Repentance

Repentance means simply to move closer to God. It is to rid oneself of error in belief, or sin in action, through the acquisition of and reconciliation to knowledge from God.¹ Repentance is not a matter of beginning a checklist of actions while omitting another checklist of actions. One must align their whole soul to Christ, which requires not only a reconciliation to one’s current understanding of God’s will, but to anything he might reveal to the individual in the future:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:21-23.)

Note that here Jesus did not say “he that doeth what he believes to be the will of my Father.” Instead, he said he who does the actual will of God. Getting to know God is very different than completing a checklist of actions. It requires persistent revelation to acquire knowledge of what God is like and what he actually wants. That’s why Moses, despite being fully committed to God, came away from a conversation with him in such shock, having learned things he never would have supposed.² The frequency of our surprise at the difference between what we thought we knew of God and his commandments and what he is currently teaching us through personal revelation is a good indication of our degree of repentance.

Many mistakenly believe that repentance is about desire and willpower. They believe that men sin either because they don’t want to abstain from sin, or they don’t have enough will to abstain from sin. This is, in reality, a distraction from the real problem. There is a reason that one main purpose of our mortal probation is to learn to distinguish between truth and error: it is difficult!

Our failure to choose what is true is almost always due to ignorance, not a lack of willpower. Human beings are rational beings. As we acquire knowledge, we act according to it. Our misconception that sin comes from a lack of willpower is tied to our misunderstanding of faith (see the definition above). When we acquire knowledge from God, and we have faith in him, we act according to that knowledge. If we act contrary to it, it is most often because we don’t really believe it. Therefore, our understanding has not become real knowledge, but is still merely belief. Acting against something you honestly know is so rare that it is called the unpardonable sin. Those in sin do not lack will power, they either lack knowledge, faith, or both. Those who spend their efforts to repent in willpower-gaining exercises will not make the same progress of those who recognize repentance as knowledge acquisition. Even those with incredible will power have moments of weakness, because will power is not constant. Knowledge, however, does not wane except through disobedience. If will power could make a man perfect, knowledge would not be required for salvation. But knowledge is required for salvation, and it is the key to repentance.

In the days of Alma there were a significant number of members who were sinning exceedingly. They were so wicked that “there were many witnesses against them; yea, the people stood and testified of their iniquity in abundance.” (Mosiah 26:9.) In response to Alma’s query about what to do about these people, God said³ that he retains the role of judge to decide who it is that is forgiven, since he is the one who paid the price:

For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand. (Mosiah 26:23.)

God then gives Alma the answer to his question of what to do with members in sin. It is as powerful as it is simple:

Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also. Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor’s trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation. Now I say unto you, Go; and whosoever will not repent of his sins the same shall not be numbered among my people; and this shall be observed from this time forward. (Mosiah 26:29-31.)

God teaches plainly that if a man confesses and says they repent, they are to be forgiven immediately. Perhaps anticipating the innovation of stigmatic statuses (disfellowshipped, etc.), he gives only a binary status: a member of his church, or not. Perhaps anticipating the innovation of a prescribed one year waiting period for those whose status has changed, he identifies the switching between the two as instantaneous. To put some weight behind it, he says that those who do not accept the person's statement of repentance “hath brought himself under condemnation.” It is important to note that Alma immediately implemented these instructions. When we see the application of statuses beyond “member” and “non-member” or waiting periods associated with repentance, we ought to realize that these are innovations never defined in God’s word.⁴

This understanding has implications for baptism. God never ordained a baptismal interview, and never prescribed most if not all of the baptismal requirements printed in “Preach My Gospel”. Jesus laid out the requirement for pre-baptismal repentance in crystal clarity, as well as providing a curse for any that modify that definition:

And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. (3 Nephi 11:37-40.)

The use of the word “atonement” has come into vogue in modern Mormonism. We “apply” the atonement, and even “apply it generously,” as if it were soap.⁵ We “embrace the atonement” as if were a person.⁵ We “use” the atonement, as if were a tool.⁶ Yet, our subjects and verbs are erroneous. It is Jesus who forgives us, period. We do not apply his sacrifice, rather we apply to him, and he has power by virtue of his sacrifice to forgive us. We do not embrace the atonement. We embrace Jesus, through the veil, and receive greater light and knowledge that allows us to overcome sin and, in this life, re-enter his presence to embrace him face-to-face. We do not use his sacrifice. Rather, we emulate his example in sacrificing. Jesus saves us, not his atonement.⁷

Modern Mormonism not only personifies Jesus’ action as its own entity, but it also transfigures it into mainstream Christianity’s “saved by Grace” construct. In place of Christianity’s simplistic “confessing Jesus,” modern Mormons “must accept the atonement.”⁸ Like a laundry machine, the church takes the sinner, puts him into the atonement, adds a sprinkling of “saving ordinances,” rotates him through a few years in good standing in the church doing his best,⁹ and out comes a Saint!

The limiting factor in repentance is not obtaining forgiveness! God has already paid the price. Forgiveness is given instantly whenever it is asked for. The limiting factor is acquiring and applying new knowledge so that the sinner forsakes sin permanently. It is incorrect to teach or believe that God will admit into salvation any that have not yet become like him.¹⁰ Obtaining forgiveness of one’s sin is not sanctification—it is only justification. To obtain salvation, one must become like Christ in every way. When God commanded us to be perfect, he meant it. Doing your best is insufficient. The plan of salvation is not a classroom where select members of the class get an easier exam because they asked the teacher or participated in extracurricular activities. The plan of salvation is like a classroom where no one is capable of passing the exam on the first round, but students are permitted to retake the class as many times as it takes for them to be able to pass because of an arrangement made between the teacher and the principle.¹¹ The atonement does not provide a bridge over the requirements of salvation. Rather, it provides infinite “resets” on the process, until we finally learn.

For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. (2 Nephi 25:23.)

Doing our best does not reconcile us to God. There is yet more to be done “after all we can do.” Jesus provides us greater space to repent and grow beyond what one mortal probation—an insufficient time for any of us—could provide.

Despite what is taught from the pulpit¹² and in best-selling books,¹³ God cannot and will not save us in our sins.¹⁴ You must deny yourself of all ungodliness and have a perfect love for God before his grace is sufficient.

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. (Moroni 10:32.)

Mercy can satisfy justice in providing forgiveness to the sinner, but it cannot rob justice by providing the blessings of the obedient to the disobedient.¹⁵ In other words, mercy can provide justification, but it cannot provide sanctification. Only justice can provide sanctification, and justice requires perfection. As Joseph wrote,

[Jesus] descended in suffering below that which man can suffer, or in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. But notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God and remained without sin; showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin. And also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God, may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins. (Lectures on Faith 5:2.)

There is no other way. One who does not keep the law God keeps cannot have the blessings God has.¹⁶ He instead provides the environment for us to acquire the knowledge to stop sinning, if we will seek him and believe what he teaches us.