Study Recap: Finding Forgiveness by Elder Richard G. Scott

Title: Finding Forgiveness
Author: Elder Richard G. Scott
Source: May 1995 Ensign
Link: http://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/05/finding-forgiveness?lang=eng

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Points

• Each one of us encounters unique challenges meant for growth.
• Every incorrect choice we make, every sin we commit is a violation of eternal law. That violation brings negative results we generally soon recognize. There are also other consequences of our acts of which we may not be conscious. They are nonetheless real. They can have a tremendous effect on the quality of our life here and most certainly will powerfully affect it hereafter.
• Which of us is not in need of the miracle of repentance? Whether your life is lightly blemished or heavily disfigured from mistakes, the principles of recovery are the same. The length and severity of the treatments are conditioned to fit the circumstances.
•  Obedience and faith in the Savior give you power to resist temptation. 
• Study and ponder to determine how serious the Lord defines your transgression to be. That will bring healing sorrow and remorse. It will also bring a sincere desire for change and a willingness to submit to every requirement for forgiveness.
• Abandonment of sin. This is an unyielding, permanent resolve to not repeat the transgression. By keeping this commitment, the bitter aftertaste of that sin need not be experienced again. Remember: “But unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return.”  Joseph Smith declared: “Repentance is a thing that cannot be trifled with every day. Daily transgression and daily repentance is not … pleasing in the sight of God.”
• Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done.
• Remember, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
• Full obedience brings the complete power of the gospel into your life with strength to focus on the abandonment of specific sins. It includes things you might not initially consider part of repentance, such as attending meetings, paying tithing, giving service, and forgiving others.
•  The Lord said: “He that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.”
• Satan would have you believe that serious transgression cannot be entirely overcome. The Savior gave His life so that the effects of all transgression can be put behind us...
• Do not take comfort in the fact that your transgressions are not known by others. That is like an ostrich with his head buried in the sand. He sees only darkness and feels comfortably hidden. In reality he is ridiculously conspicuous. Likewise our every act is seen by our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son. They know everything about us.
• resident Kimball taught: “To every forgiveness there is a condition. The plaster must be as wide as the sore. The fasting, the prayers, the humility must be equal to or greater than the sin.”
• “It is unthinkable that God absolves serious sins upon a few requests. He is likely to wait until there has been long, sustained repentance.”
• In closing, with all the tenderness and sincerity of heart I invite each one of you to thoughtfully review your life. Have you deviated from the standards that you know will bring happiness? Is there a dark corner that needs to be cleaned out? Are you now doing things that you know are wrong? Do you fill your mind with unclean thoughts? When it is quiet and you can think clearly, does your conscience tell you to repent?
• For your peace now and for everlasting happiness, please repent. Open your heart to the Lord and ask Him to help you. You will earn the blessing of forgiveness, peace, and the knowledge you have been purified and made whole. Find the courage to ask the Lord for strength to repent, now. I solemnly witness that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer. I know that He lives. I testify that He loves you personally and will help you.

Study Recap: Healing Soul and Body by Robert D. Hales

Title: Healing Soul and Body
Author: Elder Robert D. Hales
Source: October 1998 General Conference
Link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/10/healing-soul-and-body?lang=eng
Summary: If we seek the truth, develop faith in Him, and … sincerely repent, we will receive a spiritual change of heart which only comes from our Savior. Our hearts will become new again.
Rating: 3/5


Favorite Points

• I pondered deeply the purpose of pain and studied in my mind what I could learn from my experience and began to comprehend pain a little better. I learned that the physical pain and the healing of the body after major surgery are remarkably similar to the spiritual pain and the healing of the soul in the process of repentance. “Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul” (D&C 101:37).
• I have come to understand how useless it is to dwell on the whys, what ifs, and if onlys for which there likely will be given no answers in mortality.
• To receive the Lord’s comfort, we must exercise faith. The questions Why me? Why our family? Why now? are usually unanswerable questions. These questions detract from our spirituality and can destroy our faith.
• Pondering takes our thoughts from the trivial things of this world and brings us closer to the gentle, guiding hand of our Maker as we heed the “still small voice” of the Holy Ghost (see 1 Kgs. 19:12; 1 Ne. 17:45; D&C 85:6).
• Our Savior knows the heart of each of us. He knows the pains of our hearts.
• It is interesting to note that, other than in the book of Job and a few other places, there are very few scriptural references to physical or mortal pain. The pain most frequently spoken of in the scriptures is the pain and anguish of the Lord and His prophets for the disobedient souls.
• Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God, … and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire” (quoted in Improvement Era, Mar. 1966, 211).
• The greater and more intense suffering of the Lord was not physical—not the trial nor the mocking, not the beating or being spat upon; it was not even being betrayed by a beloved associate or rejected by those whom He loved, nor was it the physical act of crucifixion. Although all of these things happened and each action was very painful, the Savior’s greatest pain during the Atonement was endured to help the transgressor to be healed:

  “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

  “But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

  “Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19:16–18).

