1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,840 Hey there everybody. 2 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:18,920 Welcome back another podcast of Redeem Through His Blood. 3 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:23,240 Scott Durfey here along with the illustrious David Durfey. 4 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:24,240 What's up buddy? 5 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:27,400 Nothing illustrious about me. 6 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:28,960 Everybody that knows me knows I'm not. 7 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:29,960 That's one thing I'm not. 8 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,120 Yeah, but everybody that knows you sure does love you. 9 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,160 Illustrious is not a word I would want or use to try. 10 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:40,280 I like to throw curveballs like that at you every once in a while. 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:41,560 Just see how you're going to respond. 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,440 So far you've been able to hit every one of them. 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:45,440 How are you? 14 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:46,440 I'm good. 15 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:47,440 Oh well. 16 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:48,440 Good. 17 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:49,440 Oh well. 18 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:57,200 Looking forward to talking about repentance and getting into the, putting some meat on 19 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:58,200 these bones. 20 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:02,360 Well I think we kind of started with some meat on the bones last week as we talked about 21 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:08,440 the power of faith or the faith of power and which does lead us right into this next topic 22 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:09,440 right? 23 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:10,440 The repentance. 24 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:11,440 Yeah, absolutely Scott. 25 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,240 Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and then repentance. 26 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,480 So I don't know where people are. 27 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,160 How many you know, you never know. 28 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:26,640 We get new listeners probably every week and this is again kind of the heart of it. 29 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:32,000 But I don't necessarily think it's the most important part of this whole course, but it 30 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:33,880 is kind of the heart of it. 31 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:40,280 Because the reason this whole course came about and was created was because of stake 32 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:50,120 presence coming to us at the Institute and requesting help on helping young adults to 33 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:57,040 repent, is there a course that you can develop or teach that would help our young adults 34 00:01:57,040 --> 00:01:59,320 to repent? 35 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:03,160 That was the cry and the request from good priesthood leaders. 36 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:11,600 So together with others, I put together this course and Salih got it approved and I began, 37 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,160 I was assigned and began to teach it and it was called repentance and forgiveness. 38 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:22,000 So for someone to take this course called repentance and forgiveness, Scott, they either had to 39 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,160 be really, really humble and some of them really were. 40 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:31,400 Some of them, I wasn't worried about their salvation. 41 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:37,240 I mean, you could tell they, I mean, really it was some of the best kids took this course. 42 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,360 Some of the kids probably who you would think or many would think needed to repentance the 43 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,800 least are the ones who took it the most. 44 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,920 I know from experience that sometimes those of us who need it the most are going to avoid 45 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:49,920 that. 46 00:02:49,920 --> 00:02:50,920 Yeah, exactly. 47 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:57,360 And so anyway, but there were others who came who were assigned to come by their priesthood 48 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:03,720 leaders or who really fell to need and who were at that point in time in their life who 49 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:13,760 had maybe hit rock bottom and were really trying hard to repair and breach their relationships, 50 00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:15,760 demand their relationship. 51 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,880 And a lot of them took it because of the word forgiveness. 52 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:22,360 They weren't only seeking forgiveness, but they were wondering how they could forgive 53 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,440 others. 54 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:29,560 And so this became kind of the heart of the course because they would always ask, when 55 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,040 are we going to talk about repentance and forgiveness? 56 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:43,640 We have spent how many podcasts episodes on identity and the fall and the atonement of 57 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,360 Jesus Christ and then faith. 58 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:49,000 We've done two or three podcasts on faith alone. 59 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:50,160 That's right. 60 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,120 This will be, you know, throw a couple of interviews in there that we've done. 61 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:55,480 This will be 23. 62 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,120 This is our 20, I think, 22 or 23. 63 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:03,760 So it's saying there's 23 episodes to get to the heart of the course, which is repentance 64 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:05,320 and forgiveness. 65 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:06,720 But we're there. 66 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:16,320 I just want to state again, the obvious probably, that you can't just repent without kind of 67 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:23,680 knowing who you are, your need for a Savior and Redeemer, what the atonement of Jesus Christ 68 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:28,840 is, what it was and how much He suffered and how did I cause it. 69 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:34,280 If you don't really understand the atonement of Jesus Christ, it's almost silly to try 70 00:04:34,280 --> 00:04:36,240 to jump in to repent. 71 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:37,920 But I know a lot who do. 72 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:43,880 I even know of lots of bishops who just go right to the steps of repentance. 73 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:46,280 And I know one bishop reported this. 74 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:52,880 So I want to just begin with this story from a bishop in a young adult stake at BYU, which 75 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:54,520 he shared many years ago. 76 00:04:54,520 --> 00:05:01,160 Anyway, I won't share his name, even though it's written up in the church magazines. 77 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:07,280 But he shares this story about when he was a bishop and he was really struggling with 78 00:05:07,280 --> 00:05:13,560 members of his young adult ward who would come and confess their sins to him and want 79 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:15,280 to repent. 80 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:16,960 And then they would talk about repentance. 81 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,920 They would talk about what they needed to do and all the steps of repentance. 82 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,160 And then two or three weeks later, they'd be right back in his office confessing all 83 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:27,320 over again the same sins. 84 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:32,400 They would talk more about repentance or repeat what had already been said about repentance. 85 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,760 And then two or three weeks later, they'd be right back in his office talking about 86 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:42,960 repentance again and about the same sins over and over and over again. 87 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:48,920 Individuals spinning their spiritual wheels, not being able to make progress. 88 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:52,640 And he said he was really feeling, he really got discouraged. 89 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:59,280 And he began to fast and pray about this like, what can I do to help these, these wonderful, 90 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:00,720 beautiful young adults? 91 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,040 And he just felt like he was failing as a bishop. 92 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:10,760 And after much prayer and fasting, he said it was one day where he was just kind of happened 93 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:15,320 to be serendipitously reading the articles of faith. 94 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,520 And his eyes fell to the fourth article of faith. 95 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:27,360 We believe that the first four principles and ordinances of the gospel are first, faith 96 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:31,440 in the Lord Jesus Christ. 97 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:43,040 And it was like it was pulsating off the page first, first faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 98 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,120 And it just struck him like a ton of bricks. 99 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:47,620 Wow. 100 00:06:47,620 --> 00:06:53,520 I have been trying to put the second principle of repentance before the first principle of 101 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,120 faith in Jesus Christ. 102 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:04,920 And he said he began to, it completely changed his approach to helping young adults to learn 103 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:07,080 how to repent. 104 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:13,560 And you can't have faith in Jesus Christ, of course, if they don't understand the atonement 105 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,120 of Jesus Christ. 