by Colleen C. Harrison
Step Ten: Realizing that the weakness to be tempted and to sin is a part of the mortal experience, we continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it, being willing to repent as often as needed. (2 Nephi 4:18; 2 Nephi 10:20; Mosiah 26:30)
Principle Ten: The mighty change of heart does not bring me to a state of perfection but rather to a state of continual repentance and abhorrence of sin.
The Challenge of Learning to Live by the Spirit
Repentance is an essential tool in our lives as we learn to recognize and obey the words of Christ through the gift of the Holy Ghost (2 Nephi 32:3). It is a process of learning, of trial and error, of correcting and recorrecting, as Joseph Smith explained:
A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas…thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus. (History of the Church 3:381; emphasis added)
If we could not repent, learning to live by the Spirit would be like trying to do an algebraic equation, or take an essay exam, without an eraser. Because we are imperfect and do not always listen, nor always hear the Spirit’s instructions perfectly when we do listen, we need repentance to give us the opportunity to reestablish our hold on the rock of revelation from Christ.
The Constant Reestablishment of Humility
In the ten years in which I have been consciously trying to apply these principles, I have observed that all other wrongdoing or sin I get into begins when I forget that I of myself am nothing. The minute I start insisting that my will be done, I lose my peace and serenity. Then I begin to think, speak, and act in ways that make it obvious that I have become separated from God again. I lose my temper. I resort to criticism, sarcasm, and whining to get my way. I find myself resorting to little white lies again in order to manipulate and please people, forgetting that I’m not powerful enough to always be perfect and honest at the same time. Thus today, whenever I find myself needing to repent, I can always trace any outward behaviors such as these to feelings of wanting to be in charge.
If we would retain a remission of our sins and always rejoice (have joy renewed in each new moment), we must remember the teachings of King Benjamin. He reduced this whole process into a very tight formula. Consider how many of the principles we’ve discussed can be found in his counsel.
And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come.
And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins. (Mosiah 4:11-12; emphasis added)
Conclusion: The Mercy and Grace of Christ
So we come again to the only conclusion there is, to the only solution-the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Literally, there is no other lasting or genuine solution to any problem we face, including the problem of not being able to maintain a state of purity. We cannot maintain our own purity any more than we were able to obtain it by ourselves. He was our way to the mighty change, and He is the way to maintain it. The depth and breadth and height of His willingness to work with us are infinite, limited only by our willingness (or lack of willingness) to work with Him. Again and again in the scriptures we find the testimony that His love will outlast the process of perfecting us, no matter how long it takes.
But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven. (Moroni 6:8)
Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me. (Mosiah 26:30)
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. (John 12:47)
The truth is that God takes into account every factor that affects a person’s behavior. He doesn’t just judge the behavior itself, out of context. Even on the cross, dying one of the cruelest deaths invented by man, Christ pled with the Father for our sakes, citing ignorance as sufficient reason to extend forgiveness.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
And again in the Book of Mormon we can find the understanding, all-considerate judgment of a God of love, which Jesus is:
For it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land.
And at some period of time they will be brought to believe in his word, and to know of the incorrectness of the traditions of their fathers; and many of them will be saved, for the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name. (Alma 9:16-17)
What a blessing it is to know that the Lord is merciful and willing to support and comfort us in our effort to discover the incorrectness of some of the traditions of our fathers. When we begin to turn from the unrighteous traditions of our fathers, He will empower us to live our lives according to His word.
As a final thought for this lesson on learning to be like the Lord in His willingness to forgive and restore His people (us), may we ponder the precious, hope-filled words of Hebrews 8:10-12:
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
We have labored too long under the fallacy that in our sins we have cut the Lord off from us. The truth is, we have cut ourselves off from the Lord. He is always “with” us, in the sense that He is always aware of us and awaits our genuine, heart-deep turning to Him. Even in our unrighteousness we can turn to Him and find mercy and grace. Mercy and grace are not forgiveness. Mercy and grace are gifts of power beyond our own, extended to us from God even while in our sinful or darkened state, thus enabling us to repent. Without these gifts we have no power to turn again, no matter how much we might want to. Our will must be joined to His power. Will-power = OUR will + HIS power.
