Becoming born again is simple, but it is not easy. The decision to turn to God is not one that should be taken lightly. One individual described his own experience as starting with an abrupt awareness of his sinful state and miserable destiny:
28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, _repenting nigh unto death_ , the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God.
29 _My soul hath been redeemed_ from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more. (Mosiah 27)
Freedom from this bitterness can only come through total repentance. To repent is to reconcile oneself to God, or to bring one’s actions, thoughts, and intentions into accordance with God’s commandments. In other words, to submit to God in all things:
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mosiah 3:19)
Full submission to God is not an easy thing to achieve. Submission to God comes in phases. In the first phase, we seek to escape pain. This is what Paul referred to as the sorrow of the world.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (2 Corinthians 7)
Worldly sorrow is not sufficient to save. Those with worldly sorrow ask God to relieve their pain. Whether he does or not, they rarely change.
Worldly sorrow is simply the misery of the damned. It is misery caused by a difference between one’s reality and one’s lustful desires. There may be depression, bitterness, despair, or sorrow, but without seeking God’s will.
Godly sorrow is the realization that the emptiness and darkness within one’s heart is the result of rebellion against God. You realize that you have become desensitized and that you have preferred darkness to light, your own will to Christ’s. The sorrow you feel comes not from the temporal consequences of your sin, but from your awareness of your offense to God. It causes you to change. It creates a desire to move forward in submission to God.
The next phase of submission is initial sacrifice. In this stage, we are willing to make limited changes to our life to move towards God. This degree of sacrifice is portrayed in the scriptures when kings willingly offer up “half their kingdom” to satisfy the requests of a person they seek to appease (see Esther 5:6, Alma 20:23, etc.). Here, you remove things from your life that offend God, and start doing the things he has commanded you to do.
The next phase is full sacrifice. In this phase, the individual sets no boundaries on what they are willing to give God in order to appease him.
O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. (Alma 22:18)
It is only in this last phase that an individual has achieved full submission. They are not seeking their own lives, their own comfort, or to retain or restore any worldly attainment in their lives. They have an eye single to the glory of God, and their only desire is to please God. This is the sacrifice that God requires. This is full submission.
Another way full submission is described is with the phrase “broken heart and contrite spirit”:
And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost... (3 Nephi 9:20)
A broken heart and contrite spirit is when your desire to obey God becomes so great that it crushes any other desire in your life. A broken heart and contrite spirit is what, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, qualifies you for eternal life:
6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.
7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. (2 Nephi 2)
Most people are blissfully ignorant of their true standing with God. Either they don’t believe in him, or they fool themselves into thinking that their religion has reconciled them to him when such is not the case. Typically, a broken heart and contrite spirit can only occur in an individual who understands his true situation with God due to the fall, and what awaits him if he meets God without preparing for the event. For example, this is how one minister helped a powerful king to achieve a broken heart and contrite spirit through understanding the fall, the mission of Christ, and the need for personal repentance:
13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.
14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.
15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, _if thou wilt repent of all thy sins_ , and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.
17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and _I will give away all my sins to know thee_ , and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day... (Alma 22)
14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be _born again_ ; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and _be baptized unto repentance_ , that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and _lay aside every sin_ , which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and _show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins_ and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism. (Alma 7)
Turning away from our sins is not complete without baptism by water, a rite prescribed by God through which an individual can signal to God that he has made the decision to turn to him without reservation.
And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. (2 Nephi 9:23)
To the apostles of the New Testament, Jesus gave authority to baptize those who repented: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19) He did the same to his believers on this continent when he visited here after his resurrection: “I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.” (3 Nephi 11:21) Jesus always personally appoints servants to baptize, and today is no exception.
Although there are many imposters who seek to baptize without receiving his commission, there are those who have, and they can and must be prayerfully sought.