106 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:22,560 So he started to talk about Jesus Christ, the atonement, how to exercise faith in Jesus 107 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:24,840 Christ and his atonement. 108 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:31,760 And he said what he witnessed was miraculous that individuals, once they had faith in Jesus 109 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:41,120 Christ God, they really began to make not all, but markedly, it was, it was so much 110 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:48,240 different and so much better and their repentance was so much more efficacious and effective 111 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:53,440 because they were doing it based on their faith in Jesus Christ. 112 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:59,560 So I have come to this conclusion in my own experience, personal experience with repentance 113 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:06,960 and my family's experience and others in the church who I've helped in as a bishop or in 114 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:12,920 stake presidency or other callings, especially at the missionary training center as a branch 115 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:15,600 president trying to help missionaries to repent. 116 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:26,400 I've come to this conclusion, Scott, that I believe is, is true and without exception. 117 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:32,480 Anyone who is really spinning their wheels, anyone who just keeps repenting of the same 118 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:36,840 sins over and over and over again. 119 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:44,400 Keeps committing the same sins over and over and over again. 120 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:53,360 It's not because they're not repenting, perhaps, but it is always because they lack sufficient 121 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:59,320 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 122 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:07,200 Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the power behind all repentance, at least effective, 123 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,200 efficacious repentance. 124 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,080 A lot of people are going through the motions, a lot of people are studying repentance, a 125 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:18,800 lot of people are trying to, how can I get the Atonement of Jesus Christ in my life without 126 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:24,840 really understanding the need and the power of faith in their life. 127 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:33,120 So I just, we've talked a lot about faith and we needed to because there is no repentance 128 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:38,480 without faith and we haven't read this scripture yet, Scott, to kind of connect the two as we 129 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:39,480 make this transition. 130 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:45,880 But let's go to Alma chapter 34 and this amazing discourse. 131 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:52,960 Again, this is an amulet, Alma's trusty missionary companion and they're teaching the Zoromites 132 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:58,120 and trying to help those needies, Zoromites who've been cast out of their synagogues to 133 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,400 understand Jesus Christ and how to build faith. 134 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:07,680 In Alma chapter 32, right, Alma spent a whole chapter and 33 on faith and how to plant the 135 00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:13,400 Word and the Word was Jesus Christ and Him crucified and how to plant that in their hearts 136 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:15,320 that they might have faith. 137 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,520 And now Amulet follows up and look at what he says. 138 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:24,880 I really love this, this connection and this phrase is unique in the Book of Mormon, faith 139 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,080 unto repentance. 140 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:32,840 Notice how many times he uses that in these verses, Scott, verses 15 through 17. 141 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:37,440 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name. 142 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:38,440 Did you get that? 143 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:39,440 Yeah. 144 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:40,640 Believe on his name. 145 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:42,200 Believe on his name. 146 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:44,480 Not just believe in him. 147 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:45,680 But believe on his name. 148 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:46,680 There's a difference. 149 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:47,680 Right. 150 00:10:47,680 --> 00:10:48,680 I don't know about that. 151 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:49,680 Okay. 152 00:10:49,680 --> 00:10:50,680 Yeah. 153 00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:54,360 And that would be worth reviewing for those of you who want to, you know, go back and 154 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:56,280 pick that up in our last episode. 155 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:59,400 There's a difference between faith in Christ and faith in the name. 156 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,760 There's a difference between believing in him and believing on his name. 157 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:09,280 Anyway, I just hope our listeners will become more sensitized to that. 158 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:10,680 And starting at 15. 159 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:15,360 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name. 160 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:21,800 This being the intent of this last sacrifice to bring about the bowels of mercy which overpower 161 00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:28,880 justice and bring it about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. 162 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:36,400 There is no repentance that is true repentance that is not preceded by faith in Jesus Christ 163 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,560 and believe on his name. 164 00:11:38,560 --> 00:11:39,560 Okay. 165 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:40,560 Verse 16. 166 00:11:40,560 --> 00:11:46,000 Repentance, mercy can satisfy the demands of justice and encircles them in the arms 167 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:47,000 of safety. 168 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:48,000 Love that. 169 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,960 I absolutely love that. 170 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:50,960 Arms. 171 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:53,920 The imagery of being encircled in the arms of safety. 172 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:58,520 Repentance and mercy satisfy the demands of justice and encircle them in the arms of 173 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:05,560 safety while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of 174 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:07,760 the demands of justice. 175 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:14,200 Therefore, only unto them that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal 176 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:15,880 plan of redemption. 177 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:21,720 Therefore, may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto 178 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:26,120 repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name. 179 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:28,360 I just call upon him. 180 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:34,320 But his holy name that he would have mercy on you. 181 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:35,480 Okay. 182 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:44,880 I think Amuelik uses the phrase faith unto repentance four times in those three verses. 183 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:50,880 And I really love what he's saying by using that statement. 184 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,480 Faith unto repentance. 185 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,680 That should be our emphasis. 186 00:12:55,680 --> 00:13:04,760 Is learning of Christ and being able to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and in the name of Jesus 187 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:10,360 Christ, faith in the name that we might be able to now repent. 188 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:17,080 And once an individual has sufficient faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his Atonement, 189 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:23,080 Scott, it's amazing really how speedily one can repent. 190 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:32,040 But it's the faith unto repentance that we should focus more on than the steps of repentance. 191 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:35,440 But I don't even like that phrase steps of repentance. 192 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:37,400 That was developed years ago in the church. 193 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,640 And I don't think that's the way it works. 194 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:42,960 It's not like checking off a list. 195 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,680 And we're going to talk more about that in the next podcast or two. 196 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:53,840 So in helping others teach that course and the thousands of students who took it and 197 00:13:53,840 --> 00:14:01,240 then helping Elder Anderson in his book called The Divine Gift of Forgiveness, I had done 198 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:05,400 a survey several times and then I had compiled all of these. 199 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:12,880 And there was definitely a pattern as to why young adults found it hard to repent. 200 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:20,360 I would ask them to tell me why your friends are unwilling to repent or what makes it hard 201 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:21,360 for them to repent. 202 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,320 That's a good, safe way to pose that question. 203 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:32,080 So they would tell me all the reasons why their friends and family, based on their experience, 204 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:36,680 their own personal experience, I'm sure, why they found it hard to repent. 205 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:43,400 Well I had quite a list and I had sent these all up to Elder Anderson and kind of the results 206 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:44,400 of my survey. 