Study Recap: The Lord Offers Everyone a Way Back from Sin by Robert D. Hales

Title: The Lord Offers Everyone a Way Back from Sin
Author: Robert D. Hales of the Seventy
Source: October 1976 General Conference
Link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1976/10/the-lord-offers-everyone-a-way-back-from-sin?lang=eng

Rating: 4/5


Favorite Points

• The message I am sharing with you today is that the gospel protects us and that the gospel principle of repentance has the ability to restore us if we have committed a sin.
• "Satan is insidious. He leads a person away from the righteous way of living and little by little tempts them into greater and greater wrongs."
• “After my confession the bishop commended me on taking the first step toward returning to my Heavenly Father and outlined additional steps to prepare me for the day when I would realize that I had truly been forgiven. He emphasized that he, himself, could not forgive me. That was the Lord’s decision. He helped me to understand that I could be forgiven, that my Heavenly Father loves me, that I could gain an awareness of my future goals and not constantly condemn myself all of my life, thus halting my eternal progression."
• "Do not be misled by the superficial moral codes of our day. They are Satan’s most persuasive tools. They have no eternal significance."
• Finally, the greatest of all blessings: the forgiveness of the Lord. We no longer look back with depression and hurt, but forward to the future with hope and joy and love for God, self, and all mankind.
• The depth of our repentance must be as deep as the sin we have committed. There is no easy way. It hurts, but it also cleanses.
  
  
  NOTE: All quoted portions above are from a letter that was read and are not direct words by Robert D. Hales.
  

Scripture Insight: Moroni 10:22

22 And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.

Discussion
I came across this scripture while reading a talk recently on lds.org. It made me remember another talk I read many years ago while still on the mission. In that particular talk there was a story about a missionary who was complaining about his companion who took forever to get ready in the morning and they were never able to leave the house on time. What was happening is that the companion was praying for 30 or minutes each day when he awoke in the morning.

Well that doesn't sound too bad, right? I mean, come on, the guy is praying. But the Mission President still wanted to address the issue because it was causing problems within the companionship and while praying is nice and all, 30 minutes can excessive when you have a tight schedule like missionaries do. So the MP sits down with this young Elder and asks why he is praying for so long. His response was that he had to wait until he could feel the spirit in order prayer properly.

Now the MP immediate response was to ask about any immorality or sins that the Elder had not repented up. The Elder denied. But either through revelation or knowledge of the scripture above (probably both), the MP probed deeper with the young Elder who finally confessed to some serious transgressions that he had not repented of.

It stuck out to me then as it does now that sin impedes our ability to have hope and faith in the gospel. I recently interacted with someone who was struggling with their faith and testimony that the church was true and the President Monson was indeed a prophet. I thought then, but not mention it to the person, that perhaps there was some sin or transgression that they had not repented of that could have been holding them back. Although hard, sometime we have to take that first step into the darkness in order for the light to come.

Although we may feel hopeless and in despair in our iniquities, I know that if we take that first step of repentance by exercising even the smallest sliver of faith the Lord will bless us.

Scripture Insight: 2 Nephi 4: 27-28

2 Nephi 4:27-28
27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

Discussion
I originally came across verse 28 and was intrigued by the phrase "no longer droop in sin." The initial thought was the fact that sin does bring us down, makes us feel lower and less of a person. Too often it seems that we develop a negative life view because of our sins and it creates this downward spiral that can lead to more sin and more feelings of sadness and "drooping."

It doesn't have to be that way of course. It's not what Heavenly Father wants for us. The only lowliness he wants for us is lowliness of heart because that leads to repentance. The first part of 28 is key here: Awake, my soul! Sometimes we need that jump start to our motivation to begin that process of seeking forgiveness and working ourselves back up that downward spiral we slid down.

What was really interesting to me though was looking back over verse 27. The first line refers to yielding to sin because of the flesh. Now we all know that there is a duality of man with his spirit and body. In order to truly progress in life, we have to subject the natural man (aka "flesh") so the spirit is in control. It's way we fast so we can learn to rely on that spirit.

