Faith unto Repentance

Clarifications about Faith in Jesus Christ

If we were to take the first principles and ordinances of the gospel and change them all into principles, they might read something like this:

First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
Second, repentance
Third, making and keeping covenants
Fourth, seeking and obeying personal revelation
And we might include Nephi's addendum, fifth, enduring to the end¹

These principles are a pattern of steps that should overlap and repeat throughout our lives. I've felt impressed to make these principles the focus each year I serve as bishop. The first year has been centered on faith in Jesus Christ.

The Importance of Connecting Faith with Christ

One of the biggest difficulties we have in discussions of both faith and doubt is the frequent omission of the object of our faith, or, likewise, the object of our doubt. In the scriptures, most of the time, the object of faith is clear, whether or not it is explicitly mentioned: we are to place our faith in Christ.

When we recall Alma 32 it is easy to think of faith being like a seed.² But the seed is not faith. The seed is what Alma calls the word. Faith is the hope that leads to the tilling of the hardened earth of our hearts, the planting of the seed, the watering, the nurturing, and the tending of the word, with the hope that it will some day bear the precious fruit that Alma described.³ Then what is the word? The people on the hill of Onidah wondered the same thing and wanted to know how they could exercise their faith.

Alma spends the rest of chapter 33 answering their question including these words:

Begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works.

And now, … I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life.⁴

This word is the seed we are intended to plant and nurture by faith. Alma's experiment can certainly be applied to other "words", but the scriptures do not often refer to faith without at least the implication that we are to have faith in Jesus Christ.

Visualizing Our Spiritual Journey on Earth

Before I continue, there is a visual in Hmong religious tradition that I've found to have great value in constructing a metaphor for our lives here on earth, and in thinking about these principles. The Hmong people, for those who do not know, are a tribal minority group in Southeast Asia and southern China.

The Hmong yeeb ceeb is the spirit world, where a soul might go in order to get reincarnated. But to do so, they must first traverse a treacherous series of twelve mountains, ordered by height shortest to highest. The way is littered with traps all around and each mountain has a unique challenge, including, my favorite one, a mountain that is full of poisonous hairy caterpillars that you would need a pair of special slippers to cross. At the top of the last mountain is Siv Yis, the first shaman who gave all the other shamans their abilities and power.

I suppose I like this visual because I imagine our spiritual journey in this life to be similar in its difficulty. It's a bit like an over-dramatized version of Lehi's dream. Each peak of the mountains is a spiritual milestone in our journey of faith, representing an ordinance or a personal spiritual confirmation of truth, culminating in the ultimate truth of knowing our Savior personally. The strait and narrow path we follow truly isn't a straight line over the mountains. It's a winding way not marked by features of the landscape, but one that we individually forge by looking at the light of the one on top of the last mountain and listening to the Spirit.⁵

With that visual and metaphor for our spiritual lives here on earth in mind, I want to talk about a couple of phrases that I worry might cause confusion about faith in Jesus Christ.

The Opposite of Faith in Christ

Being imprecise in our language sometimes inhibits understanding. This isn’t to diminish anyone who chooses to use these phrases; you are free to express these things as you desire.⁶ However, I think it is important to parse out meaning and at least offer a little more precision in some common sayings about faith and doubt.

I have sometimes heard the phrase said, the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty. I think I understand the intent of this saying; it is meant to assuage our concerns when we have some doubts along with our faith in Christ. After all faith is not to have a perfect knowledge.⁷

But saying that certainty is the opposite of faith is a little like saying that the destination is the opposite of the journey. There is a certain truth to it, but it's a perspective that is disproportionate and disconnecting. It distorts their true relationship which is that faith is the direction you must go in order to reach the destination of certainty. And if faith is the direction you step in order to arrive at truth, then there must be an opposite direction that you can go in which you do not reach the same location.

Faith in Jesus is movement in the direction that leads us to the truth that He is indeed the Christ. The opposite of faith in Jesus Christ can be seen as anything that takes us in the opposite direction. If faith in Christ is confidence, hope, or belief and trust in Him, resulting in taking steps of righteousness towards Him,⁸ then the opposite is the fear of man, despair, or doubt, disbelief, and distrust of Christ that results in us taking steps away from Him.⁹

The Problem with Doubt and Fear

Another phrase I frequently hear is "It's OK to have doubts." There are multiple ways to interpret this phrase. One is that it is normal to have doubts. This statement would be true. If we experience doubt, we should understand that we are not alone or unique.