207 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,540 And he captured some of them in his book here. 208 00:14:47,540 --> 00:14:51,920 This is on page 121 of his book, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness. 209 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:55,720 So let me just throw this out, hang it on that page, but The Divine Gift of Forgiveness 210 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,200 is now the curriculum book for that. 211 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:00,480 Yeah, this is the student manual. 212 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:01,480 That's the student manual. 213 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:02,480 Worldwide. 214 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:09,200 So the course that David was just referencing that David actually wrote and was approved 215 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:14,920 and is now being still taught is no longer called Repentance and Forgiveness, it's called 216 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,400 The Divine Gift of Forgiveness. 217 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:18,120 Yeah, based on the title of his book. 218 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:19,120 Exactly. 219 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:24,440 So this is the same institute class that Deb and I have had for the last few years, the 220 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,800 privilege of teaching also at BYU now. 221 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:27,800 Yeah. 222 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:28,800 Okay, go ahead. 223 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:34,080 So here's some of the reasons that people find it hard to repent. 224 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:36,600 I don't think I can do it. 225 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,000 My friends will desert me. 226 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,800 I have sunk too far to change. 227 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,280 My mistakes aren't that bad. 228 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,160 There are others a lot worse than I am. 229 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,360 I don't want to tell everything. 230 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,920 I don't want to be embarrassed in front of others. 231 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:53,600 What would my bishops say? 232 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:55,960 I can't just start doing better. 233 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:57,680 The past will go away. 234 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,760 I don't fully trust those who want to help. 235 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,320 With willpower, I can do it myself. 236 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,200 I'll change later when my life is different. 237 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:09,920 I have to do this by myself. 238 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:11,120 And here's a few more. 239 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,320 If I try and fail, I'm worse than I am now. 240 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:17,080 And you know, that was a big one actually. 241 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:22,960 There were so many who said, well, I'm afraid that if I'm trying to repent, I'm not going 242 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:24,960 to be able to quit sinning. 243 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:26,960 So it's just going to make it worse. 244 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:33,440 That's based on a myth that we have taken from Scripture that all former sins return. 245 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:38,880 And we think that sins stack up and they get worse and worse and worse and worse. 246 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:44,000 And a lot of them, they weren't going to repent because they didn't want their sins to come 247 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:45,000 back. 248 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:46,000 They made them another mistake. 249 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,480 They didn't want to be more accountable. 250 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:50,440 Anyway, and the details that I, here's another one. 251 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:55,040 The details that I will need to confess will be too disappointing to those who I love. 252 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,120 Well he's reworded some of those, and there were several more. 253 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:06,360 But here was the pattern that Elder Anderson and I both observed when we discussed the 254 00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:09,240 surveys that I had taken. 255 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:18,600 The pattern was that there were two major reasons why people would not repent. 256 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:22,360 Fear and pride. 257 00:17:22,360 --> 00:17:27,760 And that's why he chose to call this, I think I called this chapter when I was working out 258 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:31,480 of the roadblocks to repentance, but he did a much better job. 259 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:38,240 He calls it the twin bullies preventing repentance. 260 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:45,520 Elder Anderson is really amazing and a genius when it comes to this sort of thing, presentation 261 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:50,680 and appealing to the young people. 262 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:57,880 So the twin bullies of repentance that keep us from repenting are fear and pride. 263 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:02,440 So maybe we should just talk about that for a minute, Scott, before we jump into the process 264 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:13,720 of repentance itself and how we can help ourselves, our families and listeners to kind of understand 265 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,320 how these two things keep us from repenting. 266 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,000 And you have an initial thought on that. 267 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,880 Actually, I'm just going to make a comment. 268 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:28,200 I think Elder Anderson has a really kind of a cool little video snippet that goes along 269 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:29,200 with his lessons. 270 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:36,720 In fact, you can find this curriculum as part of the LDS library at LDS.org or whatever. 271 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:41,520 And I'll try to remember to go ahead and attach that. 272 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,560 I think it's literally called the twin bullies. 273 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:47,480 And I'll see if we can get that in. 274 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:48,960 Watch for that in the show notes. 275 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:58,400 But this part as we start moving into repentance and the process of repentance, I know that 276 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:03,480 from personal experience, this can be a spot where maybe we get a little tripped up, maybe 277 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:07,600 we get a little anxiety that starts rising up inside of us. 278 00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:12,680 Maybe there's some fear and definitely some pride sometimes that does start coming up. 279 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:18,480 And I would just invite us that as we go through this episode and subsequent episodes to this 280 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:24,600 as we address this to put all of your preconceived notions about what all of this means to set 281 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:25,600 them aside for a minute. 282 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:31,440 You can come back to them if you want to later, but just put them aside for a minute and maybe 283 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:39,440 explore the possibilities of the wonderment and the beauty of the things that the doctrine 284 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:44,360 of Christ really sets forth for us as it relates to repentance. 285 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:47,720 And I think that that can help our experience here if we're able to do that, Dave. 286 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:49,120 Yeah, thank you. 287 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,440 And thanks, Scott, for using the term doctrine of Christ. 288 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:58,480 We are really, I've been meaning to, to, to, uh, that's a term unique again to the Book 289 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,120 of Mormon, the doctrine of Christ. 290 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:02,400 And, and that's really where we're at. 291 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:08,680 We're in the middle in our, we're in the middle of discussing that doctrine of Christ is faith 292 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:14,640 in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. 293 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:19,240 And so we're, that's what we're going to be talking about for the rest of this course, 294 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:26,080 really, is for the whole rest of this, this season, we're talking about the doctrine of 295 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:27,080 Christ. 296 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:28,080 Yeah. 297 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:34,000 One more thing to, I would, I would encourage all of you, all of us to gain a copy of the 298 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,280 Divine Gift of Forgiveness by Elder Nill L. Anderson. 299 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,000 It's available in all of the church bookstores. 300 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,560 And I think it's actually available in many of the other bookstores, Barnes and Noble 301 00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:46,120 and, you know, things like that as well. 302 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:49,320 And certainly online, not expensive, it's paperback. 303 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:54,440 I know that there's very little, if any, profit being taken just because this is Elder Anderson's 304 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,800 way of putting out these important principles and making them available to as many people 305 00:20:58,800 --> 00:20:59,800 as possible. 306 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:04,840 But we'd encourage all of you to gain a copy of this and make it maybe part of your own 307 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:05,840 spiritual study. 308 00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:14,200 Well, I know Elder Anderson is really pleased by the way the book is being used in the church, 309 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:19,680 in the Institute, also by bishops, priesthood leaders, state presidents. 310 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:25,240 I know that, you know, many of them have been encouraged to share it with individuals who 311 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,520 are seeking to repent. 