Hey there everybody, welcome back to another episode of Redeem Through His Blood.
I got David Durfey with me here.
This is Scott Durfey.
Oh, so good to be here.
We've been having a pretty fun discussion already.
Yeah, we have.
About all that we're going to be getting into today.
Pretty excited about that.
Before I do that.
I'm a little jealous because you're teaching an institute class tonight at BYU and so fun,
Scott.
I kind of miss that the teaching and so awesome you're having that experience.
Yeah, I bet you do.
I know that and I hope this never comes to an end for us.
I know that it has to at some point, but I know I'll miss it.
I miss it between classes.
We only teach once a week.
You know, you were teaching every day.
We only teach once a week.
You did it professionally.
We're doing it as a calling and man, I can only imagine the interest really.
Yeah, it was a blessing in my life.
Wonderful.
You know, maybe the biggest part, it's hard to say, but one of the big parts of this for
Deb and I is to just be among the faithful young adults.
Oh man, aren't they great?
Yeah, it's just unbelievable.
The rising generation has so many problems, but they are so good.
And they want amazing.
The ones that are are the faithful are just holy.
So faithful.
How did you get to this point at such a young age in your life?
And I know a lot of it is preparation and a lot of it's their wonderful parents, but
they just seem to have a desire to do what they were pre-mortal.
Right.
Yeah.
And the Heavenly Father is sending down reserving, reserving spirits to come down in this generation
to prepare the earth and the final scenes before preceding the second coming of Jesus.
I I feel that profoundly when I give patriarchal blessings that this rising generation of youth
or the generation that will usher in the second coming and I I know what others have felt
that, but I feel that really, really strongly as a patriarch.
Yeah.
Well, what I was going to say is we just appreciate a lot.
The most recent and all actually of the emails that we've gotten.
We've gotten some great emails, Dave.
As you know, talk to you just recently, we received an email from a member of the Bishop
Rick in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
I actually had a missionary companion from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
But he listens to us while he's in the gym working out.
He said that his workouts have been never better.
And he had just I don't know about the workout, but he definitely enjoys listening to the
podcast there.
We appreciate that.
We appreciate all the encouragement that we get from you all and and just encourage you
to if you have questions, please don't hesitate to send those in again.
And we just got a thank you email from Jeff and Jeff, we appreciate your your email as
well.
You can reach us at he redeems us at gmail.com and invite you to do that if you have questions
and so forth.
So last week, Dave, we talked a lot about confession.
In fact, we talked the entire podcast about confession of sins as part of the manifestations,
right?
Right.
Of repentance and we'll be moving today.
We'll probably talk just a little bit more about some confession, maybe do a little review
and recap on that.
But then we're going to move directly into another the next, if as it were, manifestation
in no particular order, but the next as it were, manifestation of repentance, which is
to forsake, confess and forsake, they go together.
Well, it's interesting how the Lord put those two together.
You know, in the in the words of the Lord, by this, you may know if a man repenteth of
his sins, he will confess them and forsake them.
It's just interesting.
It's always been fascinating to me that the Lord puts those two right together as almost
a pair like their, their cousins or sisters or whatever in the repentance process that
they're connected by this, you may know if a man, woman, child, anybody who's repenting
by this, you may know if they repented of their sins.
They'll confess them and forsake them.
These are almost signs that confessing and forsaking are an important prop part of the
process of repentance, Scott, but they're the way he words it.
This is how you'll know that they have repented, that they repenteth, that they're in the middle
of the process or near the end of the process or somewhere into the process.
I know that for some, that's maybe the beginning of the process for some, for some youth, they
feel like repentance, the beginning, middle and end is confessing to their bishop, which
is, is too bad that that still gets that idea gets perpetuated in the church when we talk
of repentance.
But I prefer to see that confession and forsaking is more near the end of the process, hopefully,
and that it's a manifestation that I am repenting or that I have actually repented.
I, I, I just think I don't want to, it's impossible to overstate Scott, and yet at the same time
I don't want to oversimplify, but the heart of repentance is crying out to God, period.
Crying out to God in the name of Jesus Christ in faith, in Christ in his atonement, offering
all of our sins, offering our whole souls to God, that is the essence, the heart, the
center of repentance and confessing and forsaking are an important part of the process, but
they are not the essence.
And it's just unfortunate that too many people believe that when they confess their sins,
but that's it and they can't ever, it's, it's interesting that they wonder why they don't
feel forgiven.
