriage.
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  This addiction caused him to self hate and lie.
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  His lying began to infiltrate all areas of his life, affecting
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  our relationship, his interactions with others, his
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  schooling and his jobs. He was not able to maintain jobs
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  for long as he had difficulty being away from pornography and
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  would often leave work to return home to view.
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  This addiction eventually led him to stray to relationships
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  with women outside of his marriage in response to his
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  behaviors. Again, still quoting from her in
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  response to his behaviors. I became frustrated and
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  impatient, which only worsened his depression and self hate.
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  We truly tried in the marriage, however, without honesty and
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  loyalty, the relationship became too toxic for both parties and
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  we divorced. End Quote.
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  Sin alone is bad enough, but it is the combination of sin and
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  deceit, sin and covering sin and lying that wreaks havoc in the
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  lives of people, a man said of his repentance.
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  I have never felt more peace with my worthiness than I do
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  now. I've never felt more honest
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  without baggage in my life. I'm not hiding things, he said.
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  And I feel free to worship my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus
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  Christ without guilt. My conversations with my
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  Heavenly Father are more free and meaningful.
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  They are full of gratitude and love.
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  They are said with passion and not with the feeling of remorse
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  as they may have been in the past.
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  Prayer is a new found source of strength and peace at all times,
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  not just in times of need. Now, confession is to honestly
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  own or acknowledge one's sins. Integrity, especially about sin
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  and weakness, is foundational. You can't fix what you ignore,
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  deny, or don't see. Honesty is essential and
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  covering is especially harmful. A woman said of her sins.
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  The very thought of coming into the presence of my God did Wrack
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  my soul with inexpressible horror.
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  I longed to come back to church and I and feel the love from all
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  the other members and have my spirit fed.
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  I longed to be forgiven. I knew I had to confess those
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  ugly sins to the Bishop, no matter how many prayers I said I
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  had to confess my sins. Finally, the day came when I had
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  to meet with the Bishop. Surprisingly, I wasn't really
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  afraid anymore to meet him. I had been carrying this dirty
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  laundry far too long and I was anxious to get rid of it.
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  We had a good meeting. I know without a doubt that he
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  is a man of God. We discussed the path to
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  repentance and I left his office with such a weight lifted from
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  my soul. Confession has been
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  misunderstood, abused and even prostituted in the religious
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  world. As a result, some dismiss it
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  while many others believe it to be the sum total of repentance.
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  The confess and go mindset looks for the cheap and easy Rd. road
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  to heaven, which is not a shortcut at all, but a dead end.
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  Repeated cycles of sin, confession, and sin and
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  confession again ignore the other primary evidence of
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  repentance, which is forsaking. Eventually it becomes a mockery
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  to God and the power of it all dissipates.
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  Others, equally mistaken, believe they can go it alone,
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  live a righteous life, and pay the Lord back without confession
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  of serious sin. The pay it back mindset can
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  claim some scriptural support as well, such as, for example, from
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  the Doctrine and Covenants. Thrust in your sickle with all
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  your soul and your sins are forgiven you.
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  When taken in isolation, that statement give right gives rise
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  to a false conclusion. The problem with the with the
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  pay it back mindset is Christ and his atoning sacrifice are
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  completely ignored. They're not even part of the
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  equation. There may be self-made man in
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  the earthly sense, but there's no self-made man in the godly
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  sense. You can't pay it back.
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  No matter how hard you work worlds without end, you can't
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  pay it back. You can't do it on your own.
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  I have seen that reality play out and replay over and over and
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  over again. People who live righteous good
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  lives but never fully free from from past mistakes.
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  Never hole, always with a critical piece missing, always
• 33:11
  the back door slightly ajar, rattling in the wind, until
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  finally, sometimes decades later, sometimes almost a
• 33:21
  lifetime later, they confess and finally the back door slam shot.
• 33:30
  The wind still blow, but the door doesn't rattle anymore and
• 33:35
  finally he sleeps soundly through the night.
• 33:40
  Confession is essential. I I don't know why that is true,
• 33:44
  I just know it is. Maybe it's essential because it
• 33:48
  forges integrity. Forsaking is enabled by
• 34:00
  confession. It has.
• 34:02
  Forsaking has 2 dimensions. Forsaking sin and forsaking the
• 34:09
  past. The first dimension to forsake
• 34:13
  sin is to stop, obviously stop sinful, sinful behavior and
• 34:17
  start better behavior. It is.
