Hey there everybody welcome out to another episode of Redeemed Through His Blood.
Scott Durfey here and is always joined by Uncle David Durfey.
Thankfully Dave.
Thankfully.
Thankfully is right.
Great topic.
We're going to be together and life is grand.
I never tell you that story.
We were doing a family home evening you know and they're not always successful when you
have little children and it was a Monday night and I don't know where I got this idea.
I'm sure it wasn't original with me but we we gave the kids a quarter and we got in the
van and we took turns flipping the quarter heads or tails.
If it was heads we turned right.
If it was tails we turned left and we just wanted to see where living a life you know
the lesson was really about choices and decisions and consequences all of that.
That's what we were trying to teach and so they would take turns flipping a quarter.
He's right.
Tails left and we ended up down the Utah Lake.
No place to go.
You know dead end.
Okay.
It was fun.
They had fun.
It was you know lesson lesson taught even though I'm sure they don't remember it and
then we went to probably hearts or some little gas station and bought everybody a candy bar
and a drink and we're driving home and I look back in the rearview mirror and Devon's looking
out the window and just out of his mouth.
I think he was like five years old.
He was like five years old and he just says ain't life grand.
I love that.
I saw Devon the other day.
That was really cool.
I've been seeing him for a little bit.
Ain't life grand.
Ain't life grand Devon.
So that's something that's kind of a little philosophy you're saying that I think of often.
Ain't life grand.
Yeah.
And after just a simple experience right.
I mean the perspective of a young person is just so pure.
It was just so pure you know.
So innocent and sincere and just impromptu and excellent.
And temperanious and anyway life life is grand Scott you know we we talked about recently
together with a group you and me about something that I hadn't really known much about.
It was kind of new to me about the baseline of happiness that every individual has their
own baseline and there's there's this thing called hedonic treadmill.
Hedonic meaning pleasure happiness that everybody is on this treadmill of trying to be happy
and you may have a little spike and you may have a little depression.
In other words you may go up and down a little bit in your level of happiness daily weekly
monthly I mean we all go through our cycles right.
But you all always return to the same baseline.
And I've just been thinking so much about that is how can we if we could just raise
if I could just raise my baseline of happiness a few points what difference would that make
in my life and even more importantly what difference would it make in the lives of others
around me.
I've just been thinking about that this baseline of happiness the hedonic treadmill or hedonic
adaptation they call it.
So let me kind of just draw this for our listeners if you if you think about your baseline and
this was new to me too by the way David I thought this was a very enlightening the way
you presented it especially the other night.
But if you just think of your happiness baseline and you just run a horizontal line just a straight
horizontal level line.
Yeah on a graph on a graph it just runs from left to right.
Okay and that's that's your that's your happiness baseline right Dave.
Yeah.
And we have events throughout our life that intersect that line they'll go above it and
below it and above it and below it in the financial world we call those convergence and divergences
you know converges and then it diverges against it and just kind of flows up and down and
up and down.
And you know and on the upside or our elation you know our super happy days and when we
are having that and you know and those can be for various reasons the birth of a child
the baptism of grandson a marriage whatever the case may be that we tie our happiness
to and it will raise it far above our baseline.
Then we have times in our lives that create sadness you know the death of a loved one
or the challenges of our children or whatnot and they will come below our baseline but
as you said that you know the principle is that that happiness baseline will maintain
equilibrium throughout the course of our life.
And that baseline that the way you challenge us to raise that baseline is something that
if we I think if we all took serious that it would it would not just change as you said
our lives but those around us.
You know they've actually done several studies on this course.
This is kind of a scientific thing and they studied those who won the lottery and how
that of course increased their level of happiness for a while but how it all settled back down
and they came back to the same baseline before they ever won the lottery.
And then they studied those who had become through accidents paralyzed or paraplegic
and how of course that put them into kind of a bottom and they went below their baseline
and eventually over time they rise back up to their baseline.
And it's just it's so interesting to me that it seems as though and they say it's about
50 50 50 percent genetic and about 50 percent choice.
Nurture in nature.
You're right.
Nurture in nature.
Yeah.
About half and half.
Right.
You you you have some say over it but you don't have complete control over it but that you
can raise the level of your happiness baseline.
I've just been thinking about that.
I think it's really true for me.
I think it's true for my my sweetheart for my children of as I've observed over the
years.
