First Speaker
“Repentance is not the backup plan; it is the plan...Since our premortal experience, the Lord has known that we would need to repent.” (Elder Neil L. Andersen, Mission Leadership Seminar at the Provo Missionary Training Center on June 25, 2018.)
“Repentance is one of the first principles of the gospel and is essential to our temporal and eternal happiness. It is much more than just acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart that gives us a fresh view about God, about ourselves, and about the world. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments.” (Gospel Topics, “Repentance”)
“Some mistakenly receive the message that repentance and change are unnecessary. God’s message is that they are essential. But doesn’t God love us despite our shortcomings? Of course! He loves us perfectly. I love my grandchildren, imperfections and all, but that does not mean I don’t want them to improve and become all they can become. God loves us as we are, but He also loves us too much to leave us this way. Growing up unto the Lord is what mortality is all about. Change is what Christ’s Atonement is all about. Not only can Christ resurrect, cleanse, console, and heal us, but through it all, He can transform us to become more like Him.
“Some mistakenly receive the message that repentance is a onetime event. God’s message is that, as President Russell M. Nelson has taught, ‘Repentance … is a process.’ Repentance may take time and repeated effort, so forsaking sin and having ‘no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” are lifetime pursuits.’
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“Some mistakenly receive the message that they are not worthy to participate fully in the gospel because they are not completely free of bad habits. God’s message is that worthiness is not flawlessness. Worthiness is being honest and trying. We must be honest with God, priesthood leaders, and others who love us, and we must strive to keep God’s commandments and never give up just because we slip up. Elder Bruce C. Hafen said that developing a Christlike character ‘requires patience and persistence more than it requires flawlessness.’ The Lord has said the gifts of the Spirit are ‘given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do.’”
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“Some mistakenly receive the message that God is waiting to help until after we repent. God’s message is that He will help us as we repent. His grace is available to us ‘no matter where we are in the path of obedience.’ Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said: ‘God does not need people who are flawless. He seeks those who will offer their ‘heart and a willing mind’ [Doctrine and Covenants 64:34], and He will make them ‘perfect in Christ’ [Moroni 10:32–33].’” (Brother Bradley R. Wilcox, “Worthiness Is Not Flawlessness”, October 2021 General Conference)
“How important is repentance? Alma taught that we should ‘preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord.’ Repentance is required of every accountable person who desires eternal glory. There are no exceptions. In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord chastised early Church leaders for not teaching the gospel to their children. Repenting is the key to progress. Pure faith keeps us moving forward on the covenant path.” (President Russell M. Nelson, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum”, April 2022 General Conference)
John 3:16-17
16 ¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
"So grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch (see Hebrews 12:2)." (Brad Wilcox, “His Grace Is Sufficient”, BYU Speech July 12, 2011)
Next Speaker
Psalm 62:6
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
Matthew 7
24 ¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
DnC 33
12 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;
13 And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.
15 And whoso having faith you shall confirm in my church, by the laying on of the hands, and I will bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost upon them.
Matthew 16
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Helaman 5
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
“My question for you this morning is, ‘What is a sure foundation?’ Before my calling as a General Authority, for many years I owned and operated a commercial construction company. One of the projects we completed was the Portland, Oregon Temple. When we moved onto that site to develop the foundation of the Temple, they were experiencing in Oregon the most torrential rain they had ever experienced. Unexpectedly, and not uncommon, were nine inches of rain in a single day. Now in Hawaii we can deal with that, but in Oregon, to build a structure as significant as the Portland Temple, it required secure anchorage, even down to that basalt layer, and a common foundation would not have been adequate. The saturated soils would not accept the bearing of the building. So there was an adjustment made in the entire design because of the super-saturation that year and potentially later, and pilings were drilled all the way to "zero-resistance." That is, to bedrock, to the basalt layer. And then it was on that solid foundation that the Temple was built. That adjustment was critical. I submit this morning that now may be the time for you to make, even if they are minor, adjustments in your own foundation, such that you might be so properly anchored, that your pattern of integrity and your pattern of structural design spiritually will never fail. That is, the whiles of the devil, or any seismic motion in your life will have no impact or capacity to destroy you. Some of the ways you might decide today to strengthen your foundation might be as simple as to complete you education, to not waver, to not just take it one course at a time without a clearly defined ending point of performance. Maybe that would include a slight adjustment to your foundation that would include better use of the whole day. Maybe it would include something along the lines of a better work habit or better study habits. Question: how then, can we build our lives upon a sure foundation of Jesus Christ. I'd like to expand in a few minutes in four critical areas that we might better identify our condition today to what we might be willing to adjust a little later, or even now, in creating and strengthening a sure foundation.” (Elder W. Craig Zwick, “Dad, Do You Know Jesus?”, BYU Hawaii Devotional, 15 Apr 2008)
Sunday School
When the Savior and apostles quoted Psalms, they were quoting hymns.
Compare
Psalm 69:9,20 - John 2:13-17
Psalm 31:13,41:19 - John 13:18-30
Psalm 22:7-8 - Matthew 27:41-44
Psalm 69:21 - John 19:28-30
Psalm 22:1 - Matthew 27:46
Psalm 31:5 - Luke 23:46
DnC 6:9
9 Say nothing but repentance unto this generation; keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed.
DnC 11:9
9 Say nothing but repentance unto this generation. Keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed.
Mosiah 18:20
20 Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who had redeemed his people.
David had committed serious sin, and in his lamenting, he teaches us about repentance.
Psalm 51:1-3,10-12,15-17
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
“Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to “repent,” He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.
“Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
“Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day.
“When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ!” (President Russell M Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better”, April 2019 General Conference)
Elder Boyd K Packer
“The ordinary soul, struggling against temptation, failing and repenting, and failing again and repenting, but always determined to keep his covenants – can still expect to one day hear ‘Well done thou good and faithful servant.’”
“One of Satan’s greatest lies is that men and women cannot change. This untruth gets told and retold in many different ways as the world says that we simply cannot change—or worse yet, that we should not change. We are taught that our circumstances define us. We should ‘embrace who we really are,’ the world says, ‘and be authentic to our true selves.’
“We Can Change
“While it is indeed good to be authentic, we should be authentic to our real, true selves as sons and daughters of God with a divine nature and destiny to become like Him. If our goal is to be authentic to this divine nature and destiny, then we will all need to change. The scriptural word for change is repentance. “Too many people,” President Russell M. Nelson teaches, “consider repentance as punishment—something to be avoided except in the most serious circumstances. … When Jesus asks you and me to ‘repent,’ He is inviting us to change.”(Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67.)” (Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, “Then Will I Make Weak Things Become Strong”, April 2022 General Conference)