• 34:20
  It is a course, a course correction, turning to God.
• 34:26
  One of the most disheartening things about reading the life
• 34:29
  stories of so many people while serving on the Restoration and
• 34:34
  Cancellations Committee is that not some people commit serious
• 34:39
  sins, but they repeat them time and time and time again.
• 34:45
  They don't turn. It is the pattern of
• 34:50
  unrighteousness in a continuous downward spiral that is so
• 34:56
  damaging. It is easier to avoid getting
• 35:01
  into the downward spiral than to pull out of it once you are
• 35:04
  headed down. The word most often used in the
• 35:09
  Old Testament for repentance is turning.
• 35:14
  Ezekiel, for example, recorded as I live, saith, Lord God, I
• 35:20
  have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked
• 35:24
  turn from his way. But that the wicked turn from
• 35:27
  his way. And live turn ye, turn ye from
• 35:33
  your evil ways, for why will ye die, O House of Israel?
• 35:42
  Speaking to King Agrippa, Paul said the Lord gave him a charge
• 35:46
  relative to people to whom he would be sent to open their eyes
• 35:51
  and to turn them from darkness to light, from the power of
• 35:59
  Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and
• 36:04
  inheritance among them, which are sanctified by faith.
• 36:08
  That is in me. Forsaking also involves turning.
• 36:16
  It sounds simple enough, but it is a monstrous labor, especially
• 36:21
  when trying to kill the Dragons of addiction.
• 36:26
  They are like the evil monsters of movies who, after being
• 36:32
  pounded into the ground and blown to bits, rise again out of
• 36:37
  the flames as soon as you turn your back.
• 36:41
  You want to win, you want to stop.
• 36:44
  But after so many battles, you become exhausted, and they
• 36:48
  tragically conclude you can't, thinking you're just too tired,
• 36:53
  you've battled too long, you're not strong enough, as as your
• 36:58
  sword slips from your hand and the Dragons turn to eat you
• 37:03
  alive. The problem is you're trying to
• 37:08
  do it on your own. And on your own you're right,
• 37:14
  you're not strong enough. The Dragons are too big and you
• 37:20
  can't win, not alone. The plan has never been to go
• 37:29
  alone. You need the help of heaven and
• 37:36
  probably the help and support of others as well.
• 37:41
  Confession not only engages the help of trusted others, such as
• 37:45
  a priesthood leader, a spouse or parent, trusted counselors, but
• 37:53
  it also opens the door wide to receive heaven's help.
• 37:59
  Most people think of forsaking in in the first sense, that is
• 38:04
  forsaking sin. But the second dimension of
• 38:08
  forsaking, forsaking the past, is equally important but less
• 38:16
  understood. This part of forsaking also
• 38:20
  involves turning, but not from sin, rather turning to look
• 38:26
  ahead. We are all debilitated merely by
• 38:33
  remembering sins, let alone returning to them again.
• 38:39
  That's part of the awfulness of sin, in King Benjamin's words.
• 38:44
  The awful awfulness of sin is the corrosive effect it may have
• 38:50
  even after repentance and forgiveness.
• 38:55
  A man seeking to have all his blessings restored as a member
• 38:59
  of the church said this. I struggled for a long time
• 39:04
  regarding feeling worthy even when I was in on the straight
• 39:08
  and narrow. Honestly, in the past some of my
• 39:11
  most depressing times were when I was the most spiritual.
• 39:16
  Odd I know. He said I hung on too much to my
• 39:20
  past and I let Satan creep in and convince, convince me I will
• 39:27
  never be worthy. This has scared me for years and
• 39:35
  I felt like I shouldn't get too spiritual because of the
• 39:39
  depression I would often fall into, which is why it has taken
• 39:44
  me so long to get to this point I'm at now.
• 39:47
  I truly have a testimony of the atonement, he said.
• 39:52
  Whereas before, I honestly don't think I did, otherwise I would
• 39:57
  have rejoiced in the spirit. Another man lost his membership
• 40:03
  in the church because of adultery.
• 40:06
  After several years he repented and was re baptized, but even
• 40:13
  still he could not forgive himself.
• 40:17
  He could not forgive himself and languished for decades longer
• 40:25
  without doing what was needed to have all his blessings restored.
• 40:30
  What a tragedy. Surely the Lord forgave him long
• 40:35
  ago, but he would not do the same.
• 40:40
  He forsook his sins, but he did not forsake the past.