I've just been thinking it would be so powerful to be more aware of what our baseline is and
then to identify things that we can actually do to increase or to raise just a few points
the level of that baseline.
If we can embody the principles that we talk about in this podcast and actually just not
give lip service to them and not just listen to them and be spiritually edified by them
but through them be motivated faith unto repentance for example.
Yeah.
And if we are motivated by these things through our gratitude for these things then then it's
not just possible but it's but it's we should expect our baseline happiness to rise.
Really Scott if we really understood the gospel of Jesus Christ and we were more effective
in living it daily and establishing holy habits we would raise the level of our baseline
and it wouldn't be up and down so much as it sometimes is when we don't live the gospel.
That's right.
And it would and it would remain permanent so long as we did.
Yeah.
And eventually if we can if we could continue to increase it a few points and each year
and a few points each year as we come closer to our heavenly Father and we live and walk
eat and sleep with the spirit of the Lord with us if we could just slowly gradually but consistently
you raise that level baseline level of happiness.
Eventually Scott we come to what the scriptures call a fullness of joy.
Right.
And and they're still they're still heavenly Father still has some sorrow when he sees
his children but but that baseline his baseline of happiness that he has a baseline of happiness
Scott it's called the fullness of joy and I'm sure there's a few little swiggles up
and down but he always returns to the baseline of a fullness of joy and that's what we should
all seek and today we're so excited to talk about to really get into the kind of the heart
of this podcast which is on repentance and we've talked about what repentance is not
and everybody I hope you can just review that in your mind without me stating it.
What repentance is not is really critical before you can understand what it is and so
today we should really start start talking about what repentance is and the blessings
of repentance and the process of repentance the essential elements of repentance and we'll
be talking about this probably for the next three or four the podcast but this kind of
the the heart of the course everything I'm not saying it's the most important thing in
the course the most important thing in the course is is when we spent I don't know maybe
three podcasts on the atonement of Jesus Christ the plan of redemption what all that means
however this is about how to access that repentance is really the blessing the gift that God has
given us to access the atonement of Jesus Christ access his power in our life so let's
let's talk about Scott we haven't really discussed what what God has said and how God feels about
repentance the prophets have taught us the scriptures are clear about this so let's let's
talk about that Scott and you you reminded me that the first thing Jesus taught when
he began his mortal ministry the first word out of his mouth actually was this is in Matthew
chapter 4 right yeah Matthew chapter 4 verse 17 so Jesus is just finished his 40 day fast
right and it talks the people which sat in the darkness with great light unto them which
sat in the regions in the shadow of death light is sprung up so Jesus has just come off of
his 40 day fast now in 17 now from that time Jesus began to preach and to say this is really
cool repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand the first word that's what that's what
he said repent for the kingdom of heaven is the first word out of his mouth recorded by
Matthew beginning his mortal ministry is repent that was his focus Scott that is really we
we use the word gospel I think kind of lightly sometimes and when I think of the gospel I
think of the good news that's really what it means and when I think of the good news I
think of the word repent that's the good news that's the good word it's it's it's the gospel
of Jesus Christ but but ultimately it's a gospel of action and the action the real action
of the gospel Scott is repentance it's the it's a gospel of repentance so this is this
is the heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ is repentance and the Lord really emphasizes
that early on in the in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ he he over and
over again to Oliver Cowdery this is before even the church is organized Scott to Oliver
Cowdery to to Hiram Smith to several of the early leaders of the church to Joseph Smith
over and over again he says the same thing say nothing but repentance unto this generation
that's repeated in several of the early sections of the Doctrine and Covenants that's Doctrine
and Covenants 6 verse 9 and it's again 11 9 it's in 14 it's in oh I think it's so interesting
how how the Lord defines the church Scott in Doctrine and Covenants section 10 if you
think you belong to the church of Jesus Christ that's another way of saying that you are
repenting and if you're not repenting maybe you're really not a member of his church let's
listen to this behold this is my doctrine doctrine singular not plural this is my doctrine
this is the doctrine of Christ who so ever repenteth and cometh unto me and those two
always go together Scott we're going to point that out probably again and again as we define
repentance there's that repentance and coming unto Christ or the same thing whenever he says
come unto me you should think repentance and whenever you read repentance you should think
about well that's just an invitation to come unto me so this is doctrine Covenants section
10 verse 67 for behold this is my doctrine and whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me
the same is my church that's the church I know we love to institutionalize the church but