And there are so many people who don't feel forgiven because they haven't been forgiven.
They've never really cried out.
They've never really cried out in faith.
They've never really offered their whole souls, all of their sins, paid the price or made
the sacrifice, required, done the work, done the work to be forgiven.
I, I know that so many people get hung up on the scripture.
You're saved by grace after all you can do.
After all you can do, take some effort and in my interpretation of that scripture, after
all we can do, I love the, it's a we and not a you, after all we can do is to cry out to
God in faith knowing that it is only through the grace and mercy of Christ that we are
saved.
But that's a work of a different kind than most people think of working out their repentance.
Most people think of working out their repentance is to try to pay back what was lost.
And I'm not, that's also an important part.
That's called restitution.
And I think that's our podcast for next week or the week after is we'll get into restitution
what that means.
But so many people think working out their repentance is they have to earn it.
It's not about earning it.
We're not talking about that kind of work.
It is, it takes great effort and it takes great work, but it work of a different kind.
Thinking, thinking about a Miller and the way he describes this.
It takes a work of a different kind to put all of your, all of your sins on the altar.
That takes work.
It's a work of a different kind to really exercise your faith in Jesus Christ and his
Atonement.
That takes work.
That is not, that is not necessarily an easy thing to do, even though it's simple.
It's not easy.
So I don't, I don't want to overstate.
Well it's impossible for me to overstate.
I don't want to oversimplify repentance, but the essence, the heart of it is crying out
and offering all of your sins and your soul to God.
And then confessing is an important part and we talked about that last week.
There is just kind of a couple of things I want to mention this.
Hey, before you do that, let me just stop you for just a second because crying out is
important.
But you said earlier too that and we need to make sure that we include this crying out
in faith, that faith component.
That's the power.
Crying out without faith is just crying.
Exactly.
Right.
Yeah.
And such a good point Scott.
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith unto repentance.
Faith in his name eventually.
And so all of that is extremely important component of that.
That's the power.
Yeah.
Without that it's non-existent.
There's no power in repentance.
There's actually no power in crying out.
The power comes when it's done in faith.
In Jesus Christ and his atonement.
And sometimes just a tiny bit of faith is all that's needed.
Not just believing in him, but believing him.
Believing that he will save, that he will redeem, that he will forgive, that he's anxious
to do all those things.
And yeah, so thank you.
That's really great.
So it's interesting that the Lord again in 58, Dr. Encounters 58, 42 and 43 links confession
and forsaking.
And I want to read something from Elder Anderson's book, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness.
This point came up when we were in our discussions and preparations and everything for helping
him to write the book.
And I just kind of love a few things in the book about this.
Because actually this chapter, this is actually, and we put them together in the book, it's
chapter 19.
It's actually on page 210.
Willingly confessing and purposefully forsaking sin.
And he wrote, once we have truly left the sin behind, we do not dwell on it.
Worship it, or talk about it widely with others.
While you may desire to warn others of sins you have overcome, this can lead to the spreading
of inappropriate gossip or bringing unwelcome scenes into unsuspecting minds and spiritually
hurting the very people you want to help.
We have to be so careful, Scott.
Youth, adults, everyone should be so careful confessing their sins, confessing their mistakes,
confessing their wrongs.
I'm maybe too sensitized, super sensitized by that, because I know so many people who
have been hurt by people confessing their sins in inappropriate ways, at inappropriate
times, to the inappropriate individuals.
I've had so many young people in my office crying because an engagement was broken, because
they felt they could trust their fiancee and share with them a sin in the past that they
had been repented of and forgiven of years ago, that happened even before their mission,
but an engagement is broken because of that.
I've had couples in my office as a bishop crying about getting a divorce because of them
sharing a sin in their past, and then every time, every time there was any intimacy in
that relationship, one of the spouses would think about that and it drove them crazy and
it drove them to want to be separated or divorced.
It is just wrong, Scott, to keep bringing up sins of the past, and it may be a manifestation
that someone does not feel forgiven, either from a lack of wisdom and a ton of foolishness,
or a lack of not feeling forgiven causes a lot of pain and damage to either the individual
confessing sins of the past, or it can conflict real pain and sometimes scars on others who
are hearing the confession.
I even felt sensitized last Sunday.
Many of my family were over at my house and I don't know how it got started.
I don't know how this got started, but I was talking about my high school days and my grandchildren
were laughing their head off.