• 40:48
  In the meantime, life passed him by, not because he wasn't
• 40:55
  worthy, but because he wouldn't believe it.
• 41:00
  He missed out being the priest of leader he could have been for
• 41:05
  his children and grandchildren had he forgiven himself and put
• 41:11
  away the past, Forsake the past. Remorse for sin is part of
• 41:20
  repentance, but it has never been the plan of our Father to
• 41:24
  wallow in it forever. Christ suffered in Gethsemane
• 41:30
  for that very reason that we not suffer as He.
• 41:42
  It makes no sense to refuse Christ payment only to pay the
• 41:49
  same debt again. Double payment is just as
• 41:56
  stupid, just as foolish as non payment.
• 42:03
  Alma recorded. And now for three days and for
• 42:07
  the three nights I was wracked even with the pains of a damsel.
• 42:11
  And it came to pass that as I was wracked with torment while I
• 42:16
  was harrowed up. Now listen to this while I was
• 42:20
  harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, looking back, behold,
• 42:28
  I remembered also to have heard my Father prophecy unto the
• 42:32
  people concerning the coming of 1 Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to
• 42:37
  atone for the sins of the world. Now as my mind caught hold upon
• 42:42
  this thought, again this is Alma said.
• 42:46
  I cried within my heart, O Jesus, thou Son of God, have
• 42:51
  mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled
• 42:57
  about by the everlasting chains of death.
• 43:00
  And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains
• 43:05
  no more. Yeah, I was harrowed up by the
• 43:10
  memory of my sins. No more.
• 43:17
  And oh, what joy, what marvelous light I did behold the A My soul
• 43:22
  was filled with joy as succeeding as was my pain.
• 43:28
  Alma was able to put away the past and became a very fruitful
• 43:36
  servant of the Lord. You can't move forward-looking
• 43:44
  back, the Lord said. No man, having put his hand to
• 43:51
  the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom.
• 43:57
  Direction is extremely important.
• 44:02
  It is far more important to be on, to be on course than how far
• 44:08
  along you are at any point in time.
• 44:14
  Forgiveness is not forgetting, nor is it not regretting.
• 44:21
  God says He remembers your sins no more when you repent.
• 44:26
  At least they're no longer a deterrent or an issue with Him.
• 44:30
  It is with Him as though they had never happened in so far as
• 44:35
  your worthiness goes. But not so with us.
• 44:40
  By remembering and regretting, you find it harder to believe in
• 44:44
  yourself, which weakens your faith.
• 44:49
  And the more you have to forget, the harder it is to believe,
• 44:52
  especially to believe in yourself.
• 44:56
  That is part of the awfulness of sin.
• 44:59
  Even when you repent, even when you are forgiven, the natural
• 45:03
  tendency is to insist on suffering more, believing you
• 45:08
  don't and can't measure up. And when you believe that Satan
• 45:13
  still wins. If he cannot entice you to
• 45:18
  return to wallow again in the same mire, the next best thing
• 45:23
  is to undermine your confidence today, because you were once in
• 45:28
  the mire, and either way, he wins.
• 45:34
  There is a difference. There is a difference between
• 45:38
  the regret of past sins for which you have repented and the
• 45:43
  crushing burden of unresolved sin.
• 45:48
  If you remember and regret your sins, it doesn't mean you
• 45:52
  haven't repented or been forgiven.
• 45:55
  It only means you are human with cognitive abilities greater than
• 46:01
  your cat. To an extent, you are schooled
• 46:06
  by failure, and failure is never really failure until you quit or
• 46:12
  refuse to learn from it. By remembering the good and the
• 46:17
  bad, you are more fully informed to sell ahead.
• 46:22
  Forsaking, therefore, is not only stopping sinful behavior
• 46:27
  and starting better behavior, but also putting away the past
• 46:34
  you won't forget. Face your past honestly, as
• 46:42
  painful as it may be, but don't be its victim.
• 46:49
  Don't let it claim you otherwise.
• 46:53
  You deny Christ, you deny his suffering is sufficient to meet
• 47:01
  the demands of justice. You insist on suffering more and
• 47:06
  continue to kick yourself around the ranch.
• 47:11
  The Lord said. For behold, I, God, have have
• 47:20
  suffered these things, for all that they might not suffer if
• 47:27
  they would repent. Look, look to the past long
• 47:33
  enough to learn and repent, and then turn around.
• 47:40
  Look ahead and go. If you have repented, if you
• 47:47
  have done all you can do, shut the back door.