the essence of the church is that all we're doing is repenting we're just sinners helping
sinners Scott we're just sinners who are repenting that is the church that's the essence of the
church and it's the essence of the gospel and then he in verse 68 he says and whosoever
declareeth more or less than this the same is not of me but is against me therefore he
is not of my church and now behold whosoever is of my church and who's of his church those
who are repenting whosoever is of my church and in Doroth of my church in other words
who repent daily who repent over and over and over again him will I establish upon my
rock and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them so it's we we think about right
Helaman 512 when we read that establishing upon the rock well what does that mean repentance
establishing upon the rock of Christ is nothing really more nothing less than repenting its
faith unto repentance it's repenting with faith in Jesus Christ this is his church that's
what we've been asked to declare and again early on in the restoration repeated in two
sections back to back section 15 and section 16 Scott the last verse in both of these sections
to the Whitmer brothers to John and Peter the Lord says exactly the same thing so do
you want to do you have that Scott yeah sure do Dr. and Covenant section 15 verse 6 which
is the same thing as section 16 verse 6 and I just think it's a critical that here we
have the witness two or more witnesses and the Lord in repetition teaching us with repetition
to emphasize the importance of this so I verse 6 and now behold I say unto you that the thing
which will be of most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people that
you may bring souls unto me that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my father wow the
thing the one thing that will be of most worth unto you will be to declare repentance well
if that's the one thing that is of greatest importance to the Lord how much more important
is it for us to be engaged in the process because I don't think you can declare it if
you're not doing it so I I hope that all of our listeners and you and me our families
will remember how the Lord feels about this principle of repentance it's the essence God
of really the the gospel it's the essence of God's plan I mean he knew he knew that we
would have to repent because he knew we would sin right repentance is not as Elder Robbins
and President Nelson and Elder Anderson in his book have all taught repentance is not
the backup plan it's it's the plan is is the plan of redemption that we would sin and
that the gift of repentance would be available to us through Jesus Christ then his atonement
you know what we're really talking about here we've spent several weeks 20 something to
be exact weeks something's not exactly get that but we've spent 20 something weeks talking
about the effect the fall of Adam and Eve and our own fall and the effects of the fall
and the events of the atonement of Jesus Christ and the effects and now we're getting into
the effects of the atonement of Jesus Christ and one of the biggest questions I'm asked
not just in our institute class but I'm asked by people I had a great conversation with
the gentleman yesterday who's trying to put on the atonement of Jesus Christ and and and
that's a question often comes up okay this is great so I can heal so I can be forgiven
so I can return and live to my with my heavenly father because of the atonement because of
the atonement of Jesus Christ and all of these things but how do I access that and that's
really what we're talking about this is the key that turns the lock on the door to entering
into his rest yes yes yes yes and of course there's some preparations and maybe some prerequisites
to this yeah but but Scott how would our how would the approach to life your approach my
approach to life change if instead of worrying about living a perfect sinless life what if
my focus was how can I perfect my repentance how would that change your approach to life
that I just want to be a perfect repenter is that a new word yeah repenter perfect repent
I just want to be a perfect repenter because it's not possible for me to be sinless here
and so maybe maybe maybe my approach should be not to live a sinless life or a perfect
life but to be a perfect repenter in the past and I think this has been true for me in the
past and I'll emphasize in the past and I know that many of our listeners probably are
still seeing or having at least in the recent past seen it this way to where we have thought
of repentance as a penalty now we went all through that last week of what it is not but
but I think sometimes it's difficult for us to release that ingrained feeling and in our
hearts and in our minds that repentance is me going to the court to pay the penalty to
pay the fine yeah but what if we saw instead of that as a this is a way for me to go to
him right to be healed from all of that that created the consequences that required in
my mind for me to go pay the fine well the the essence again the essence of the definition
of repentance in my mind and I I'm not talking about the the the Greek or the Hebrew equivalent
for the word which we'll get into but but the essence of repentance is defined as come
unto me and it's interesting if if in fact I invite all our listeners to really research
this I think it's the invitation to come unto me is I think six times in the New Testament
it's over 20 times in the Book of Mormon and the doctrine of covenants in the Restoration
Scriptures he invites us over 20 times to come unto him and really close almost every
time when that invitation is given Scott within a verse or two and and most the time it's
right in the same verse you'll read the word repent repent and come unto me that's the
essence of repentance repentance is to turn your back on sin and to move towards Jesus
Christ and we should do that daily there's not one of us who is not affected by sin we