I got thinking about it and I thought, maybe I shouldn't have told them about some of the
pranks.
Maybe I shouldn't have told them about some of the pranks I did when I was in high school.
Now, are they going to go try that?
They think it's really funny and cute and are they going to go try that too?
I actually felt really bad about that.
The next time I see my grandkids or I'm with them, maybe I shouldn't even wait.
I better text them and say, hey, listen, I have a lot of regrets about that.
I'm sorry that I even brought it up.
Because sometimes it's not just our sins, but it's just our inappropriate behaviors
or anything.
We just have to be careful about that because if we share things with other people that
it's not uplifting, that it's not edifying, that causes them to think negative thoughts
about ourselves or about themselves or about others or about the world or about whatever,
then maybe we should just keep our mouths shut.
I know that there are those in the world, in my kind of circle of influence, for example,
in the rooms of recovery, people who have drank or used drugs or done inappropriate
things and they thought that they could do it with impunity because they have seen others
in their lives do it and then come back from it.
I would be lying if I said there wasn't part of that in my story because there was part
of that in my story.
The confessing to other people, I think it depends, David, on the spirit in which it's
done.
I think that there can be a time, and I'll share a couple of examples.
Spirit and motive.
And motive.
I can share with you a couple of times potentially when this has been the case.
When moved upon the body of the spirit, sharing our experience, but then our strength and
hope with it, and that's kind of the mode that we use in rooms of recovery.
It's okay to share your experience, but also share your strength and your hope when moved
upon to do so by the spirit to help other people.
But there can become a real problem with it too.
We were talking a little bit earlier, and I shared this, that in meetings of alcoholics
anonymous, now I realize, and there's probably people from all over the world who are attending
these types of recovery meetings, and I know that it's different everywhere we go to a
degree.
Sure.
But by my observation, I've noticed that if I'm in a meeting of alcoholics anonymous,
now I believe that, and this is my belief, this is not from AA, I don't represent anybody,
but the way I see it and the way I think it works better is if we're in a meeting, that
meeting we focus on the solution.
If I'm in a meeting and people are talking about, this is what I did, and this is what
I did, and it's human nature, but I think those of us who are recovering addicts and
alcoholics may tend to be a little more swayed this way.
But oh yeah, that's how it was for you, well you should see how bad it was for me.
Then they share that.
One upmanship.
And then that one upmanship just snowballs and then becomes embellishing and then it
just becomes a real drag on the spirit and we're just not focusing on solution, we're
focusing on the problem.
We don't get well by focusing on the problem.
We get well by focusing on the solution, Jesus Christ.
Yeah, I love that.
On the solution and we should focus more on the individuals who we are with and maybe
think about how is this going to affect them, not about how is this going to affect me.
For example, I think a lot of spewing of past sins is something of a relief mechanism.
Or some people weirdly receive some euphoria or some release of guilt or something by confessing
their sins or sin over and over and over again.
And I think that that relief euphoria that you're talking about, it's counterfeit though.
For sure it is.
If it's done and that's potentially why we feel that inspired or an inspired certainly
not the word, but motivation to continue to share that over and over and over again because
we get that relief potentially in that moment.
But it's counterfeit so it won't stay away.
Right?
Right.
But if it's real then and we really do confess and then eventually as we get into here in
a minute, the forsaking of our sins, then it will with more ease doesn't always completely
stay away, but it will stay away better if we take if we take that approach.
Yeah, I some people confess to the bishop, the stake president, their parents, their
friends, spouse, their friends, their associates and never get around to fessing confessing
to God.
They're in place the problem.
And until they do that, I and maybe I I think some people that confess over and over again
do it to to kind of compare.
It's almost like let's compare.
Right.
You know, uh, compare our sins.
Let's uh, have you done this?
You know, we I think we talked about that last week.
Um, have you ever done this?
And I just so that's just so damning, so foolish, so bad to get in those situations where where
they're sharing.
Well and we said a minute ago, pass that are that are that are negative, that are not inspiring,
that are not uplifting.
A minute ago, we said it depends on our motive.
There is no proper motive when it comes to comparison.
You know, even if I'm looking for, okay, I'm looking to see that I'm not as good or I'm
looking to see that I'm worse, either one or that I'm better.
Either one of those is an improper motive.
There's two sides that comparison.
Either shaming ourselves or shaming others.
Yeah, shaming others.
Leads to shaming others to lift ourselves.
Yeah.