Another way to interpret the phrase, however, is that it is alright to have doubts. Generically, this can also be true. But when we consider the object of our doubts, and how they are not equal in consequence, I'm less sure about this interpretation. It is perfectly fine to have doubts about things that are not true. But what about things that are? Is it alright to doubt truth?

Most importantly, is it OK to doubt Jesus Christ? In the scriptures, just as faith is typically connected with our Savior, we should understand that He is also almost always the object of unbelief as well. This may explain why doubt and unbelief are not normally positive in the scriptures.

Let's look at some examples:

In D&C 58, Edward Partridge was called to be the first bishop in the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In a statement that made me pay particular attention, he is called to repent of his sins, which are "unbelief and blindness of heart."¹⁰
The generation too young to remember the words or the experience of King Benjamin's address in the Book of Mormon began to not believe concerning the coming of Christ. And "because of their unbelief they could not understand the word of God."¹¹
In D&C 84 we read about the condemnation we are all still under "until [we] repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which [the Lord has] given [us], not only to say, but to do according to that which [the Lord has] written". Before this explicit condemnation, the Lord tells us that "your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received."¹²
Unbelief keeps us from witnessing miracles, as the Savior states in 3 Nephi, referring to how the people in the Book of Mormon's faith allowed them to see more than the Jews, saying, "wherefore I could not show unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief."¹³
Unbelief in Christ can also keep us from performing miracles as His disciples discovered when they could not cure a young man. In response to their question of why, Jesus replied, "Because of your unbelief", while also including that prayer and fasting were necessary as well, both of which, it should be noted, acts of faith the size of a mustard seed.¹⁴
Christ sent his disciples off with the instructions to "seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind." They needed to believe that they would be cared for more than the lilies or the grass of the field.¹⁵
The Lord commands that we should be "anxiously engaged in … good [causes]" but also warns that "he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned."¹⁶

The words "fear not" are replete in the scriptures, often used to comfort when the unusual happened, such as strange angels appearing out of nowhere. ¹⁷However, faith in Christ can often be overpowered by fear, particularly fear of man, keeping us from spiritual blessings.

Joseph Smith wanted participants in a conference to provide their testimony of the divine origin of the revelations in the Book of Commandments. Some were reluctant to do so, and the Lord noted: Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive.¹⁸
After being woken by His disciples, afraid of sinking in the storm that raged while Jesus slept, He gently chided them, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith."¹⁹
David Whitmer was chastised for fearing man and not relying on the Lord for strength.²⁰

And so, is it "OK" to have doubts? Normal as it may be, when it comes to doubting Jesus Christ or God, unbelief in Him, or fearing man more than putting our trust in Them, these consequences do not seem alright to me.

What About Questions?

Doubting falsehoods leads, at the very least, away from untruth. But it doesn’t necessarily lead to the narrow way of our destination. Questioning is the means by which we ponder whether something is true, or, at the very least, which way is the direction of truth. There is nothing wrong with questioning as long as a) the questions are sincere and b) the questions do not keep us immobilized permanently. In business, I have unfortunately seen both extremes. I've seen leaders with decision paralysis because of all of the questions unanswered. And I've also seen leaders make decisions in an information vacuum, blindly accepting whatever is presented as something good to do.

There are some topics for which we should be in a state of questioning, because "we believe that [God] will yet reveal many great and important things."²¹ In these matters when we declare somehow that we know with certainty, we do ourselves and others a disservice. The amount of information we do not have and the knowledge we lack is vast and innumerable. Staying in a state of indecision or suspension between faith and doubt about certain matters is sometimes the right and humble thing to do.