see it we see it every day we are tainted by it every day in this corrupt corrosive sinful
selfish world we are all affected by it every day and we all sin every day we're all sinners
all taught that we're no one can deny that they're that I'm sure there are some who
maybe think they're not or there are some who maybe think they want to live a perfect
day and they probably come close but there's not one person on the earth who's lived a
perfect sinless day so the essence of it is that when you see it when you participate
in it when you feel Lord Lord or tempted by it that you turn your back on it and you move
towards the Savior that is the essence of repentance and that's what it looks like when
it comes into the definitions of it right yeah metanaeo and all of the that's the Greek
you know for repentance which means well I'm so I've just looked these up again and in
the reason I've looked him up I have the essence of what they mean but I don't want to miss
quotes so this is the Greek in the Greek that to repent is my metanaeo which means and I'm
reading to change one's mind to change one's mind for better heartily I love that to amend
with the abhorrence of one's past sins to choose to turn away from sin and allow God
to wash your heart from the stains of the past so that's from the Greek well and and
president Nelson has taught that and he right and he points out which is really awesome
that it's the same word as metamorphosis right you know the same idea is metamorphosis that
you're changing you're being changed transformed right that's that's the whole idea of the
word and repentance from the New Testament the Greek yep and then the Hebrew from the
Old Testament from the Hebrew the word is to shoeva typically to shoeva is translated
from the Hebrew as repentance but it literally means return as if turning back to something
you've strayed or looked away from there you go yes the prodigal yeah that's the prodigal
son to turn and to go back to the father and I think that you know the simplicity of that
end of that sentence may make it difficult for us to give it much credibility as if turning
back to something you've strayed or looked away from how often is our sin how often
is my sin just a product of my choice to look away from him it has so much to do with the
word look so it's repentance is look unto God and live that's one of my favorite phrases
from the Book of Mormon look unto God and live that's repentance repentance is looking
to God looking away from sin and looking to him it the essence of repentance which we
quote this I think verse every week right look unto me in every thought that's that's
just repentance God right doctor that is repentance that's what the the word means in the Hebrew
right is to turn and to look unto him look unto me and and then the rest of that verse
the second part of that verse is behold the wounds that pierce my side and the the the
Prince of the nails Prince of the nails in my hands and feet so that's repentance is
looking unto Christ to coming unto Christ we talked about this earlier when we talked
about the atonement of Jesus Christ that when he invites us to come unto him where is he
and we've talked about he's in Gethsemane he's at the cross we should think about what he
did to pay for our sins that's what we should see that's what we should look at so I I just
hope you me our families listeners can can remember that repentance now I I know it's
not easy but it's as simple as turning our back just making the choice to turn around
Scott I'm just thinking of this physically just to turn around face the Savior and start
moving towards him as we leave sin to our back last week we talked about what repentance
is not and you know a lot of that has to do with roadblocks to repentance those can be
roadblocks but there's other roadblocks and not seeing repentance for really what it is
you know can also be a roadblock for sure that we encounter as we try to put on the
atonement of Jesus Christ and that roadblock it comes to us for many different reasons
our own beliefs we listen to the accuser some of it can be cultural in our families or in
our even in from the church but but the point is is that repentance is really about a change
of heart and a coming to him yeah right yeah loving him yeah loving him and trusting him
yeah being grateful to him and really understanding what he did yeah yeah that's that's why I this
this is the heart of the course but but if one tries to repent and they don't have the
the understanding and gratitude for the atonement of Jesus Christ and they don't have adequate
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ faith in him faith in his character faith in what he did
in carrying out the atonement it's impossible Scott to have the the endurance or the power
really to repent because it's it's the atonement of Jesus Christ and our gratitude our understanding
and gratitude of it and for it that really becomes the motivating power that gives us
the the desire even the desire to turn around to turn our back on sin I mean sin sin is
saints a master at making it seem so appealing and temptation I know is real and you succumb
to it and I've succumbed to it and everybody does and for a moment one finds some fleeting
pleasure I'm sure but it is such a lie and it is such a shortcut to try to find happiness
and it's it's really just the result of not feeling enough love for faith in trust in
the Lord Jesus Christ and and and what he has done for us and what he has offered us
right repentance is not just a turning away from something though no no no no we need
to be and we need atheists can do that we need to be very clear about that we need to
know we need to be very clear that you know it's when we when we use the word repentance
and we have said it is to turn away from but there but that's not the completion of that
sentence no it's who you turn to there you go yeah as if turning back to something you've