Comparison is who said this in in conference and who said I think it was theodore.
No, not theodore.
Eleanor Roosevelt that said the comparison is the thief thief of joy every time.
Yep.
Elder Maxwell said this is in the Elder Anderson's book.
One of one of my favorite quotes in the book.
Elder Neil a max Maxwell said confessing AIDS for saking.
We cannot expect to sin publicly and extensively and then expect to be rescued privately and
quickly.
When we face those we have heard, especially those we love, although it is a painful experience,
it can be a great help in giving us a strength not to repeat the sins of the past.
So there are times when we're talking about certain serious sins where we need to go to
individuals and we need to understand that that the courage to confess those sins, those
individuals who we have heard can actually aid us in the forsaking of those sins.
And it's definitely true that that's the case when we confess our sins to God because we
have hurt Jesus Christ.
So the ultimate I think the ultimate reason to confess sins to God is to with a broken
heart and contrite spirit confess the pain and the suffering and the blood that we have
cost his only begotten son in the flesh.
What we cost our savior and redeemer to recognize that and to confess that to him.
Scott will really help us if we understand what we have cost him.
It will really help us in the forsaking of any of our sins.
So I just wanted to kind of make that connection between confessing and forsaking before we
go into any more depth of forsaking.
One more thought that I have.
You said just a second ago that confessing to others can aid us in our repentance process.
It can if it's done to the appropriate people at the appropriate time in the appropriate
way.
The opposite is also true.
If we're not willing to confess to others that we have hurt in the appropriate time and
in the appropriate way if we're not willing then repentance cannot be achieved.
Yes.
We're absolutely confessing confessing is important and it can aid us in the forsaking of sin.
So that's why again I think it's really interesting the Lord puts them together.
By this you may know they'll confess it and forsake it and those those two things go together
and forsaking it can also mean they won't bring it up again.
They won't like me when I was a young missionary trying to confess my sins over and over and
over again.
You should confess it and then let it go.
Confess it and forsake it.
Meaning let it go.
Quit confessing it to everybody.
Let it go.
Okay.
So Dave I think before we move to forsake we probably need to unpack something about
that because you know let's talk about why do you think that it is that often many of
us feel like that that's important to do.
Why do you feel like we need to we feel like we need to continue to confess?
I well that's a great question important question and I think there's a lot of different reasons
Scott over the years I've observed but and I know it's not this simple but I think in
most cases there's some truth to it.
One reason people keep confessing their sins over and over again and sometimes it may even
be to the appropriate priesthood authorities or to whoever is because they don't feel forgiven
and they just keep beating themselves up and they're just looking for help.
I mean I think it's as it can be a psychological mechanism to confess your sins the euphoria
and everything that it causes and I I know this isn't true in every case I know that
but those who keep confessing their sins are usually those who have not recognized that
they have been forgiven because it's been my personal experience and my experience working
with so many others that once they feel forgiven or once they have been able to recognize the
love mercy and grace of God in their life and they have been able to forgive themselves
they don't want to bring it up.
That's key.
It's over.
Yeah it's done.
It's in the past.
I don't want to talk about that.
I really don't want to talk about that.
And if anybody asked me have you done that I would say I don't want to talk about that.
I know the power of Christ I know the power that I have received in my life through repentance
and through his atonement and I don't want to talk about that.
I mean it's that's I think the reason why most people can't let it go is because they
really don't feel like they've been forgiven or they haven't been able to forgive themselves.
We had that experience recently you know kind of in an experience we shared together right?
Somebody feeling so bad and expressing it in an interesting way and I think it was mostly
because that individual had not really forgiven themselves.
I think that's true for all of us God I know it's not just it's true for you for me for
everybody.
Yeah and I don't think any of us are completely immune to this.
This isn't something that you know you even just said you know sharing stuff about high
school you know and then now having to have a regret around that.
And so you know it's not this isn't something that is like gang if we're doing this then
we're going to hell but this is a can be a manifestation of that repentance process.
It is a manifestation of the repentance process.
Well we are at this point in the repentance process after we've already been to the garden
after we've already been to the cross after we've already understood that it's through
His merits not ours that we are forgiven and that we are cleansed from our sins and from
all of the effects of the fall.
And so if we have that faith faith in just faith and then faith in Jesus Christ and then
faith unto repentance that faith if we've gotten to the point where we're at faith unto repentance
and we really do have faith unto repentance I think that alleviates us of the burden of
having to confess over and over and over again.