• 47:51
  That is part of forsaking. Otherwise it's all for none, all
• 48:00
  of Christ suffering and all of your suffering, all in vain.
• 48:06
  All for not let it go. Shut the door.
• 48:14
  That's the second dimension of forsaking.
• 48:23
  There is great power in forgiveness, That is power when
• 48:31
  God Forgives us, and also power when we forgive others.
• 48:39
  To be forgiven we must forgive, Jesus taught.
• 48:46
  For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
• 48:50
  will also forgive you. But if you forgive not men their
• 48:57
  trespasses, neither will your father forgive your trespasses.
• 49:04
  Pretty sobering, thought Alma uniquely taught what he alone
• 49:09
  called the law of restoration. He said, For that which you do
• 49:15
  send out shall return unto you again and be restored.
• 49:21
  Isaiah said The righteous shall eat the fruit of their doings.
• 49:29
  You receive what you what you give.
• 49:32
  That is an absolute vital truth. Forgive.
• 49:39
  To be forgiven is 1 expression of that truth.
• 49:43
  Here are a few other examples of this law of restoration that you
• 49:50
  receive what you give. Blessed are the merciful, for
• 49:56
  they shall obtain mercy. For what judgment you judge ye
• 50:01
  shall be judged, and what measure ye meet, it shall be
• 50:06
  measured to you again. Here's another.
• 50:10
  For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged
• 50:16
  rashly again. For according to his works shall
• 50:21
  his wages be. Therefore he that smiteth shall
• 50:27
  be smitten again of the Lord. Pretty sobering.
• 50:32
  Here's another one. For whosoever shall be ashamed
• 50:35
  of me and my words of him, shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when
• 50:44
  he shall come in his glory and in his Father's.
• 50:48
  And of the holy angels again, Alma's compelling words.
• 50:57
  For that which you do send out shall we return unto you again
• 51:04
  and be restored the law of restoration.
• 51:09
  We create our own heaven or hell.
• 51:14
  We build it. We lay each stone of the
• 51:19
  foundation. We place the floor and raise the
• 51:22
  walls. We hammer every now we place
• 51:27
  each shingle. If there are flowers in the
• 51:31
  window box, it is because we planted them.
• 51:34
  We build our own house. We receive what we give.
• 51:42
  What awaits us is not so much reward as the product of our own
• 51:47
  construction, the reflection of our life, the reproduction there
• 51:55
  of our life here. That is the law of restoration.
• 52:03
  God stands ready to help us as we help others.
• 52:11
  Part of that truth relates to forgiveness.
• 52:14
  He will forgive us as we forgive others.
• 52:20
  So again in the Lord's words, Wherefore I say unto you, that
• 52:23
  you ought to forgive one another.
• 52:27
  For he that forgiveth not his brother, his trespasses standeth
• 52:32
  condemned before the Lord, for the remaineth in him the greater
• 52:37
  sin. Jesus also said to forgive
• 52:42
  anyone 70 * 7, which is of course always forgiving.
• 52:51
  Others should not be confused, however, should not be confused
• 52:55
  with condoning, overlooking, ignoring, or enabling sin.
• 53:07
  Sometimes people are more focused on the consequences of
• 53:11
  church membership limitations or withdrawal than the consequences
• 53:17
  of sin itself, particularly spiritual death.
• 53:22
  And in the minds of many, repentance has more to do with
• 53:25
  compliance with the conditions of church discipline than what
• 53:30
  is necessary to be for be forgiven by Heavenly Father
• 53:33
  because of the intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 53:39
  There is a phrase people often use when Speaking of repentance
• 53:44
  that seems to me to be somewhat misleading and maybe even
• 53:48
  harmful. They refer to the process of
• 53:54
  repentance. That's the phrase.
• 53:58
  On its face, it's fine, although not scriptural.
• 54:03
  Repentance is a process, but not formulaic.
• 54:08
  When people say they went through the process of
• 54:12
  repentance, what they usually mean is they complied with the
• 54:16
  requirements and conditions of church discipline rather than
• 54:21
  what the Lord requires for redemption.
• 54:25
  They they may assume they are all one in the same, but that's
• 54:30
  that's a mistake. The process of church discipline
• 54:35
  includes confession to a common judge such as a Bishop, state
• 54:40
  president, or mission president, submission to any informal or
• 54:45
  formal limitations of membership privileges, compliance with the
• 54:50
  conditions to recover those privileges, leading to ultimate
• 54:55
  restoration. That is what people usually mean
• 55:00
  by the process of repentance, but godly sorrow, forsaking,
• 55:09
  restitution, fasting and prayer, the atonement, and even the Lord
• 55:15
  Jesus Christ are not expressly in that sequence.