312 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,960 This was Elder Anderson. 313 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:30,960 That was really his vision. 314 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:38,120 I remember him sharing early on his vision, again, the faith and eye of faith of a prophet, 315 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:44,080 seeing this book being used by bishops and bishops having several copies in their office. 316 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:45,080 And I know that's happening. 317 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:50,400 I have bishops come up to me quite frequently and tell me, hey, I love the podcast. 318 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:54,480 I love how it supports what we're doing with the divine gift of forgiveness. 319 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,640 And so I know that that's actually happening pretty extensively, actually. 320 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,120 Yeah, so that's really sweet. 321 00:22:01,120 --> 00:22:08,600 Scott, fear is, I think I've shared my story before and this maybe isn't the place to share 322 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:09,600 it again. 323 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:14,600 But Satan controls and manipulates us through fear. 324 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,480 I think of all of his tools. 325 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:27,440 This is the greatest tool that maybe he has is fear 127 times in the scriptures. 326 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:32,080 Old Testament, New Testament, all the holy scriptures 127 times. 327 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:37,320 I went through every verse that either had the word fear or afraid in it. 328 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:45,760 And we are commanded 127 times to fear not or be not afraid. 329 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:47,960 It shuts us down. 330 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:54,280 Fear keeps us from strengthening our relationship from God and from our relationship from Jesus 331 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:56,040 Christ and from progressing. 332 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:57,040 Right. 333 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,000 And it's one of Satan's greatest tools. 334 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,280 I mean, over and over again, we're commanded fear not, fear not, fear not. 335 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:09,400 Even in that scripture, we keep referring to over and over again in this course. 336 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:13,560 Look unto me and every thought will right before that. 337 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:19,440 The Lord commands Oliver Cowdery through Joseph Smith, this doctrine coming six, to 338 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,320 fear not. 339 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:23,480 And then he repeats it. 340 00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,760 Doubt not, fear not. 341 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:33,560 He says that twice in those verses and Peter walking on the water, be not afraid. 342 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:40,400 Fear not, it's throughout all of the standard works that we should not be afraid and we 343 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:43,120 should not fear. 344 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:53,680 It is a, perhaps a sign that we lack sufficient faith in Jesus Christ and our faith in Jesus 345 00:23:53,680 --> 00:24:03,120 Christ certainly helps to overcome fear, but the ultimate antidote for overcoming fear 346 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:11,000 is I think found in Moroni chapter eight verse 16 given by Mormon here in the middle 347 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:16,400 of the battle in which he's losing all of his people, all of his armies. 348 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:22,640 And you would think that of all people who would be afraid or fearful, it would be Mormon. 349 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:30,120 But listen to what he writes to his son in a letter in Moroni eight verse 16. 350 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:34,880 Well, be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner of rith, 351 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,040 for they shall perish except they repent. 352 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,240 Behold I speak with boldness having authority from God. 353 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:42,840 Now here's the point. 354 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:50,320 And I fear not what man can do for perfect love casteth out all fear. 355 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:54,640 A prophet has no fear. 356 00:24:54,640 --> 00:25:01,880 I mean, I'm sure they are tempted by it, but a prophet has no fear. 357 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:11,080 Mormon had no fear because his fear had been swallowed up in his perfect love. 358 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,200 Perfect love casteth out all fear. 359 00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:20,200 And that perfect love is no doubt the gift of charity, the pure love of Christ. 360 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,080 How do we get that perfect love? 361 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:26,200 Well, Moroni teaches us that in Moroni chapter 7, right? 362 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:27,440 Yeah, verse 48. 363 00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:28,440 Verse 48. 364 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:33,200 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that 365 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:39,600 ye may be filled with his love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers 366 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:44,480 of his Son, Jesus Christ, that ye may become the sons of God. 367 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:45,480 That's interesting. 368 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,440 That's how we become the sons of God, right? 369 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:54,080 That when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, that we 370 00:25:54,080 --> 00:26:00,800 may have his hope, that we may be purified even as he is pure. 371 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:08,120 And that's actually Moroni again quoting or paraphrasing or teaching his Father's teachings. 372 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:10,720 Those are the same teachings Mormon shared with him. 373 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,840 So Mormon has told us perfect love casteth out all fear. 374 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:19,680 That's also in the Bible, in the epistles of John. 375 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:26,720 And then he says, we may obtain that love, that perfect love, pure love of Christ's charity, 376 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:31,400 by praying with all energy of heart. 377 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,120 I've experimented with that over the years, Scott. 378 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:36,560 How to replace fear. 379 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,920 I know that every day I feel fear. 380 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,760 I believe every day all of us feel fear. 381 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:48,200 I believe it is part of our daily mortal lives. 382 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:55,800 But to let it settle in on our minds or hearts and give seed for it to grow. 383 00:26:55,800 --> 00:27:02,000 That's where we need to be more aware, be more mindful. 384 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:07,720 I think there are so many people who are controlled and manipulated by their fears. 385 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:13,160 If we don't recognize it, if we don't even identify it, we can't overcome it. 386 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:21,120 So I just encourage our listeners to be really mindful when they are feeling fear to pray 387 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:25,120 with all energy of heart, wherever they are. 388 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:30,400 Immediately, as soon as you identify fear, this is what I've experimented with, I pray 389 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:37,400 with all energy of heart, silently, out loud, wherever I am, depending on where I'm at. 390 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:45,120 And with all energy of heart, you can't have in your heart perfect love and fear. 391 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:47,840 They cannot coexist. 392 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:52,800 And perfect love is the antidote for fear. 393 00:27:52,800 --> 00:28:01,960 So I think it was President Oogdorf when he was in the first presidency, I think, that 394 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,920 gave an amazing talk on that. 395 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:11,440 I learned that after being called to be a patriarch because I was so filled with fear, 396 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,040 it just shut me down spiritually. 397 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,360 I think you should share your story. 398 00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:19,720 I think maybe I have, but anyway, just briefly, I'll just briefly. 399 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:21,800 You know what I was called to be patriarch. 400 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:26,760 I was told, what do you tell a patriarch to prepare? 401 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:28,920 And there's no handbook for patriarchs. 402 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:34,280 They just told me, well, don't give any blessings until you're ready. 403 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:36,360 As much time as you need to get ready. 404 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:39,360 I didn't know really what that meant, but I was trying. 405 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:44,920 But I found myself getting further away from the spirit and said, closer to the spirit. 406 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:46,000 And I was trying to hide this. 407 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,640 I was having this kind of internal battle. 408 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:56,200 And to be honest, I don't want to sensationalize this, but I was really just looking back at 409 00:28:56,200 --> 00:28:57,200 it. 410 00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,440 I was attacked by Satan. 