Yeah because it really is a burden.
Yeah.
I this one sentence in the book is I think really powerful.
Focus on the healing power of Jesus Christ and His Atonement not on yours or others past
sins.
We're focusing on again the solution.
Yeah.
Okay.
So I that's that's an important discussion.
I hope our listeners will will ponder it think about it email us if you if you'd have
have any suggestions for us or don't agree with us.
We love those emails too.
But I hope you'll think about it and maybe it even deserves some discussion among some
of your loved ones.
Well forsaking the sin.
Forsaking the sin is important part of the of the process of repentance.
God again I think it's can be almost more of a manifestation of repentance.
I know individuals God who have been who are forgiven instantly when they cry out and they
you know give their their whole soul and their sins to God and then they have to go work
and use all the grace they can they can receive in their continual crying out continual praying
continual striving to keep the commandments and making and keeping covenants.
It's a continual process to forsake the sins.
But in the you don't have to wait until you've completely forsaken a sin to be to know you're
forgiven.
I know that I know that I have experienced that.
Over and over again that you don't you don't have to say OK well I I've got to go the rest
of my life without ever committing this sin before I can be forgiven.
Therefore I have to wait till the end of my life to know that whether I'm forgiven.
How ridiculous is that.
Well yeah you say ridiculous Dave but there's been a part and I and I've experienced this
there's been a part of our culture where we have come to believe or even and I can I think
I can argue this without very successful contradiction that even in some of our priesthood leaders
have led us and I am intentional or not I'm not going to get into that.
But when we sin or when we when we confess and forsake our sins and we go through the
repentance process and then we sin again we have in my mind.
We have doctrine coming in section 82 verse 7.
OK.
So let's let's read.
Let me just read it.
Let's just read the scripture.
And then I want to talk about that.
And then we can talk about it.
But so many people get hung up on this including priesthood leaders including me in the past.
Right.
I mean I think I think I used to really try to help trying to help missionaries to repent
of their sins while being a branch president of the missionary training center.
I use this scripture a lot and I kind of used it to kind of bring to their attention the
importance of forsaking their sin.
But I think in some ways the way I used it it probably backfired Scott.
Well I think that's the way it probably could be more discouraging to them than it was
was hopeful or encouraging.
That was my experience because this was used with me on more than one occasion and every
time I was used on me it was just like holy cow here's proof that I'm no good proof that
I just can't make it.
Maybe I wasn't meant to be saved because I can't anyway.
So here's the scripture.
It's in doctrine covenant section 82 verse 7.
Now barely I say unto you I the Lord will not lay any sin to your charge.
Go your ways and send no more.
But unto that soul who sineth shall the former sins return sayeth the Lord God.
So this scripture can be a can really be a problem for individuals who think that they
can't ever call upon God for grace for mercy.
They can never be completely forgiven until they have proven to themselves over a long
period perhaps lifetime of being sinless.
They until they have completely forsaken their sin or sins until they become sinless
or perfect they can really they don't want to risk having all the former sins returning
therefore they never get around to really you know how overwhelming that can be.
Oh man.