• 55:21
  They may be added, and hopefully so, but they are ancillary and
• 55:28
  the administrative process may over shadow redemption.
• 55:36
  A state president commented about a man's preparation to
• 55:39
  have his membership restrictions lifted, saying this, he acted
• 55:44
  like a normal member. He would always fast and pray
• 55:49
  for forgiveness from the Lord for his actions.
• 55:52
  End Quote. I wonder.
• 55:56
  I wonder if that is in fact what most normal members do.
• 56:03
  Are they focused on the consequences of sin or the
• 56:07
  consequences of membership restrictions?
• 56:11
  Are they focused on doing what is necessary to regain the
• 56:15
  Spirit of God or good standing in the church?
• 56:21
  Both are important, and they should coincide to some extent,
• 56:27
  but they do not always. And the process of repentance
• 56:31
  without redemption is formed without substance.
• 56:36
  Substance. The Church, as marvelous as it
• 56:41
  is and as essential as it is, the Church does not dispense
• 56:48
  redemption. The Lord does that.
• 56:59
  The process of restricting or withdrawing church membership is
• 57:02
  what the Lord said to Alma is to regulate all the affairs of the
• 57:08
  church. Regulating the affairs of the
• 57:12
  church is important. To protect the innocent, help
• 57:16
  people. Yes.
• 57:17
  To repent and protect the good name of the Church.
• 57:23
  Confession, personal counseling, informal membership
• 57:26
  restrictions, and Church membership councils facilitate
• 57:31
  and encourage forsaking and are a great blessing to people who
• 57:37
  are penitent in the process of Church discipline.
• 57:41
  There is a beginning and an end to that process, and that can
• 57:48
  structure and greatly aid repentance, which is otherwise
• 57:53
  somewhat unstructured. That's that structure confers a
• 57:58
  sense of integrity, submission and completion, enabling one to
• 58:05
  close more easily the back door. Now that's important.
• 58:11
  After a long stretch of infidelity and suffering, a
• 58:14
  woman spoke with her Bishop. She said this.
• 58:19
  I told him everything. My transgressions were serious
• 58:23
  enough to lead to my disfellowship, and this is the
• 58:27
  moment that turned my life around, she said.
• 58:31
  I no longer had any desire to engage in immoral behavior.
• 58:36
  In fact, it was a sickening thought and I wish never to
• 58:41
  return to that life again. This is the biggest miracle of
• 58:45
  all to me is how God can heal us when we lay our burdens at His
• 58:52
  feet. End Quote.
• 58:56
  One might think there is a great inequity in the Church, that
• 59:01
  while members who are active or partially active experience
• 59:06
  restrictions or withdrawal of membership privileges, a great
• 59:12
  many members of the church fly under the radar, living lives of
• 59:18
  wild abandoned in flagrant disregard to the commandments of
• 59:22
  God, without institutional consequence.
• 59:27
  That view, however, derives from the mistaken perception of
• 59:32
  church discipline as negative when in truth it is intended to
• 59:38
  be positive. Applied under the inspiration of
• 59:43
  heaven, it disrupts the routine, upsets the apple cart, breaks
• 59:49
  patterns, upsets A complacent or destructive status quo, and
• 59:55
  helps people turn. It helps people turn their lives
• 1:00:01
  around, hopefully turn to the Lord, which is frequently the
• 1:00:06
  result. The lack of church intervention
• 1:00:12
  can be very harmful. Not only may the transgressor
• 1:00:17
  continue to suffer the ill effects of unresolved sin, but
• 1:00:22
  innocent people, especially a faithful spouse or children, may
• 1:00:29
  well continue to suffer the collateral damage of another's
• 1:00:33
  sins only for want of church intervention.
• 1:00:39
  One of its primary purposes of church discipline is to protect
• 1:00:46
  the innocent, but without any intervention, the innocent may
• 1:00:50
  continue to suffer. There are always consequences,
• 1:00:57
  and the consequences of no consequences can be devastating.
• 1:01:10
  So finally, another question. Stay with me here.
• 1:01:17
  How can I know if I've been forgiven?
• 1:01:22
  How can you know if you've been forgiven?