411 00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:05,280 I think he can attack us in many different ways and I was attacked by Satan and maybe 412 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:12,000 most patriarchs are, I don't know, but I was not myself and my wife, I thought I was hiding 413 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:18,360 it, but my sweetheart Chris called me out on it and she told me one day, David, why are 414 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:24,720 you so on re ever since you were called to be patriarch, you've been on re. 415 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,280 What's wrong with you? 416 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:30,880 Well, I knew there was something wrong with me, but I didn't know what. 417 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:35,520 So I said, Chris, I gotta just go away for a while and try to figure this out. 418 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:37,320 I just got to get out of here. 419 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:43,480 So I was, I didn't know if that would be days or how long that would take me. 420 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:44,960 It only ended up being hours. 421 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:48,280 I didn't, it was, it was hours. 422 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:53,400 I went away on a long drive and I ended up in some parking lot weeping and I grabbed 423 00:29:53,400 --> 00:30:00,360 my scriptures with me before I left and I was going through the scriptures and I found 424 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:07,520 this scripture that just completely flipped me, changed me and it's a revelation given 425 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:10,840 to the Whitmer brothers through the prophet Joseph Smith. 426 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:17,800 I think it's doctrine, covenants section 30 Scott and if, well, maybe I'll read that 427 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:18,800 here. 428 00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,000 I think it's more appropriate that you read this one. 429 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:25,960 Well, it's to David, you know, he starts out to David Whitmer and when he, when I read 430 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,280 the name David, it got my attention. 431 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:33,640 I thought God was really speaking to me and he was in these verses. 432 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:39,160 So I'll begin in the doctrine, come in section 30 verses one through three. 433 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:45,360 Behold, I say unto you, David, that you have feared man. 434 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,080 As soon as I read that, I knew that was my problem. 435 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:49,080 Yeah. 436 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:54,880 Really, I was terrified to be it, to be someone who would have to receive revelation for someone 437 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:55,880 else. 438 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:57,720 I can't even imagine. 439 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:05,160 To be someone who declares their lineage, who, I mean, it just, and we talked last episode 440 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:08,680 about seeing with an eye of faith, you really have to be able to see with an eye of faith 441 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:10,720 when you're in that position. 442 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,760 It's so interesting when I prepare to get patriarchal blessings. 443 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:23,920 But I literally close my eyes and try to receive a vision of how God sees them past, present, 444 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:35,520 and future and how my prayers are answered by that revelation, vision, imagination of 445 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:38,080 how God sees them. 446 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:39,720 And so it's powerful. 447 00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:43,800 But I knew that was my problem that I was afraid. 448 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:49,880 Behold, I say unto you, David, that you have feared man and have not relied on me for strength 449 00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:53,040 as you ought. 450 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:54,640 That was my problem. 451 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,840 But it goes on. 452 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:03,960 But your mind has been on the things of the earth more than on the things of me, your maker, 453 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:10,360 and the ministry, where unto you have been called, and you have not given heed unto my 454 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:17,000 spirit and to those who were set over you, but have been persuaded by those who might 455 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,480 have not commanded. 456 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:27,280 Wherefore, you are left to inquire for yourself in my hand and ponder upon things which you 457 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:28,960 have received. 458 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:34,120 Oh, wow, well, that was life changing for me, really, Scott. 459 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:36,960 I knew that my my problem was fear. 460 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:38,760 I'd been attacked by fear. 461 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:42,600 It had shut me completely shut me down from filling the spirit. 462 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:51,320 I had been completely left to inquire for myself, which is in and of itself really scary. 463 00:32:51,320 --> 00:33:00,520 And and so I began this search on on fear and looking up every verse and trying to trying 464 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:05,200 to understand it and and understanding that it is part of mortality. 465 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,960 It's part of being a fallen mortal human being. 466 00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:11,160 We all feel it every day. 467 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:17,440 But we have more control over it, Scott, than I think most people would believe. 468 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:22,040 Fear is a primary emotion, I'm not a psychologist, but I've had a lot of experience, you know, 469 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:24,240 working, you know, with folks myself. 470 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:25,520 Yeah, I read that. 471 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:27,360 But fear is a primary emotion. 472 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,800 There's a couple of primary emotions and fear is one of them. 473 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:35,720 And a lot of the other emotions that we experience that we attribute to being problematic in our 474 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:38,800 lives really go back to fear. 475 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:43,120 You know, those of us who are, you know, control freaks, that's fear, fear of what? 476 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:46,160 Fear of things not turning out the way we think that they should. 477 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:47,160 Right. 478 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:53,040 Fear was the one for me that would became, you know, so such an important understanding. 479 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:57,560 You know, I dealt with a lot of anger, a lot of my life. 480 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,880 And I still have to kind of work on that, you know, but I understand it differently. 481 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:03,840 And I've shared this before too. 482 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:08,120 But the way that I came to the understanding of that, David, was one day I was, you know, 483 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:14,720 with a I had maybe I don't know how many years, several years of recovery, you know, being 484 00:34:14,720 --> 00:34:20,040 clean and sober, I had been back in the church, I had been rebaptized, I was in full fellowship 485 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:24,960 and I was really loving my covenant keeping and really working hard to stay on the covenant 486 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:25,960 path. 487 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:32,040 But I really had this anger problem, you know, it, I won't get into all the reasons as to 488 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:33,200 why. 489 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:37,600 But you know, they had a little bit of an anger problem and I'm sitting with my sponsor, 490 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:43,760 not a member, he's past now, big ally for he forever will be an important role model, 491 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:45,800 mentor, spiritual guide in my life. 492 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:50,120 But we're sitting in a, actually in a coffee shop, because that's where he liked to meet 493 00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,440 and, and we sat down and I, and I opened up to him. 494 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:57,600 I said, you know, I'm just so consumed with anger all the time. 495 00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:58,680 I have a real problem. 496 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:00,800 We talked a little bit about it. 497 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:05,440 And I, and again, I've shared this before, but he said to me exactly this. 498 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,440 He says, Scott, you don't have an anger problem. 499 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:10,040 You have a fear problem. 500 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:11,920 You're afraid. 501 00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:17,680 And you know, once I was able to understand that, and now today, anger still comes up. 502 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:22,960 But when anger comes up today for me, I don't try to figure, I shouldn't say always when 503 00:35:22,960 --> 00:35:23,960 I'm doing the right thing. 504 00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:28,320 And when I'm in tune, I don't always look for what somebody else is doing wrong, but 505 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:32,360 I'm looking inside of myself saying, okay, what fear button is being pushed here? 506 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,840 What am I afraid of in this situation? 507 00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:38,960 And when I do that, then I, then I feel a portion of the spirit reenter my life. 508 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:43,040 And the atonement again begins to take its take place of the atonement of Jesus Christ 509 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:48,480 and the power of it again begins to take over in my life and cleanses me of that fear. 510 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:49,480 Yeah. 511 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:56,160 Well, I learned that for myself, Scott, that my, that my anger was almost always inextricably 512 00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:58,200 fear-related to some fear. 513 00:35:58,200 --> 00:35:59,200 Yeah. 514 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:03,280 I, again, I could share specific experiences related to that. 515 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:13,280 But all of us should be come more aware of how fear controls other emotions and actions 516 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,720 and choices in our life. 517 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:24,040 And the brethren and the Lord have told us that we can control our fears. 