strayed or look away from and in this case the ultimate which is the Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ that's why it's faith in the Lord Jesus Christ right that is the first
principle of the gospel of repentance not just faith not just belief it's faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ which is really another way of saying more than belief it's trust
that we that we trust that he did suffer for us and that he will forgive us as he has promised
that he would do as oft as we repent right as oft as we repent in mosa that's the promise
as oft as we repent he will forgive us if he commanded Peter to forgive seventy times seven
how many times will he the Savior forgive us and I just hope that our listeners can find
the joy that president Nelson and and the Lord himself has talked about when it comes
to repentance it is it shouldn't be seen as a dour sour heavy doctrine it should be Elder
Christopherson said we should we should talk about it as if it's a sunlit the sunlit gospel
of Jesus Christ it's a it's a happy gospel the Elder Maxwell said we should speak of
repentance with a smile on our face it's the essence it's the heart of the plan of redemption
Scott this is the the the thing the center of everything that we've been prepared to
do in the premortal existence was to come down here and repent and by the way I think
we repented I know we repented in the premortal existence I think that's how we progress there
as spirits we progress to spirit as spirits in the premortal existence through repentance
really the essence of revelations revelation 12 11 9 through 11 that we overcame Satan
through the blood of the lamb brother Robert J. Matthews told me that of course we repented
if there were different degrees of righteousness there in the premortal existence there were
probably different degrees of wickedness that if the if everyone was not just perfectly
righteous or the perfect in the same level in the premortal existence then we had choices
there as well we weren't completely perfect or sinless there and it was through the blood
of Jesus Christ that we progressed in the premortal existence and we understood and we were
taught in the Grand Council of Heaven that it would be through the repentance through
the principle of repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ in our faith in him that we would be
able to progress in this life overcome the world and return to his presence and to become
like him but one more time how would your life change if your focus was not on being
sinless but being perfect in repenting if we could get if we could get really good at
repenting Scott and you don't get really good at repenting by committing really serious
sins you get really good at repenting by understanding what it is and by going through the process
and making it a daily part of your your life a daily part of who you are becomes part of
your identity I'm a you know it's kind of like a jay golden Kimball said you know once
people wonder why I don't get excommunicated in this church right jay golden Kimball well
I'll tell you why it's because I repent too damn fast well we need to be repenting not
daily we need to be repenting continually continually always repenting that is the key
to us living a joyful life and raising the level the baseline level of our happiness
is by seeing our purpose and the gospel of Jesus Christ as a gospel of repentance and
our purpose to learn to really learn how to be good repenters and to to draw closer to
the Savior to look to him in every thought and behold him and and I again we're not going
to be we're not going to be perfect to that either I'm not I don't want to create more
guilt for people we're not going to be perfect repenters either but but what if we what if
we just sought to be better repenters instead of sinless saints I think we do that by changing
the way we see repentance yeah I would so last it was either last season maybe the season
before we're in our third season of this podcast and we repeat because it's a course that we're
doing here but when we had this either last time or the time before somebody a woman that
I loved dearly who's very important to me said to me I'm so glad I heard that she said
and this is true and I believe this about her she says because God I just I look at my life
and I'm not trying to be flippant or arrogant or self-righteous or anything I know I sin
but it's like I make the same I repent for the same sins little things that I do or don't
do every single day what's the point and and and then you know what she said she said and
then it came to me that it's really not about it's important the activities are important
the doers are important there's no question but the essence of repentance is come unto
me or the and the essence of repentance then is a state of being a way to be that's who
we are it's an attitude it's a it's a it's something that we become a part of or becomes
a part of us right and so it's a constant attitude of repentance now when we see repentance
the way that we've just described it as a way to turn to him or to return to him or
to look back to him or I may say to look at him with deeper and more intentional intent
or right yeah when we when we can do it that way that to me that's real repentance and
then we don't have to worry about okay did I not did I do something wrong or did I do
an omission do I have a sin of omission today that I left out we don't need to dial in and
focus on the little things we just focus on him the little things will come to light as
we can work on them and it makes a possible force to do it yeah absolutely I love that
yeah it just needs to be a part of who we are we just need to be better repenters this
is mosaia twenty six therefore I say unto you go and whosoever transgresses against
me him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed this is the Lord the
Alma who's become the high priest of the church this is a mosaia twenty six verse twenty nine