I think I think there are so many people in the church who are overwhelmed by that and
and the truth is that I know I know some religion teachers that I've had a discussion with this
over who are who are discouraged by that good people righteous people who who you know
who who struggle perhaps with certain tendencies or deficiencies or or feelings or propensities
or whatever the ease character whatever the ease maybe exactly and anyway so this the
reality of this Scott is yeah of course of course sins may return of course former sins
may return but that doesn't mean they stack up that doesn't mean it becomes worse it doesn't
mean that it becomes bigger or harder or more of a major repentance we I mean it's just
we can repent of the same sins over and over and over again I love that that message which
is so clear you know in the scriptures I let's just let's just turn to those for a
minute because this is what I would prefer to focus on are the scriptures in mosaic
and I think it's more helpful when parents priesthood leaders and friends use these scriptures
to try to help somebody when they are repeating the same sin over and over again instead of
beating them up with 82 verse 7 they should read mosaic 26 30 yay and as often as my people
repent I will forgive them their trespasses against me as often as often it may be even
daily Scott and it may be multiple times I mean I think all of us commit sometimes the
same sin over and over again and if we're repenting daily the sin doesn't stack up sin
doesn't become harder we just have to we just have to really endure in Christ and and in
our faith that if we have to daily repent for the rest of our life of the same sin
but we he forgives us but we can't take that as a license to just no no put no I mean you
know if we were if we remember what Joseph Smith said we should never trifle with repentance
was daily repentance daily repentance we should never it should you're right that's really
important thank you and and then I love Maron I in the Maron I six verse eight now I just
love this when he's talking about the how the church would meet often and fast and pray
and speak to one another about the welfare of their souls and they would partake of
the sacrament weekly so I you know that's an important point maybe in this discussion
about forsaking is is that every time we partake of the sacrament weekly we make a covenant
promise right to God that will always remember him that will witness unto him that will we're
willing to take upon ourselves his name and anyway that we can always have the spirit
to be with us but this little scripture this little verse I think this speaks volumes about
the mercy and love of God power of the atonement Maron I six verse eight but as often as they
repented and sought forgiveness with real intent they were forgiven that's real intense
glad you emphasize that thank you as off that's what I would emphasize as often as often as
they repented they were forgiven Scott yeah that could be daily every time for as many
times as it takes if Jesus if Jesus told Peter when Peter said well how often should we forgive
others and Jesus said seventy times seven if if man can be that forgiving you know how
much more thousand times more forgiving is our heavenly father and our our savior and redeemer
Jesus Christ so I just it's just wrong for individuals to think that when former sins
return of course they return and they probably will return it's amazing how Satan can throw
those in our face it's amazing how Satan the accuser can accuse us and and we give in sometimes
over and over again I don't think it's necessarily a sign that one is not repented or that one has
not been forgiven if they commit the same sin but they don't stack up right you know what it's a
sign of it's a sign that we're fallen it's a sign that we're fallen that we're weak yeah and we're
sinners helping sinners and when we may and commit the same sin make the same mistake have the same
inappropriate thought what whatever the case may be over and over again you think heavenly
father's ever surprised by that yeah yeah no he's not and and not only is he not surprised but he
has provided a way knowing that for us to be forgiven or since you talked about a few minutes
ago about how the the ordinance of the sacrament it can be so important a process as we it is as we
forsake our sins amen when we began this podcast few years ago I will never forget this because
ever since you shared this I've done it pretty consistently I think almost every Sunday ever
since but you talked about one of your friends and I think a general authority friend of yours
at 70 or something like that taught you or told you that as they're sitting taken partaking of
the sacrament that they turn to the scripture the scripture is in doctrine and covenant section
110 thank you Scott first elder Jay Jensen okay elder Jay Jensen who I had just I loved him so
much he was in the presidency of the 70 and and he taught me this that every time he partakes the
sacrament in his mind he's he restates the scripture that he would he would quote it in his mind
so absolutely and I turn to it I I turn to it I have it marked so that when the sacraments past
there's a couple of other things that I do not the same every time but this is pretty consistent
part of my sacrament worship during the 15 minutes that were or 20 minutes where we're
partaking in remembering that and this isn't doctrine and covenant section 110 behold your sins
are forgiven you you're clean before me therefore lift up your heads and rejoice every time we
partake of the sacrament worthy enough to do so worthily faithfully in faith in Christ when we
make this covenant and we renew all of our other covenants with God through the this ordinance of
partaking of the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ receiving him I mean that's what we're doing in
this process we're receiving him worshiping him acknowledging taking his name upon thanking
this is taking his name upon us absolutely you're forgiven of your sins and so what does that mean
you're clean before me so what does that mean and you should lift up your head and rejoice
it doesn't mean you're not going to sin the next week it doesn't mean that at all it means welcome
back and every week we can be restored and every week we can be renewed by the partaking of the
sacrament if we are worthy enough and none of us will ever be sinless when we partake of the