518 00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:30,120 Elder Benner gave a whole talk on that called hush your fears in general conference several 519 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:31,120 years ago. 520 00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:40,400 Elder Anderson refers to it in that in his chapter on in the book, but we can, we can 521 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:42,280 overcome fear. 522 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:44,040 We can't stop it. 523 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:50,640 You can't stop fear from coming into your life as part of life, but you can replace 524 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:51,640 it. 525 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:54,000 It has to be replaced. 526 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,840 It can't be stopped. 527 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:57,720 It flows into our lives. 528 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:02,960 Satan can bring it into our life just as he brings temptation into our life. 529 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:10,600 If he can cause us to think fearful thoughts and go to places where we shouldn't go. 530 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:15,520 And all of a sudden we get ahead of ourselves and we began to imagine these terrible, fearful 531 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:23,080 things because of the, the world and the challenges that we all deal with every day. 532 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:24,080 Then he's got us. 533 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,160 I think one of my favorite all time quotes. 534 00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:32,800 And I actually think somebody quoted this recently in general conference Scott, but 535 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:38,080 anyway, it's, it's Elder Scott and I'll just paraphrase it that trying to fill the spirit 536 00:37:38,080 --> 00:37:50,280 of the Lord when we are controlled with inappropriate emotions such as fear, pride, lust, jealousy, 537 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:57,320 anger, envy, he goes through several inappropriate emotions, trying to fill the spirit of the 538 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:04,320 Lord when we are filled with inappropriate emotions is like trying to savor the flavor 539 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:13,040 of a sweet grape while we are chewing on or eating a jalapeno pepper. 540 00:38:13,040 --> 00:38:18,800 You can't feel the spirit of the Lord when you're filled with fear. 541 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:28,600 And you can't feel the love of Christ or God or the power of his atonement in your life 542 00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:31,720 when you are filled with fear. 543 00:38:31,720 --> 00:38:37,360 I also think Scott fear leads to pride and I think, I think fear and pride are actually 544 00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:38,360 connected. 545 00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:45,560 They're, they're both, I think a evidence of, of some insecurity. 546 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:51,080 Pride is usually when I, when I really feel pride, it's usually because I feel insecure, 547 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:56,000 which is the result of being fearful that I'm not good enough or not measuring up or 548 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:00,960 that I have to act like something that I'm not or be something that I'm not or look better 549 00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:03,800 than I am or whatever. 550 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:10,000 I think, I think pride and fear are actually usually connected. 551 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:16,040 So pride is, I know the antidote for pride is humility. 552 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:22,920 Then I know that humility comes about best by, you can again choose to either be compelled 553 00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:23,920 to be humble. 554 00:39:23,920 --> 00:39:29,920 We've talked about this because this, this is humility is also not only overcomes pride, 555 00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:37,200 but it's also the predecessor that precedes faith in Alma chapter 32. 556 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,760 Again, is great chapter on faith. 557 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:43,640 When he tells the Zoramites, I'm glad you're compelled to be humble, but it would have 558 00:39:43,640 --> 00:39:49,160 been so much better if you would have become humbled by the word. 559 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:52,120 It is the word of God, the word of Christ. 560 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:58,240 It is, it is the word, the word is Christ and to know Christ and to see Christ suffering 561 00:39:58,240 --> 00:40:05,360 for our sins, to see Christ and not to compare, but, but to see where we stand in relationship 562 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:07,680 to him is very humbling. 563 00:40:07,680 --> 00:40:08,680 Right? 564 00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:16,880 So the, the, the, the really the, the antidote to overcoming pride is humility and humility 565 00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:25,600 is best obtained when we again with an eye of faith see our Savior, see his holiness, 566 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:32,520 his goodness, his love, his mercy, his grace and also his suffering and what he was, what 567 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:34,240 he loved us so much. 568 00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:38,240 He loved us so much that he was willing to suffer for us. 569 00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:39,240 It's humbling. 570 00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:51,200 So the antidote for both of fear and pride is, is love, love of Christ and faith, faith 571 00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:53,320 in Christ. 572 00:40:53,320 --> 00:41:03,040 As we overcome fear and pride, then we're ready, I think, and willing to move forward 573 00:41:03,040 --> 00:41:04,040 in repentance. 574 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:11,360 Yes, you know, you made a comment about, you know, the anecdote of fear being one again, 575 00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:17,160 the anecdote of fear and pride being faith and, well, it's love, faith and humility, 576 00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:18,160 love, faith and humility. 577 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:21,600 And, and, and, you know, and I want to just put some emphasis on faith, you know, faith 578 00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:25,560 and fear have a really difficult time existing in the same person. 579 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:27,760 Faith in the Lord Jesus, faith in the right place, right? 580 00:41:27,760 --> 00:41:32,400 I mean, we talked about several episodes ago and, and through the last several episodes 581 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:36,360 that we can have faith in a lot of things, but faith in the Lord of Jesus Christ and 582 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,480 fear really cannot exist in the same place. 583 00:41:39,480 --> 00:41:42,120 Big book of Alcoholics Anonymous, fear brought up. 584 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:46,840 I don't know how many times, 47 times or something like that, just in the, just in the general 585 00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:47,840 text. 586 00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:52,760 But on page 68, it talks about fear as part of an inventory and how that we see as we 587 00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:56,060 take our personal inventory, how fear has ruled our lives. 588 00:41:56,060 --> 00:42:00,000 And then it states, and I'll just kind of paraphrase it, but we think that fear should 589 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:02,080 be classified with stealing. 590 00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:04,880 It seems to cause more damage. 591 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:07,120 Coding from Elder Bednar's talk. 592 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:08,120 Yeah. 593 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:09,480 On hushing our fears. 594 00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:16,440 He says, can we hush the fears that so easily and frequently be set us in our contemporary 595 00:42:16,440 --> 00:42:17,880 world? 596 00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:24,320 The answer to this question is an unequivocal yes. 597 00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:29,400 Three basic principles are central to receiving this blessing in our lives. 598 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,200 One, look to Christ. 599 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:36,880 Two, build upon the foundation of Christ. 600 00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:41,920 And three, press forward with faith in Christ. 601 00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:43,800 That's it. 602 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:51,160 So hushing our fears is the first step to really being able to cast out our fears and 603 00:42:51,160 --> 00:42:57,960 then developing the perfect love that casteth out all fear. 604 00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:05,640 It's so important that we spend enough time here for us to really understand that we're 605 00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:10,640 not just brushing through this fear, this fear topic, this fear concept. 606 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:11,880 This is universal. 607 00:43:11,880 --> 00:43:15,880 I think a whole course could be taught on this one thing. 608 00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:17,400 Yeah, several courses actually. 609 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:23,720 It could really benefit all of us to learn how to be number one, more mindful. 610 00:43:23,720 --> 00:43:24,720 There you go. 611 00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:29,840 So that we recognize and identify our fears because I honestly, I didn't even know. 612 00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:37,200 I had no idea how long, I mean, I was 50-something years old when I was called to be a patriarch 613 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:42,280 and I realized that most of my life I had been controlled and manipulated by my fears. 614 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:43,600 Me too. 615 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:50,480 Fear of losing, fear of losing out, fear of not appearing the way I want to appear. 616 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:52,560 Fear of missing out. 617 00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:58,640 I had been so controlled and manipulated by fear that it was really humbling to me. 618 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:07,560 In fact, it broke my heart and I became super sensitized by it so that when I feel fear, 619 00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:10,040 I know I have a choice. 