Feeling the Love of the Lord through Repentance

Prayerfully select and read from this message the scriptures and teachings that meet the needs of the sisters you visit. Share your experiences and testimony. Invite those you teach to do the same.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “We weave into the fabric of our lives the pattern that we will present as our finished product. Our mortal lives are woven each day as we add our deeds into something intricately beautiful, following the Master Designer’s plan. When we make wrong choices, we must … retrace our steps through repentance and remove errant threads we have woven into our character and replace them with the finer threads that our Maker intended for us to use” (“The Time to Prepare,” Ensign, May 1998, 16).

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985): “Repentance can never come until one has bared his soul and admitted his actions without excuses or rationalizations. … Those persons who choose to meet the issue and transform their lives may find repentance the harder road at first, but they will find it the infinitely more desirable path as they taste of its fruits. … Millions of Saints have found peace along this path and lived beautiful and satisfying and abundant lives with the gospel of repentance as their guide to personal improvement and to harmony with God” (“The Gospel of Repentance,” Tambuli, Mar. 1983, 3–6; Ensign, Oct. 1982, 4–5).

Sydney S. Reynolds, first counselor in the Primary general presidency: “We must repent of anything we are doing which would alienate us from the Spirit of the Lord, and we must show our love for God by keeping his commandments and loving his children, that the Lord might forgive our sins and make us spotless by his grace. … We have a Savior, who paid the price for any sin, mistake, or imperfection we may have for which we are willing to repent” (“Be Ye Therefore Perfect,” in The Rock of Our Redeemer: Talks from the 2002 BYU Women’s Conference [2003], 153–55).

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “I testify that Jesus Christ paid the price and will satisfy the demands of justice for all who are obedient to His teachings. Thus, full forgiveness is granted, and the distressing effects of sin need no longer persist in one’s life. Indeed, they cannot persist if one truly understands the meaning of Christ’s Atonement. …

“When memory of past mistakes encroaches upon your mind, turn your thoughts to the Redeemer and to the miracle of forgiveness with the renewal that comes through Him. Your depression and suffering will be replaced by peace, joy, and gratitude for His love” (“The Path to Peace and Joy,” Liahona, Jan. 2001, 33; Ensign, Nov. 2000, 26).

Moroni 8:26: “The remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.”

What are the blessings of repentance?
How does repentance help you feel the love of the Savior and gratitude for His Atonement?

Photograph by Welden C. Andersen

Detail from Christ in Gethsemane, by Harry Anderson