Questions are good, provided they are sincere and not cynical. Questions help us discover truth and help us align ourselves to Christ. We should ask, seek, and knock. We should wonder and imagine possibilities. Sometimes the thing I worry more about our youth isn't that they aren't keeping the commandments, or they don't have a knowledge of the gospel, but it is that they don't have any questions. Questions are an important signal that they are seeking God and wanting to learn.²²

But when questions stop us from moving in the direction of faith in Jesus Christ indefinitely, we also have a problem. Faith requires taking a step forward and trying the experiment on His word. With each planted step, nurtured by our desire to seek Him, we place our trust in the Lord, and He confirms our movement by the power of the Holy Ghost. And at peak spiritual milestones of covenant ordinances or sacred experiences, we arrive at certain truths, where goodness of the direction is no longer in question, and there is no longer any uncertainty in the process of drawing near to Christ. In essence, there are some questions for which we just simply won't get the answers unless we step forward in the direction of faith in God.²³

Overcoming Doubt and Fear

So, just as we need to examine how we should exercise our faith in Christ to step forward into the mountainous trials ahead, it is also necessary to understand how to overcome the doubt and fear that pulls us in the opposite direction, not just for our own sakes, but for the benefit of those we love.

Look to the Lord

The most fundamental principle in overcoming fear, doubt, and unbelief in Christ is repeated over and over in the scriptures.

Look to Him, seek Him, hear Him, behold Him.

Some examples:

Look unto me in every thought. Fear not, doubt not. Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.²⁴
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.²⁵
For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live.²⁶
This is my beloved Son, hear Him! (Joseph Smith-History 1:17)²⁷
Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions.²⁸
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.²⁹

I understand that the spiritual path of this life isn’t a smoothly paved one with one type of landscape; it is mountains, valleys and rough wilderness with few discernible markers. There will be times we are in crevices and cannot see much, or any, of the way ahead, seeing only the din of the promise of the rising sun.³⁰ But if we walk towards whatever faint light of Christ we can see in faith, it will increase.

The fact that there is a way at all is because Christ prepared it. He paved every single one individually. With His blood and sweat he toiled to make a path for you and for me.³¹ This is why when we constantly look to Christ, hear Him and truly seek Him, we will find He is all around us.

Christ is the way, the truth, the life and the light.³² He tread the path for us; He is the destination; He enables our hope in the journey and beyond; and He illuminates the landscape when we seek Him.

When we seek to behold Him and hear Him, when we desire to draw closer to Jesus Christ, our confidence in Him will increase, because he promises:

Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me. … Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you.³³

Hearkening back to our journey over spiritually mountainous terrain, the Lord continues to tell us how we hear Him.

Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.³⁴

And then when we seek Him more than anything and anyone else,

… If your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you … according to his own will.³⁵

Overcoming Self-Doubt

A story will help us understand another form of doubt.

Simon Peter’s fishing partners were washing nets by the lake when a crowd of people were requesting to hear the word of God from a man he did not know. The man asked Peter to take one of his boats out on the water a little ways so he could better teach the crowd on shore and Peter, being amiable enough, obliged. I imagine as Peter tidied the boat he became intrigued by what the man was teaching. And so, when the man was finished, and asked Peter to now cast his nets out, Peter replied, "Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net." Note that Peter sounds very much like he had doubts about catching anything, based on his own experience. But even so, he was willing to exercise just the smallest amount of faith by doing as this preacher said.³⁶

Peter’s small act of faith in a stranger was rewarded with a great multitude of fishes, so many that their net brake and the boat began to sink from the haul. Now Peter knew that this man was someone even more special than he had first thought; this was a holy man. But now he also had a great fear, seeing the monumental gap between himself and the man who stood before him. He felt he wasn’t worthy to be in this holy man’s presence. He fell at the man’s knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”³⁷

But the Lord did not leave. He did not reject Peter. He simply said: “Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Or as stated in Matthew: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”³⁸ Peter saw the staggering difference between who the Savior was and himself. But Jesus invited Peter not to fear, and to become something more, through Him.

Peter illustrates so well the feelings we experience when it comes to faith and doubt. First, unbelief can often be nurtured by our own pride, to the point that we are unwilling to accept the Lord's commandments and will for us. If we follow the example of Peter who perhaps truly doubted the outcome of the command but was willing to obey in faith anyway, we will receive the multitude of blessings that come.

Sometimes we, like Simon Peter, think we aren’t worthy to follow Him or receive His grace. I think Satan would have us continue to feel this fear, this self-doubt, to separate us from participating in the Lord’s work or keep us from feeling of His forgiveness, mercy, and grace. But the Lord beckons to us, come, follow me. We may continue to have great doubts about ourselves, noticing the staggering distance we have to go before we could be anything like Him, and fearing that the distance is impossible. But if we have faith in the Lord, He will help us move forward. He will be with us. He will help us become something more than we are now.