620 00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:16,840 I think we all do really when we become mindful and we can either let it stay or we can focus 621 00:44:16,840 --> 00:44:17,840 on Jesus Christ. 622 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:19,280 And have faith in Him. 623 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:26,240 And when we have faith in Him and we are filled with His love, when our hearts are filled 624 00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:30,160 with love for Jesus Christ, fear can't exist. 625 00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:31,160 Yeah. 626 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:33,080 Now I used an example of anger. 627 00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:38,720 That was maybe the predominant overriding fear-based emotion that was controlling my life. 628 00:44:38,720 --> 00:44:41,160 But that's not the only one. 629 00:44:41,160 --> 00:44:46,120 I don't want to go in a prescription mode and say, hey, if you're feeling this, it 630 00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:49,840 probably goes back to fear or if you're feeling that, it probably goes back to fear. 631 00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:52,160 That would be a self-inventory for each of us. 632 00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:53,720 But I'd invite each of us. 633 00:44:53,720 --> 00:44:59,760 If there's emotions, if there are insecurities, if there's angers, if there's lack, feelings 634 00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:06,960 of lack, if there's feelings of uselessness, even pride goes back to fear. 635 00:45:06,960 --> 00:45:12,120 And so, you know, all of those things, if we find things in our life that are causing 636 00:45:12,120 --> 00:45:18,560 us to push the spirit away, push the spirit away, I guess that's really the only way to 637 00:45:18,560 --> 00:45:19,760 say that. 638 00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:23,480 But if we have those things in our life, I would challenge each of us to just kind of 639 00:45:23,480 --> 00:45:29,720 go back to and see if, you know, is there a seed of fear in any of this? 640 00:45:29,720 --> 00:45:33,760 Because those two things, fear and pride, really are twin bullies, as Elder Anderson 641 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:37,040 puts it, that keeps us from fully repenting. 642 00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:41,400 And by repenting, I mean turning away from those things that don't work to bring the 643 00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:45,520 spirit in our lives and facing the one who does, facing the Savior Himself. 644 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:51,440 And so, super important, maybe a good invitation, a good exercise for each of us to go through. 645 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:56,960 You know, if I was talking to a Sponsor and Alcoholics Anonymous right now, I would say, 646 00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:58,160 write it out. 647 00:45:58,160 --> 00:45:59,160 You know, write it out. 648 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:00,160 You know, do that. 649 00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:01,160 What your fears are. 650 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:05,920 Yeah, well, and what emotions are, first off, I would start off, what emotions are disruptive 651 00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:07,800 in my life. 652 00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:12,320 Then write those out and then see if they have a base in fear and figure that out. 653 00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:13,480 But don't start with fear. 654 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:15,840 Start with the emotion and distill it to fear. 655 00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:20,320 And once we're able to distill those things to fear and pride, then the spirit can work 656 00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:21,320 with us. 657 00:46:21,320 --> 00:46:22,320 Yeah. 658 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:26,480 Well, it takes, again, great work. 659 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:27,480 Takes work. 660 00:46:27,480 --> 00:46:28,480 It takes effort. 661 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:32,200 It takes great desire to be able to do these things. 662 00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:40,800 And you kind of said this already, but to review, fear not only keeps us from progressing, 663 00:46:40,800 --> 00:46:48,080 not only keeps us from repenting, it keeps us from feeling the spirit of the Lord. 664 00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:49,160 It indeed does. 665 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:50,560 It's one of Satan's biggest tools. 666 00:46:50,560 --> 00:46:53,760 And that can kill all of us spiritually. 667 00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:58,840 And it definitely affects us emotionally. 668 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:02,400 It can damage us mentally and physically. 669 00:47:02,400 --> 00:47:06,440 But here's what I know, and sometimes that feels like such a long road back, you know, 670 00:47:06,440 --> 00:47:12,640 because some of us are so entrenched in those things and we get so deeply where they become 671 00:47:12,640 --> 00:47:17,080 not just part of our life, but almost a part of our DNA, you know, and we feel that, you 672 00:47:17,080 --> 00:47:21,000 know, even sometimes the traditions of our fathers get passed with some of those fears 673 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,520 that we learn from our DNA. 674 00:47:23,520 --> 00:47:25,520 The evolution of fear. 675 00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:28,800 That's a good way to put it, right? 676 00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:35,400 But you know, but that's inaccurate, you know, immediately upon the discovery of fear and 677 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:37,320 how it has affected our life. 678 00:47:37,320 --> 00:47:42,160 And immediately as we turn that part of our life over the care of our Heavenly Father 679 00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:48,200 through the atonement of Jesus Christ, immediately we begin, immediately we begin to feel the 680 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:50,800 spirit re-enter into our lives. 681 00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:56,960 And it brings to us a sense of peace that may be at that point in our lives, be unfamiliar 682 00:47:56,960 --> 00:48:02,240 to us, but so welcoming and so beautiful once it does. 683 00:48:02,240 --> 00:48:10,160 We have to believe that we are moral agents and that we can act and not always be acted 684 00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:11,160 upon. 685 00:48:11,160 --> 00:48:16,200 I mean, I know we're acted upon, Satan acts upon us every day, but we can choose to act 686 00:48:16,200 --> 00:48:22,320 and not to be acted upon when we begin to choose our emotions. 687 00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:28,520 When we begin to choose love, when we begin to choose faith, it's all that's a choice. 688 00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:30,640 And I know they're all gifts from God as well. 689 00:48:30,640 --> 00:48:39,080 When we begin to act by praying and working and doing those things, then we are freed 690 00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:46,960 from the control and manipulation and the evils that come as a result of these inappropriate 691 00:48:46,960 --> 00:48:47,960 emotions. 692 00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:54,160 And I hope that all of our listeners will begin to strengthen themselves emotionally 693 00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:56,080 and begin to control their emotions. 694 00:48:56,080 --> 00:49:02,280 Because I think it's really important part, Scott, of not just repenting, but also recognizing 695 00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:04,560 forgiveness in our life. 696 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:13,600 If people are weak emotionally, it's harder for them to believe or to feel, identify, 697 00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:18,200 recognize forgiveness in their life and to be able to forgive others. 698 00:49:18,200 --> 00:49:22,080 That takes great emotional strength, but you can't have emotional strength when you're 699 00:49:22,080 --> 00:49:25,360 being controlled by your emotions. 700 00:49:25,360 --> 00:49:33,400 So I actually have taught that we not only need to repent of our actions, but there was 701 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:41,560 a talk written years ago by Terry Warner, you know, who started the Arbinger group. 702 00:49:41,560 --> 00:49:49,120 And Terry Warner once gave a talk at BYU devotional called, How do we repent of our emotions? 703 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:56,160 We not only need to repent of inappropriate actions, we need to repent of inappropriate 704 00:49:56,160 --> 00:50:02,800 emotions in order to recognize and feel the spirit of the Lord in our life. 705 00:50:02,800 --> 00:50:08,640 Okay, so those are the two roadblocks or the two twin bullies or however you want to see 706 00:50:08,640 --> 00:50:15,240 them that keep us from repentance, fear and pride, fear and pride. 707 00:50:15,240 --> 00:50:22,720 And I know that we can with again the help of God, prayer and effort and desire can overcome 708 00:50:22,720 --> 00:50:24,240 those. 709 00:50:24,240 --> 00:50:30,600 As we begin to jump into the principle of repentance, Scott, there are some myths that 710 00:50:30,600 --> 00:50:37,640 we need to identify that have been perpetuated over the years concerning repentance. 711 00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:42,680 I think President Nelson has done amazing and Elder Anderson in his book has done amazing 712 00:50:42,680 --> 00:50:49,920 to overcome these myths, but they still kind of hold people back from repenting. 713 00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:55,480 So we're talking today and we will in our next podcast about things that keep us from 714 00:50:55,480 --> 00:50:57,400 repenting. 715 00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:02,640 Some of the myths that keep us from repenting incorrect ideas. 716 00:51:02,640 --> 00:51:06,800 This kind of funny part of helping Elder Anderson with the book, you know, when I was working 717 00:51:06,800 --> 00:51:12,560 on that chapter, I had titled it The Myths of Repentance. 718 00:51:12,560 --> 00:51:17,680 And he felt that that was a little harsh. 719 00:51:17,680 --> 00:51:23,000 And so he entitled it chapter 13. 720 00:51:23,000 --> 00:51:28,000 It's actually one of my favorite chapters in the whole book, but chapter 13 in the book 721 00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:37,000 is called titled by him, Detourers on the Road to Repentance. 722 00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:42,120 Well I think they're myths, but if you want to think of them as detours, that's great. 723 00:51:42,120 --> 00:51:46,400 Anyway, we'll talk in more detail about these. 724 00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:51,840 So maybe I'll just introduce them today and then we'll talk about these myths next time. 725 00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:58,640 I think one of the great myths of repentance, Scott, and it's really a problem. 