and if he confesses sins before thee and me and repentance in the sincerity of his heart
him shall ye forgive and I will forgive him also yeah and as often as often as my people
repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me I we all have been guilty and guilty
is not a negative word shame shame I think is a negative word we shouldn't shame ourselves
but I think guilty is a guilt is a gift we'll talk more about that but guilt is a gift from
God shame is a accusation of Satan and we've all been guilty Scott of committing the same
sin over and over and over again and repentance is sometimes a a process for maybe the same
sin over and over and over again and and maybe we make very small improvement but eventually
if we will not throw in the towel give up or listen to the accuser who will tell us so
it's not doing you any good who do you think you are you're just going to do the same thing
all over again all those lies right yeah yeah all those lies if we just won't buy into that
and if we'll just be be faithful and endure continually repenting even if it is for the
same sin over and over again that I know that the Lord will in his time and by his power
that we will overcome those sins it may be a little at a time it may be all at once it's
never the same for any one person and by the way the scripture in doctrine and covenants
we should talk about this the scripture in doctrine and covenants section 82 has always
been something of a I think a stumbling block for individuals who repent Scott and I used
to use this as a branch when I was a branch president the missionary training center I
used to use this a lot for missionaries and and I I did it to help them repent I didn't
want to shame them but they needed to understand this and I and it's true it's in the scripture
so it's true but in verse one it says let's just look at section 82 in the doctrine comments
first one barely barely I say unto you my servants that in as much you've forgiven one another
your trespasses even so I the Lord forgive you okay so good awesome we we get forgiven
as we forgive verse two nevertheless there are those among you who have sin exceedingly
yea even all of you have sinned that's that's to the whole this revelation is given to Jackson
County to the church and it's true we have all all of you have sinned period exclamation
mark but barely I say unto you beware from henceforth and refrain from sin these less
sword judgments fall upon your head and then he says where much is given much is required
but look at verse seven verse seven is often the problems got so let's discuss this you
want to read it verse seven you got it and now barely I say unto you I the Lord will
not lay any sins to your charge go your ways and sin no more but unto that soul who's sinneth
shall the former sins return saith Lord your God that's pretty discouraging to a lot of
people can be it has been for me in the past I heard that a couple of times in my past
reponse process and I you know seriously the classical leaders use it all the time and
you know and and even if the ecclesiastical leader isn't using we some of us know that
and some of us find it yeah and we've heard it in the past and now we use it as an indictment
and we do you know you use the word guilt and that's great but what if we if we view
this wrongly then we sometimes can feel shame around that too so so what that's my exactly
that's my that's the thing we don't get but so what I understand this yeah so what if
the former sins return okay I right I committed the same sin again yep it's not like they
stack up now that's I know that there's no compounding there's no compounding or the
sin stacking up and it gets worse and worse and worse yeah until Jesus says I can't carry
this anymore now let's be clear maybe the consequences of our sin can compound and maybe the degrees
of the sin may increase maybe but the Lord will always forgive and if it's the same sin
we're repenting of daily then so be it and he's happy that we have absolutely absolutely
Scott on honestly I just see this so much differently now yeah and I used to see it
when I was in my in my youth or even as a branch president of the missionary training center
or even as a bishop or even in the state presidency I just see repentance is wow what
what a gift I get to repent what a gift and my focus is more on the process of repentance
than it is upon my sins and how sinful I am I I just think people just need to see themselves
as being really good repenters as much or more than they see themselves as really good
sinners it's true we're all sinners but I I want my perspective to be I'm a really good
repenter and I I say it with a smile on my face not because I'm not sorry for my sins
I mean we're going to talk about what it means to have a broken heart and contrite spirit
and how essential that is to to meeting the conditions of repentance we're going to talk
about that but I'm not going to continually turn my back on the Savior move towards the
same sin and just repeat it over and over again at the at the end of the night beginning
of the morning middle of noon day whatever I want to turn around and face the Savior
and move in His direction and if I have to say sorry to Him a hundred times one day
it's I'm okay I I know if I did that I'd be spinning so so fast I'd become dizzy and
I'd probably you know become sick and and I don't want to be flippant in how how I talk
about it or and the Prophet Joseph Smith said by the way this is in the teaching the Prophet
Joseph Smith we should not trifle we should not trifle with daily repentance but the truth
is we all sin and usually multiple times a day and as long as I catch myself and I turn
and I see the Savior and I seek to move in His direction then I know that the power of
mercy and grace and the love of God is always will always has always been you know there
for me that's what we need to focus on.