sacrament and God doesn't expect it forsaking the sin we don't confess our sins over and over again
but we certainly do forsake them over and over again yeah forsaking is critical it's important
and sometimes the reason we can't forsake sins Scott you know we talked about this early on in
the in our podcast every season we've we've talked about this because I've pretty much come to the
conclusion I know there's exceptions to this but I've come to the conclusion that individuals who
repeat the same sin over and over again or those who are spinning their wheels making no spiritual
progression don't seem like they can overcome the same same addictions or same whatever it may be
in their life that it's because they have put repentance before faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
and it's because their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not sufficient because faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ and his atonement is the power behind repentance that not only is the power to
forgive us but is the power to help us forsake sin forgiveness and forsaking go together and
faith so just just think about that faith forgiveness forsaking those three F's always go
together if we have sufficient faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we will be forgiven and we will
forsake and the reason so many people don't feel forgiven or are not able to forsake is because
they are not sufficient in the power of faith or the exercise of faith in their life in the Lord
Jesus Christ and his atonement so I that's the key to to forsaking is to build strong faith and
we we did two or three podcasts on faith in Jesus Christ the different levels of faith and that
really to be forgiven and to forsake sin one must come to not just the beyond just the simple
faith one must develop their faith and have a faith strong enough where they have the faith of
power where they know that if they ask and they ask expediently that they will receive I mean the
ultimate the ultimate miracles God the ultimate answer to prayer and you know this is over and
over again in the scriptures right asking you shall receive knocking it shall be opened and
ask and everything you ask that is good or everything that you ask for that is expedient or
everything that you ask for that is not amiss or anything you know he tells Nephi and Helman
anything that you ask you'll receive well all of that think a bit in terms of asking for forgiveness
that if we will ask for forgiveness we will receive it if our faith is sufficient there's
nothing there's not a greater miracle or nothing more that the father wants to give us than
forgiveness of sin so that's the power behind behind it and if one is spinning their wheels
not not able to forsake and keep repeating the same sins then then we need to go back and we
need to that individual needs to go back and needs to re-study make a study of faith and what it
required what is required how can I obtain it what are the blessings that flow from it and
once they do that their faith will begin to grow the seed which is the power of the word will
grow in their heart and as Paul taught faith cometh by hearing a by hearing the word of God
and ultimately that word of God is the ultimate word of God is thy sins are forgiven me and
when one can have faith in that it's pretty easy to forgive yourself and it's a lot easier to
forsake sin by this you know if a man repent if he will confess and forsake his sins so I hope our
listeners will kind of think about those two as as going together in this process and to see it more
as not necessarily being the the heart and soul of repentance but more maybe sign or evidence
that one is repenting and that's an ongoing process Scott but must be done appropriately when it
comes to the appropriate individuals at the appropriate time when it comes to confessing and
forsaking one should see that as not being a one-time thing but and not be discouraged when
former sins do return it just means that we need to maybe in strive to repent with greater intent
or or greater with greater faith faith is the power behind forgiveness and faith is the power
behind forsaking of sin right and how does my faith grow so this I've just shared my own experience
with this at a high level you know as my faith has grown the way that I have been able to accomplish
that is to do what we have talked about in the past to know and better to be strive to become
more like him and all of that pushes me into a deeper love for him and as I do that the best
way for me to do that is to accept the invitation to come unto me and we've talked about that when
he says come unto me where is he is for me to visit the garden to visit the garden of Gethsemane
and be there with him at the foot of the cross and recognize the pain that he's suffering because
of me and hear him cry out and hear him cry out my god my god why is that forsake him and see him
in the garden being being sustained by an angel his friend and then to see him hang on the cross
and be sustained there by God for a time but then even God removes and lets him take that and as I
see that and as I'm there with him and as I'm there with that and as I feel that and recognize that
and experience that in my life Dave that's when that faith builds that's when that faith moves
from faith to a faith of power the faith of power manifested through what faith unto repentance
through what faith unto his in his name which means to take upon me and make those covenants
and as I do then so I have often found and and forsaking of sins has not been easy for me it's
not easy for any of us it takes works it wasn't meant it wasn't meant to be easy for any of us
and so if we're finding that to be the case for ourselves it's not a reason to beat ourselves up
this is not a stick that we should pick up and and and flog ourselves because we're not worthy
because we can't make it we shouldn't see this as an indictment that we are just we're not savable
because there are those who build that way sometimes because it's like I can't this little sin and
sometimes little sins big sins we can get into that but these little sins sometimes that keep
coming up whatever it is and if I keep struggling with that at some point if I don't see the
faith if I don't I mean if I don't have the faith that has come by those visitations to the places
that we've just talked about then I could give up and and I think that we have seen that and
experience it and if so for those of our listeners who may be in that spot don't give up just just