Knowing that about sin and the "flesh," we can understand verse 28 better. Again, the first line there is "awake, my soul!" He said soul. Not spirit. Not Flesh. Soul. Which is the spirit and the body (flesh). The sentence is also written as a command and given that the next line is too, one can assume that he is also referring to the soul when he says "no longer droop."

So what I find interesting about this is that as we struggle with things of the flesh, it brings our soul down (drooping) which by the nature of cause and effect, means our spirits are being brought down too. This reinforces the notion that we are limited in our spiritual abilities as we sin and procrastinate our repentance.

Study Recap: Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul by Jeffrey R. Holland

Title: Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul
Author: Jeffrey R. Holland
Source: April 2010 General Conference
Link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/place-no-more-for-the-enemy-of-my-soul?lang=eng
Summary: May the joy of our fidelity to the highest and best within us be ours as we keep our love and our marriages, our society and our souls, as pure as they were meant to be.
Rating: 5/5

Favorite Points

• Why is there so much moral decay around us, and why are so many individuals and families, including some in the Church, falling victim to it, being tragically scarred by it?
• The compromise available at the click of a mouse—including what can happen in a chat room’s virtual encounter—is no respecter of persons, male or female, young or old, married or single.
• And just to make sure that temptation is ever more accessible, the adversary is busy extending his coverage, as they say in the industry, to cell phones, video games, and MP3 players.
• Above all, start by separating yourself from people, materials, and circumstances that will harm you. As those battling something like alcoholism know, the pull of proximity can be fatal. So too in moral matters.
• Acknowledge that people bound by the chains of true addictions often need more help than self-help, and that may include you. Seek that help and welcome it. Talk to your bishop. Follow his counsel. Ask for a priesthood blessing. Use the Church’s Family Services offerings or seek other suitable professional help. Pray without ceasing. Ask for angels to help you. (emphasis added)
• Along with filters on computers and a lock on affections, remember that the only real control in life is self-control. Exercise more control over even the marginal moments that confront you. If a TV show is indecent, turn it off. If a movie is crude, walk out.
• Many of these influences, at least initially, may not technically be evil, but they can blunt our judgment, dull our spirituality, and lead to something that could be evil. An old proverb says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so watch your step.
• Like thieves in the night, unwelcome thoughts can and do seek entrance to our minds. But we don’t have to throw open the door, serve them tea and crumpets, and then tell them where the silverware is kept! (You shouldn’t be serving tea anyway.)
• Most people in trouble end up crying, “What was I thinking?” Well, whatever they were thinking, they weren’t thinking of Christ. Yet, as members of His Church, we pledge every Sunday of our lives to take upon ourselves His name and promise to “always remember him.” So let us work a little harder at remembering Him—especially that He has “borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows … , [that] he was bruised for our iniquities … ; and with his stripes we are healed."
• When confronting our transgressions and our souls are harrowed up with true pain, may we all echo the repentant Alma and utter his life-changing cry: “O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me.”
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Study Recap: Why Do We Continue to Tolerate Sin? by Spencer W. Kimball

Title: Why Do We Continue to Tolerate Sin?
Author: Spencer W. Kimball
Source: April 1975 General Conference
Link: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1975/04/why-do-we-continue-to-tolerate-sin?lang=eng
Rating: 2.5/5

Favorite Points

• I read of the common practice of the associations of men and women not marriage partners; and they are claiming long and loudly that marriage is no longer necessary. And apparently almost without shame do they live together in a sexual partnership without marriage. Has God changed his laws? Or has puny, irresponsible, presumptuous man dared to change the laws of God?
• Again we see history repeating itself. When we see the pornography, the adulterous practices, homosexuality gone rampant, the looseness and permissiveness of an apparently increasing proportion of the people, we say the days of Satan have returned and history seems to repeat itself.
•  When we see the depravity of numerous people of our own society in their determination to force upon people vulgar presentations, filthy communications, unnatural practices, we wonder, has Satan reached forth with his wicked, evil hand to pull into his forces the people of this earth? Do we not have enough good people left to stamp out the evil which threatens our world? Why do we continue to compromise with evil and why do we continue to tolerate sin?
• We do not believe in situation-itis; we do not go with the people who think that this is a different age, this is a different time, these people are more enlightened, that was for the old times. Always the Lord will hold to his statements that he has given through the ages, and he will expect men to respect themselves, to respect their wives, and the wives to respect their husbands, and to respect their families, and to live righteously, as he has repeated thousands of times through the ages.
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