I just had a thought come to me while you were talking about you know what if we commit
the same sin and we do so so often the same sin over and over again in the same day you
know I I've talked about my old original sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous he was not a member
of the church but he helped me in my returning to the church maybe more than anybody outside
of the church did well even maybe more than people in the church he helped me because
he helped me stay true to principles that were important to me he really helped me to
understand this principle you know well if we're sinning throughout the day if we're
making mistakes throughout the day if we're creating distance between us and our heavenly
Father or the spirit of our heavenly Father throughout the day it's often our tendency
to just wait and let them stack up and then at the end of the day as we kneel down to
say our prayers we plead for forgiveness and we attempt what we have thought to be a repentance
process well big Al taught me he says Scott you should start your day over as often as
you need to and that would include turning to him heavenly Father and saying I'm sorry
thank you for the atonement of your son and thank and thank you for the cleansing process
that this process of repentance is allowing me to fill we don't need to be caught up
in our sins throughout the day we can repent as often as throughout the day to we don't
need to let them stack up tell the end of the day yeah absolutely I love that you know
my my sweetheart kind of has a trigger that when she's feeling bad about herself or she
has made a mistake or lost her patience or or whatever the little yeah I mean yeah she's
she's a saint who is a sinner who just keeps on trying like all of us love that definition
by quoted by elder Rennlin quoting Nelson Mandela we're all a saint is just a sinner
who keeps on trying well my sweetheart just every time she's maybe not feeling great about
herself for whatever reason feeling tainted by sin she'll just bow her head and say thank
you yeah now for her immediately her mind her thoughts are turned to God thank you God
for your son yeah and thank you Jesus thank you Jesus for your suffering just looking
to God and looking to the Savior will fill us with the Holy Ghost and the Holy Ghost
ultimately is the messenger and the administrator of the atonement of Jesus Christ in our life
he is the refiners fire and she will always when she does that with the sincere heart
a broken heart contrite spirit and and she bows her head and says thank you she she
feels the spirit of the Lord and the love of God come over well I I love this scripture
in Isaiah right Scott describing repentance come down let us reason together say at the
Lord this is Isaiah 1 1 18 Scott all of us should have you no doubt memorize that in
seminary come down let us reason together say at the Lord they shall be white as though
your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow though they be red like crimson they
shall be as wool if you be willing and obedient ye shall eat of the good of the land but if
you refuse and rebel ye shall be devoured with the sword I I know we all sin but I know
and I know that sin is rebellion sin is living a lie sin is awful it takes us away from God
sin is the source of all sin is Satan and all sin is evil but Scott again heavenly
father knew we would it was part of mortality we would live in a hellish celestial world
and that through the atonement of Jesus Christ repentance would be as as available to us
as we needed it as often as we needed it and that through repentance and the power grace
mercy of the atonement of Jesus Christ that we can not only be redeemed but we would be
enabled strengthened and we would be compensated for all of the weakness all of the inadequacies
it so much so much of I think our sins I know it's always it can't be a sin unless you can
choose it and so sin is ultimately a choice and sin is always a breach of our agency
in a sense because the more you sin the more agency or freedom you lose however the way
some people are wired the the the struggles the mortal challenges and influences of the
world and things of the people do not always have a choice in how they how they process
things how they see things the the mental torment anguish depression illness mental
illness that people suffer Scott is sin is different for different people there's there's
every degree of it you doing one thing same thing as me may not be the same degree or
level of sin as it would be for me and no one knows that except the Lord Jesus Christ
who is our ultimate judge the one choice we always have Scott is we can turn and we can
look to him look to God we'll talk more about this when we talk about it's as simple as
looking to the brazen serpent on the pole raised up by Moses that healed them from serpents
and the poison and we can be healed just as I don't want to say easily just as simply it's
not it's not easy Scott it takes work it takes effort it takes it takes a broken heart
contrite spirit it takes a level of of sincerity and humility and meekness to do that but it
is a simple process in order to look to the Savior to move in his direction and there's