continue on you're fine just continue to visit there continue to put on the atonement of Jesus
Christ the ways that we've taught and talked about how to do that and we'll continue to do talk and
teach about how to do that then we're going to be fine and this is not an opportunity that should
never be seen as is something that we use to see ourselves less than we are we should see ourselves
less than him as King Benjamin invites us to do but that helps us to accept and realize that complete
dependence that we have on him elder Rennlund Scott in this last conference talk and he is
brought this up more than once at least twice and maybe more is he loves the word repetitively
and iteratively he keeps using those two words together I don't know if you've picked up on that
but he talks about repentance as being repeatedly and iteratively a process iteratively he actually
defines it in this last conference report so I encourage our listeners to go check out elder
elder Rennlund stock it's wonderful about getting tipped over in the by little wave you know and
his kayak is ocean he actually called it a big wave ocean-faring kayak you know awesome that's
that's a great analogy of repentance is that we just need to keep momentum we just need to keep
repenting daily just but it has to be repeated repeatedly repetitively repetitively and iteratively
and iteratively means that we're we're making little progress we're refining it we're getting better
we're maybe we're going a little longer without repeating that sin maybe maybe maybe we're you
know it's not that we just become when we repent we're not going to just be sinless and perfect
and it doesn't mean that we might never repeat that sin but the next time it may maybe it won't be
as bad and we're making progress iteratively we're refining the process we're becoming more intentional
we're becoming more we're learning we're progressing scott yeah that that's how we live the gospel
repetitively and iteratively and it becomes a cycle a cycle upward as we as we become closer to
and learn more about and become more like our heavenly father i love that word iteratively
no i hadn't picked up on that thank you for sharing that but you know what that brings to mind to me
you know when i'm doing what i do for work and i prepare a presentation i may have an iteration
of that presentation iteration there you go what is an iteration and so that iteration is that version
of that presentation improving it my second iteration would be an improvement upon the first
iteration exactly my third iteration would be an improvement upon the second and the first and so
if we're irritatively irritative how did you say it repeatedly and repetitively and and iteratively
i want to use the word irritation iteratively so if we're using the word if we are creating a
repetitive and repetitive and iterative iterative experience in repentance what are we doing we're
creating a new iteration of ourselves that's repentance this is scott durfey version whatever
scott durfey point one oh point two iteration whatever point four oh and each one of those
iterations i'm on about point four thousand oh well good because that means that your orders
are continuing to paddle you so that's important thanks for sharing that so that's that's how we
live the gospel that's how we improve that's how we progress repetitively and iteratively
i love elder rendlin for teaching us that in more than one conference stuff
so what invitation do we have for our listeners today well i i think that that last uh
that last word that i can't say iteratively repetitively and iteratively living our lives
and approaching repentance and as we do that repetitively and iteratively the forsaking
of our sins will become a byproduct of that and quit and and let's just stop being afraid
of repenting of repenting of our sins because we think we won't repeat our sins that's just
that's just false doctrine and that's just satan getting us to stop our progression
our progression is to put fear in our hearts don't repent because you're not sure if you're
ever going to repeat it again or not and if you ever repeat it man it's just going to be so much
worse you're going to be so much harder because you're going to have that one and this one that
is just a lie they don't stack up so we repetitively iteratively and to not fear repentance because
we think that we have to be perfect or sinless before we repent however again we're not being
trite about that we're with real intent we need to continually strive to increase our faith
in jesus christ and his atonement we need to increase our understanding our hearts need to be
be broken our spirits come trite we need to cry out we need to offer our holes that this is
repentance repentance is not just confessing our sins to god and asking for forgiveness
over and over and over again it's it's it takes great effort an effort of great joy an effort
of freedom it's it's such a a liberative liberating liberating experience when we repent but it takes
great effort and it takes great sincerity humility and for sure faith in the lord jesus christ
his atonement and with that power we can repent of our sins as oft as we sin even if it's over
and over again as long as we continue continually to try to iteratively make progress let's also
remember the forsaking our sins is not repentance it's a manifestation yeah thank you of repentance
just because we atheist atheists and and agnostics right can modify behavior absolutely it's not as
just stop your behavior forsaking forsaking sin is not in and of itself repentance there's no
redemption and just by your own willpower or discipline stopping a behavior or indiction
if jesus christ is not the center of it if jesus christ and his atonement isn't involved in this
process there's nothing redemptive about that's another great point scott so if christ is the
center and our faith is is is centered on him this process goes naturally and repetitively
and iteratively for the rest of our lives i'm so thankful for that i'm so thankful to know that the
things that were talked about are available to me they're available to you and it's through these
things in a relationship with him that we qualify for his merits his merits his merits which have
been mighty to save us all to be in effect in each of our lives thanks for being with us this week
we look forward to being with you each and every week tell we're together again be well