Preparation for Discussion of Principle Eleven: “Counsel with the Lord in All Thy Doints” (Alma 37:37)
Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, seeking the words of Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost that they might tell us all things that we should do, praying only for a knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. (2 Nephi 32:3; Alma 37:37; Helaman 10:4)
Day 1: 1 Nephi 2:11-When we make this mighty change and become people who conduct our lives by the Spirit, or in other words by personal revelation, we run the risk of being thought of as a “visionary.” Would you be ashamed to be called this? Why or why not? How would you react to others accusing you of “following the vain imaginations” of your own heart?
Day 2: 2 Nephi 8:7-Once we’ve experienced the mighty change of heart, once our hearts have been purified and made clean, we are ready to have God write His law in us. He does this by the continual tutoring of the Holy Spirit, and through the words of His Son, Jesus Christ, as they are whispered into our minds. Write about not fearing the reproach of others more than we desire to do God’s will ever more continually in all things.
Day 3: 2 Nephi 9:39-“to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal.” To have a mind that dwells on the things of this world, the “carnal” things, is death-spiritual death. To give our mind up, to put God and the spiritual life first is life eternal. Notice the present tense of the verb “is.” Describe the characteristics of your life on a day when your thoughts have been predominantly on physical reality. Now describe the characteristics of a day when you were focused primarily on spiritual reality.
Day 4: Alma 26:22-“prayeth continually without ceasing.” How can a person pray continually without ceasing?
Day 5:Helaman 3:35-“Nevertheless, they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ.” Here is the opposite condition from the downward cycle of hardening our hearts, turning from God and practicing compulsive/addictive behaviors. Do you think abstaining from a character weakness and its resulting destructive habits is a form of fasting? Write about your willingness to magnify your prayers with the commitment to abstain from your primary addiction. This is one of those good and “of God” cycles or spirals: abstaining brings increased need to pray in order to maintain our abstinence, and increased praying brings more genuine, long-lasting abstinence.
Day 6: 3 Nephi 19:9-When these people prayed for the gift of the Holy Ghost, it being what “they most desired,” they revealed their mighty change; they revealed that they desired to know and do God’s will more than anything else in their lives-more than wanting to be prospered financially, more than wanting to have good health. Why do you suppose having the Holy Ghost would be the single greatest possession to have? (See 2 Nephi 32:3 and Moroni 10:5 before you start writing.)
Day 7: 3 Nephi 20:1-“And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.” We have been given very clear instruction in the Church on offering formal prayer, in which we speak aloud, addressing our Heavenly Father, in the name of Christ, using the most reverent prayer language we are familiar with-head bowed, eyes closed, arms folded, often on bended knee. The act of “praying in our hearts” is not always that formal. The “prayers” of our hearts are often our deepest yearnings expressed in an immediate “crying out” from a deep sense of neediness, as when Alma cried out to “one Jesus Christ” for a remission of his sins. Other times, these “prayers” are silent, deeply personal efforts to “converse” and “counsel” with the Spirit of the Lord (Alma 37:37), as we ponder and study things out in our own mind, seeking to receive His words through the impressions and whisperings of the Holy Ghost (2 Nephi 32:3). It is possible to practice the state of surrender necessary to be in more and more consistent consciousness of the Saviour’s availability and approachability, until you come to the perfect day, the day when you are “perfected in Him” (Moroni 10:32), a day when you are aware of His Spirit and His love every hour, just as in the Sacrament prayers promise. For just one day (or even part of a day), try pausing to record how many times you think of Jesus.
He Did Deliver Me from Bondage can be found at most LDS bookstores or purchased online at www.rosehavenpublishing.com