ways that we can do that and we'll discuss all those all those ways as we as we go through
the essential elements of repentance the effects of sin are really an exacerbation of the effects
of the fall of Adam and Eve yeah and when we repent you said a few minutes ago that
when we repent that we have invited in the Comforter the Holy Ghost back into our life
as the administrator of the Atonement of Jesus Christ let me just talk about that for just
a second what does that mean that the Holy Ghost is the administrator well what that
means is you know oftentimes when I think or in the past when I have thought I'm going
to repent and what do I expect to get from that repentance I expect to feel better about
myself I expect to have shame and guilt dissipate I expect to have feeling of peace and that's
maybe where it kind of just ended until I had a deeper understanding of the administration
of the Atonement of Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost which you talked about those three
main blessings the compensatory blessings the enabling blessings and the redeeming blessings
so as we go through this repentance process on a daily and sometimes multi daily multi
time several times a day and we fill the spirit that's not just so that we can feel peace
that's great and it's important that we do feel peace and and that by that feeling peace
is a manifestation that these things are happening in my in our lives but what it really means
is that we're being strengthened now to keep the commandments better that's the enabling
right and what it also means is that we are no longer a subject to being overcome by the
the inadequacies deficiencies well yeah all of that weakness of the flesh all that and
even this stuff that's perpetuated against us from other people you know we are all victims
we're all right and we're all victimizers as well right the sins of you know and so
that compensatory blessing so you know if my sin yes that I've repenting for and this
has happened to me in the last couple of days is that I snapped at somebody I love you know
and alcoholics anonymous we have this thing and when we're wrong we promptly admitted it
I call I pick up the phone a few minutes later I call and I say you know what I'm so sorry
my heart wasn't right and so then I feel better but now what that has done is it's compensated
not just me but that person yeah and if we understand that you know and then of course
they're redeeming we're redeemed and of course that redemption will come in its fullness at
resurrection we'll get to that but all of those blessings if we can if I can understand
that when I feel the spirit of the Holy Ghost what that actually means what the administration
means if it means that I'm being compensated or those that I've heard of being compensated
and sometimes that's more important to me than the compensation to myself for sure and
that I'm being strengthened and enabled and that I'm being redeemed and that redemption
is already in place and I have already been redeemed in fact that it's much more that
experience is much more to me than just having a good calm peaceful feeling yeah absolutely
all these things that we've talked about Scott today can definitely raise the level of the
baseline of our happiness but that's not why we do it the reason we should do it the pure
motive should be that I can have a stronger closer more intimate loving relationship with
my Heavenly Father it all comes down Scott to relationships repentance and all the principles
of the gospel of Jesus Christ always comes down to a relationship that's why we should
do it having that relationship using the principle of repentance in order to draw closer to our
Savior strengthening our relationship with him with the Father with the Holy Spirit all
of that is why we should do it which will definitely raise the level of our happiness
and definitely raise the level of our peace and rest that we can have even in a wicked
world so the invite to our listeners would be to try to change something of your perspective
change your perspective of repentance repentance is not just for big sins repentance and not
a principle it's just for major sins it's it's it's a way of life repentance should be a
way of life a daily way and choice of life it's why we're here to be to learn how to
be really good repenters you know you nibbly said we're here for two reasons to learn how
to be good repenters and to learn how to forgive others and both of those two of course go
together and learn separable so I that's why we're here and that's what will determine
ultimately our relationship with with heaven so I hope that we can all of us see it that
way and change our perspective if we need to as we go throughout this week I think it
would be a good invitation for each of us to really take a good hard look at the way we
view repentance actually maybe even go a little bit further and and assess our relationship
with repentance what is our relationship with repentance really like as we begin the next
great as we actually move into the next couple of podcasts and talk about this I it's our
hope and prayer that we will see repentance what it really is an invitation to come fully
unto him thanks for being with us we look forward to being with you again next week until then
be well