726 00:51:58,640 --> 00:52:02,200 I know it has been for me, it has been for my wife. 727 00:52:02,200 --> 00:52:09,200 I think for most members of the church is that we used to see, and some people still 728 00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:14,680 do, that repentance is the punishment for sin. 729 00:52:14,680 --> 00:52:19,960 The punishment, penalty, and payment for sin. 730 00:52:19,960 --> 00:52:23,480 Well we now know that's not true. 731 00:52:23,480 --> 00:52:29,360 Repentance is not the penalty, repentance is not the payment, and repentance is not 732 00:52:29,360 --> 00:52:33,040 the punishment for sin. 733 00:52:33,040 --> 00:52:35,440 It's just the opposite. 734 00:52:35,440 --> 00:52:40,560 There is no suffering in repentance. 735 00:52:40,560 --> 00:52:42,200 Repentance brings relief. 736 00:52:42,200 --> 00:52:45,200 The suffering was done in the garden and on the cross. 737 00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:47,760 And the suffering is caused by sin. 738 00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:48,760 That's right. 739 00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:54,280 The cause of our suffering is sin, not repentance. 740 00:52:54,280 --> 00:52:57,960 And you're right, Jesus paid for all of that. 741 00:52:57,960 --> 00:53:07,560 He suffered it, he paid for it, he was punished by our sins, paid for our sins, all of that. 742 00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:10,800 He carried out the great ransom. 743 00:53:10,800 --> 00:53:17,040 So I just loved it that after actually this book was written when elder or president to 744 00:53:17,040 --> 00:53:24,160 Nelson just came out and gave that amazing talk and said, repentance is not suffering. 745 00:53:24,160 --> 00:53:25,640 And this is scriptural. 746 00:53:25,640 --> 00:53:33,760 I mean, Dr. and Covenants section 19 verse 4, it's really short. 747 00:53:33,760 --> 00:53:36,160 Repent or suffer, something to that effect. 748 00:53:36,160 --> 00:53:38,960 So it's like these are opposites. 749 00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,200 Repentance and suffering are not the same thing. 750 00:53:41,200 --> 00:53:42,920 They're not synonymous. 751 00:53:42,920 --> 00:53:48,360 Repentance and suffering are actually antonyms, not synonyms. 752 00:53:48,360 --> 00:53:53,480 This is 19-4 of Dr. and Covenants, and surely every man must repent or suffer for I God 753 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:56,400 am endless. 754 00:53:56,400 --> 00:53:58,640 Repent or suffer. 755 00:53:58,640 --> 00:54:01,600 They're antonyms, opposites. 756 00:54:01,600 --> 00:54:04,560 They are not the same thing. 757 00:54:04,560 --> 00:54:09,360 So I don't know where this myth, I think I know and I won't give a whole history of 758 00:54:09,360 --> 00:54:10,360 that. 759 00:54:10,360 --> 00:54:13,080 I'll go into more detail on that next time. 760 00:54:13,080 --> 00:54:22,320 I think how that myth and how we can overcome that defective mindset that repentance is 761 00:54:22,320 --> 00:54:23,320 a punishment. 762 00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:25,080 It's not a punishment. 763 00:54:25,080 --> 00:54:30,480 Another myth is that repentance is a checklist. 764 00:54:30,480 --> 00:54:32,080 It's a checklist of steps. 765 00:54:32,080 --> 00:54:34,360 That there's a certain number of ours. 766 00:54:34,360 --> 00:54:35,640 Five steps of repentance. 767 00:54:35,640 --> 00:54:37,320 Or the five hours or the six hours. 768 00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:39,840 I've heard as many as eight hours. 769 00:54:39,840 --> 00:54:44,720 I want to call them the ours of repentance. 770 00:54:44,720 --> 00:54:45,920 That's a myth. 771 00:54:45,920 --> 00:54:49,040 No one should see repentance as though it's a checklist. 772 00:54:49,040 --> 00:54:53,920 Or like, okay, check, check, check. 773 00:54:53,920 --> 00:55:00,840 I became really sensitized to that one day when I found a note in the back of my seminary 774 00:55:00,840 --> 00:55:01,840 building. 775 00:55:01,840 --> 00:55:06,360 I'd found a note that a girl, and I'm so glad I didn't know who the girl was writing to 776 00:55:06,360 --> 00:55:08,320 whatever girl she was writing to. 777 00:55:08,320 --> 00:55:10,960 There were no names on this note. 778 00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:19,920 I remember her telling her friend, just saying about her without details, that she had been 779 00:55:19,920 --> 00:55:25,920 immoral and she had confessed and repented of it to her bishop. 780 00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:31,720 She was really glad that that was over, that she had repented because she had confessed 781 00:55:31,720 --> 00:55:33,720 to her bishop. 782 00:55:33,720 --> 00:55:41,280 You know, it's just so sad that so many people have, like a checklist, thought that this is 783 00:55:41,280 --> 00:55:42,280 repentance. 784 00:55:42,280 --> 00:55:43,440 It's not. 785 00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:49,360 You have to see it as a process, not as a series of steps. 786 00:55:49,360 --> 00:55:55,600 Detour number three, or the great myth of repentance, is that, and this is, this would 787 00:55:55,600 --> 00:55:59,880 always capture the attention of my students. 788 00:55:59,880 --> 00:56:06,360 The myth is, repentance is not changing your behavior. 789 00:56:06,360 --> 00:56:11,240 And they'd go, it's not. 790 00:56:11,240 --> 00:56:16,000 And I know President Nelson has said that repentance has changed, and it is, but repentance 791 00:56:16,000 --> 00:56:20,240 is not changing your behavior. 792 00:56:20,240 --> 00:56:23,280 Even atheists can do that. 793 00:56:23,280 --> 00:56:26,000 You know, agnostics can do that. 794 00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:33,280 Buddhists, Hindu, anybody who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ can change their behavior. 795 00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:35,520 That's not repentance. 796 00:56:35,520 --> 00:56:37,520 Repentance is redeeming. 797 00:56:37,520 --> 00:56:40,240 Repentance is Christ is the center of it. 798 00:56:40,240 --> 00:56:44,760 Repentance and change is through Jesus Christ, not through your discipline. 799 00:56:44,760 --> 00:56:45,760 Repentance is turning to Christ. 800 00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:47,360 Not through your willpower, what? 801 00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:48,760 Repentance is turning to Christ. 802 00:56:48,760 --> 00:56:49,760 Yes. 803 00:56:49,760 --> 00:56:54,520 And it's not just a willpower of overcoming a bad habit. 804 00:56:54,520 --> 00:56:55,880 That's not repentance. 805 00:56:55,880 --> 00:57:00,920 Repentance is not stopping a behavior or changing a behavior. 806 00:57:00,920 --> 00:57:02,320 Anyone can do that. 807 00:57:02,320 --> 00:57:05,720 Anyway, we'll talk more about that next time. 808 00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:11,000 And the fourth, and there's other myths that could have been mentioned in this book, but 809 00:57:11,000 --> 00:57:18,160 the fourth one that we discuss, and we'll discuss next time, is repentance is what saves 810 00:57:18,160 --> 00:57:20,840 us. 811 00:57:20,840 --> 00:57:22,240 Repentance doesn't save us. 812 00:57:22,240 --> 00:57:23,960 There is no power in repentance. 813 00:57:23,960 --> 00:57:27,120 We've said that probably enough the last few weeks. 814 00:57:27,120 --> 00:57:31,400 Repentance doesn't save us. 815 00:57:31,400 --> 00:57:41,160 Jesus Christ in his atonement and his blood and our faith in him and in his name is what 816 00:57:41,160 --> 00:57:43,720 saves us and exalts us. 817 00:57:43,720 --> 00:57:45,680 Not repentance. 818 00:57:45,680 --> 00:57:47,840 Repentance helps qualify us. 819 00:57:47,840 --> 00:57:48,840 Definitely. 820 00:57:48,840 --> 00:57:50,920 Definitely helps qualify us. 821 00:57:50,920 --> 00:57:58,920 But we don't earn anything from repentance and there's no power in repentance. 822 00:57:58,920 --> 00:58:03,280 It's in Jesus Christ, his atonement and our faith in him. 823 00:58:03,280 --> 00:58:07,520 So we'll talk more about those, Scott, and we'll get really into the heart of this whole 824 00:58:07,520 --> 00:58:16,600 course next week as we focus primarily on those roadblocks, detours, myths, whatever 825 00:58:16,600 --> 00:58:18,280 you want to call them. 826 00:58:18,280 --> 00:58:26,520 And I think before, this is important and I'll end with this, before you can know what 827 00:58:26,520 --> 00:58:31,960 repentance is, you have to know what it's not. 828 00:58:31,960 --> 00:58:35,640 And that's what we'll talk about next week, what repentance is not. 829 00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:37,120 Thanks, Dave. 830 00:58:37,120 --> 00:58:42,200 I'm really excited to enter this part of our discussion in the podcast. 831 00:58:42,200 --> 00:58:46,680 I don't know that I have a favorite part because it's all so important. 832 00:58:46,680 --> 00:58:52,920 But when we get to this part, this seems to be the key that kind of helps unlock the mystery, 833 00:58:52,920 --> 00:58:57,080 I think, to a lot of us on, you know, what does this really mean and how do I really 834 00:58:57,080 --> 00:59:02,120 put this into practice in my life and how do I begin to qualify for the conditional and 835 00:59:02,120 --> 00:59:06,680 the unconditional blessings that help me overcome the physical and the spiritual death, which 836 00:59:06,680 --> 00:59:09,960 is the weakness that came because of the fall. 837 00:59:09,960 --> 00:59:15,400 And as we go through this, there's just something that almost brings joy to me, you know, as 838 00:59:15,400 --> 00:59:21,160 we begin to unlock this and begin to qualify and really realize, I think the big for me 839 00:59:21,160 --> 00:59:26,360 and I see this in my students and Deben and mine students as we teach Institute, as we 840 00:59:26,360 --> 00:59:32,200 begin to talk about these things, it's so freeing to understand that the checklist is 841 00:59:32,200 --> 00:59:34,840 not what's important. 842 00:59:34,840 --> 00:59:38,360 It's non-existent, but it's the process, the process of what? 843 00:59:38,360 --> 00:59:43,480 The process of turning away from that, which keeps us away from the spirit and turning 844 00:59:43,480 --> 00:59:46,800 to Him who redeems us. 845 00:59:46,800 --> 00:59:48,880 That's repentance. 846 00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:56,920 Just a simple shift in our beliefs and who we are and oh my goodness, I can't even begin 847 00:59:56,920 --> 01:00:04,360 to articulate the freedom to our souls that can come as we embark in this journey in doing 848 01:00:04,360 --> 01:00:07,840 this and this process and to fill his love as we do it. 849 01:00:07,840 --> 01:00:12,800 You know, what we have deemed and termed as being so arduous in so much work and so much 850 01:00:12,800 --> 01:00:17,160 pain and so much, it's just the opposite. 851 01:00:17,160 --> 01:00:20,520 We begin to feel free, we begin to feel light. 852 01:00:20,520 --> 01:00:26,160 I see people who seem and this has been, and I felt it myself and even said these same 853 01:00:26,160 --> 01:00:31,640 words, I feel a thousand pounds lighter and it's not because of a process, it's because 854 01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:36,960 of a redemption, it's because of what happened in the garden, what happened on the cross, 855 01:00:36,960 --> 01:00:41,520 what happened on the tomb and his entire life prior to that, even going back to our 856 01:00:41,520 --> 01:00:44,240 pre-existence as we have already discussed. 857 01:00:44,240 --> 01:00:47,320 I'm excited about this. 858 01:00:47,320 --> 01:00:48,920 Thanks for being with us today. 859 01:00:48,920 --> 01:00:51,220 Remember you have been redeemed through his blood. 860 01:00:51,220 --> 01:00:55,880 Remember that the hope through repentance helps qualify us for that freedom and that 861 01:00:55,880 --> 01:01:00,040 love that we are all entitled to feel while we're here. 862 01:01:00,040 --> 01:01:01,040 Thanks for being with us. 863 01:01:01,040 --> 01:01:21,480 We'll see you next week.