Even the most faithful disciples of Jesus Christ need repentance and forgiveness. In Doctrine and Covenants 58, Jesus Christ invited several leaders of His Church to repent and promised to forgive their sins if they would obey. The purpose of this lesson is to help students feel hope that the Savior forgives those who repent of their sins.
Possible Learning Activities
Wounded
Consider beginning class by creating a discussion about our need for Jesus Christ to forgive our sins.
One way to do this is to display the following picture or draw a stick figure of a teenager on the board. To create interest, you might invite the class to name him and make up some details about his life before sharing the following situation.
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teenage boy smiling
Imagine your friend told you he fell from a ledge last night. He feels a lot of pain when he breathes and thinks his arm is broken. He has decided not to see a doctor because he is worried that the doctor and others will be disappointed if they find out he chose to go near that dangerous ledge. So he plans to keep his pain a secret, hoping everything will heal properly in time.
How do you feel about your friend’s plan? Why?
Now imagine a similar situation, but this time your friend tells you that he has committed a serious sin. Rather than follow the Savior’s teachings about repentance, he has decided to hide his sin and hope things will get better over time.
Invite students to share several different questions or concerns that might influence a teenager not to repent.
What counsel would you give your friend?
The Savior teaches about repentance
Explain that in 1831 Joseph Smith and other elders traveled to Missouri, where the Lord commanded some to remain and build the city of Zion. As part of the Lord’s instruction, He counseled some of them to repent of their wrongdoings (see Doctrine and Covenants 58:14–15, 38–41, 60).
What misunderstandings do you think Ziba might have had about God or about repentance that would cause him to hide his sins? (You may want to read Alma’s counsel to his son about the results of trying to hide our sins. See Alma 39:7–9.)
Which of these misunderstandings do you think people still struggle with today?
Consider displaying the following prompt and giving students time to personally ponder or write their thoughts.
Then invite them to look for teachings during the lesson that can help them in their efforts to repent throughout their lives.
Ponder whether there are any sins you have been hesitant to repent of. If so, think about your reasons for holding back.
Questions and answers
As students study the following passage, you may want to remind them of specific questions or concerns about repentance that they shared earlier in the lesson.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 58:42–43, looking for the Savior’s teachings that help answer questions and concerns that some people may have about repentance.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:42–43 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider inviting students to mark doctrinal mastery passages in a distinctive way so they can locate them easily.
Put students into small groups. Invite them to share phrases from verses 42–43 that help them answer specific questions or concerns or that were meaningful to them. Then invite groups to share what they learned with the class. As students share, be sure they understand that if we repent of our sins, the Lord will forgive us and that to repent, the Lord requires us to confess and forsake our sins.
How could these truths help with concerns people might have about repentance?
If students have questions about repentance that these verses do not answer, determine whether it is best to help them find answers as part of this lesson, during a future lesson, or by suggesting divinely appointed sources where they could search for answers on their own.
(Note: There are statements in the “Additional Resources” section that could help if students have questions about specific concepts in this doctrinal mastery passage, such as confession or forsaking sins.)
The Lord forgives
This section is meant to help students feel hope that the Savior does forgive those who repent. Prayerfully determine which of the resources and suggestions will best help your students successfully prepare their responses to the following activity.
In your study journal, prepare a response you could share with someone who worries he or she cannot be forgiven. What could you share about the Savior’s nature and promises that could help this person overcome any concerns? Choose some of the following options to help you prepare your response:
Scriptures: Search the scriptures for passages containing the Lord’s promises to those who repent or for accounts that show His willingness to forgive. The list of doctrinal mastery passages in the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023) could be helpful. You might consider cross-referencing or linking some of these scriptures with Doctrine and Covenants 58:42–43.
Personal evidence: Think of examples where you have witnessed the Savior’s willingness to forgive and help someone change. (Don’t share names or details of sins.)
The “Jesus Christ will help you” section of the For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices ([2022], 6–9): Look for truths about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that give us hope.
Modern prophets: Search for statements from modern Church leaders that help us understand the forgiving nature of Jesus Christ.
Following is an example from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles that you may choose to share with your students:
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Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
My dear young friends, if the Savior were here right now, what would He say to you? …
… You might remember mistakes you’ve made, times you gave in to temptation, things you wish you hadn’t done—or wish you had done better.
The Savior would sense that, and I believe He would assure you with words He has spoken in the scriptures:
I don’t think He would make excuses for your mistakes. He wouldn’t minimize them. No, He would ask you to repent—to leave your sins behind, to change, so He can forgive you. He would remind you that 2,000 years ago He took those sins upon Himself so that you could repent. That is part of the plan of happiness gifted to us from our loving Heavenly Father. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth,” Liahona, Nov. 2022, 9)
After sufficient time to prepare their responses, invite students to share in small groups what they learned so that all who desire to share will have the opportunity.
You might also consider showing the video “The Savior Wants to Forgive” (5:50), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org, as an example of the Savior’s constant desire to forgive.
Consider concluding class with your testimony of the Savior’s forgiving nature, and encourage students to repent with faith in His promises.
Memorize
You may want to help students memorize the doctrinal mastery reference and key scripture phrase during this lesson and review them in future lessons. The key scripture phrase is “He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven.” Ideas for memorization activities are in the appendix under “Doctrinal Mastery Review Activities.”