• 1:01:24
  That's a good question, but it's not the best question.
• 1:01:31
  Many great souls have hunger to know their standing before God.
• 1:01:36
  We all need to know that. It is part of what drove Joseph
• 1:01:39
  Smith into the Grove to pray on that spring morning.
• 1:01:45
  It is what caused Enos to pray all day and into the night.
• 1:01:50
  It is what caused Isaiah to doubt himself.
• 1:01:54
  It is what caused Alma to say that he was wracked, even with
• 1:01:58
  the pains of a damned soul for three days and night.
• 1:02:03
  In addition to the First Vision, the Lord also assured Joseph
• 1:02:09
  Smith his sins were forgiven on at least three separate
• 1:02:14
  occasions. In almost every instance when
• 1:02:18
  the Lord declared thy sins are forgiven thee, He followed with
• 1:02:25
  go to work. When people can stop worrying
• 1:02:30
  about their standing before God, when they can forsake the past
• 1:02:39
  and forget about themselves, they are able to go to work and
• 1:02:44
  focus on others, then they can become fruitful.
• 1:02:52
  The worry about 1 standing before God is similar to the
• 1:02:58
  third pillar of the foundation of faith that we've talked
• 1:03:01
  about. To have an actual knowledge, the
• 1:03:05
  course you are pursuing is acceptable to God.
• 1:03:10
  It is of course a valid concern, but people waste far too much
• 1:03:17
  energy and time worrying about whether or when they have been
• 1:03:23
  or will be forgiven. While they are fussing over
• 1:03:27
  whether they have been or will be forgiven, life passes by.
• 1:03:34
  If you are on course and moving forward, you will be forgiven if
• 1:03:43
  you haven't been already, and you will attain to eternal life
• 1:03:47
  if you stay the course. That is all you need to know.
• 1:03:55
  The better question is not have I been forgiven, rather am I on
• 1:04:00
  course? That's the question.
• 1:04:03
  Forgiveness, whether yesterday, today or tomorrow doesn't matter
• 1:04:09
  if you are on course. If you are, and if you are not
• 1:04:15
  covering sin, you may have full confidence before the Lord.
• 1:04:21
  The Lord said he that repents and does the commandments of the
• 1:04:26
  Lord shall be forgiven absolute. It will happen so don't worry
• 1:04:35
  about it and go to work. A similar question is have I
• 1:04:42
  done enough to repent? The answer is the same.
• 1:04:48
  Are you on course and moving forward?
• 1:04:51
  If so, you will do enough if you haven't already.
• 1:04:57
  The Spirit will show you all things you should do.
• 1:05:01
  If there are apologies that need saying, He will tell you.
• 1:05:07
  If there is restitution that needs to be made, He will tell
• 1:05:11
  you. If there's something unresolved,
• 1:05:13
  the Lord will tell you. If you are honest, if you ask,
• 1:05:18
  and if you listen, the Lord will tell you.
• 1:05:22
  And when He does do it? Faith without repentance is dead
• 1:05:35
  in profits. Nothing.
• 1:05:38
  If you are off course, turn to get on course.
• 1:05:45
  Look to the past long enough to learn and repent and then turn
• 1:05:51
  around and look ahead. Be vigilant and disciplined to
• 1:05:56
  stay on course. Repent to be born again and then
• 1:06:02
  stay alive from day-to-day. Forgive all others that you may
• 1:06:08
  be forgiven. Don't think of repentance as a
• 1:06:13
  series of steps or elements. To check off faith in Christ is
• 1:06:19
  to look to Him, learn of Him, and trust Him.
• 1:06:24
  Repentance is to apply what you learn.
• 1:06:28
  It's that simple. We've all sinned and come short
• 1:06:36
  of the glory of God. Our sin separate us from the
• 1:06:40
  presence and power of God, which is the essential problem in
• 1:06:45
  life. We all have need for redemption.
• 1:06:50
  We all have weaknesses. We all need to be strengthened.
• 1:06:56
  As long as we draw breath, we will have need to repent because
• 1:07:02
  long as long as we live, we have need for God's Son, His Spirit
• 1:07:09
  and his life. It doesn't end, at least anytime
• 1:07:13
  soon, if ever. It is life's great adventure.
• 1:07:22
  In the next episode, we will focus on baptism and ordinances
• 1:07:28
  as essential waypoints along the path to eternal life and every
• 1:07:33
  good thing between there and here.
• 1:07:38
  I hope you will join me then.