Believing Christ

You may be wondering, what if you believe in Christ, but you are struggling with doubt or unbelief about other teachings or beliefs in His restored church. Or maybe wondering if it is His church at all! Though there are some things for which we must exercise patience for more to be revealed, there is much we can know now. Take for example, the Book of Mormon. Any of us can know the truthfulness of the book. Nephi explains:

If ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.³⁹

Many doubts can be overcome not by trying to force ourselves to believe, but by focusing our faith in Christ. If we believe in Him, He will help us know what is His, what is not His, and what ought not yet be revealed, with the assurance that all will be well in the end with Him. To accomplish that, Moroni tells us that the Holy Ghost will testify of the truth of all things.⁴⁰ We need to be humble and have soft hearts so we will act on the answers we receive when we sincerely pray to discern truth from error.⁴¹

As our relationship with the Savior grows stronger, we will come to know that He lives, He is the one who restored the ordinances of salvation to the Prophet Joseph Smith in this, the Church of Jesus Christ. We can know that President Nelson is a prophet appointed by the Lord in these latter-days. And we will know that Christ continues to lead His church to fulfill His covenants of old to gather Israel.

Helping Those who Doubt

A final topic about doubt and fear is concerning those we love who are losing their faith in Christ. Having already established that moving in the direction opposite of faith in Christ is not "OK", or not alright, because of the spiritual consequences, it's fair to ask, then what can we do?

Like the sons of Mosiah, we may also not be able to "bear that any human soul should perish,"⁴² especially when the soul is someone we care for so deeply. In this state however, we may unintentionally let our fear of losing them overcome our own faith in Christ. Wanting desperately to help them avoid missing out on the blessings of the gospel, we sometimes resort to tactics that threaten to take us in the opposite direction as well.

The answer to "what can we do?" should not be surprising: Strengthen our faith in Christ. Our faith in Jesus Christ allows us to let someone not be OK in the moment and believe that through His atoning power and grace, they will be alright. More people will approach us with their fears and doubts, struggling with an aspect of church doctrine or social issues or whatever else is troubling them, if we have strong faith in Jesus Christ. When we have faith in Him, we can respond with love, understanding, patience, hope and charity because we believe that 1) we can’t truly fix what is troubling them and that 2) Jesus Christ already paid the price for all the consequences they might suffer.

If we have enduring faith in Christ, we can show mercy to those who are experiencing doubt and fear, without judgment. We can love those feeling pain and sorrow. We can act kindly to those who have abandoned their walk in the light of Christ. We can exercise patience with those that willfully follow the pride of their hearts by asking God to subdue the pride in our own. To all we can offer the hope that the Savior brings, and trust that the very moment they turn to Him, He has the power to make everything OK. He has them engraved in the palms of His hands just as he has us.⁴³ If we always pray and watch diligently for opportunities to invite them to follow Christ, and share our own experiences trusting the Lord, we will be exercising our faith in Him and will bless their lives.

Faith unto Repentance

Faith in Christ always leads to the second principle of the gospel. Amulek followed Alma's teachings on faith by explaining this principle. He said:

It is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, … yea, infinite and eternal.

And thus [the Son of God] shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.

Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you.⁴⁴

Faith unto repentance means we believe we have need to be saved and we turn to the Lord to save us. I have a personal story that illustrates some important principles about repentance.

Getting Lost

My sister Chris and I are not twins, but we both have September birthdays a year apart. My parents waited to put Chris in school so that we could go in together, a decision that blessed me all through my school days. At the time we were living in Salt Lake City where my dad taught at South High and my mom was at home, without a car, taking care of four small children, including my two younger brothers. The day before starting first grade at Hawthorne Elementary School and on the first day, my mom walked with us to the school and was there to walk us back so that we would know how to walk by ourselves. She pointed out where to turn onto our street.

On the second day after school, my sister and I crossed the street and then she turned right to walk north. I immediately called to her and let her know that we were supposed to go straight at this corner. She said no, she was going the right way. I insisted she wasn't. After arguing back and forth, my sister told me, "You can go whichever way you want, but I'm going this way." And she started walking off.

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go the way that she was going, because I knew it wasn't right. I started on my way and found myself beginning to cry. I was thinking about how my sister was going to get lost and we wouldn't be able to find her. I had to get home so I could let my mom know we needed to look for her.⁴⁵

Determined, I kept walking, looking for the right turn. The homes and the trees looked vaguely familiar. I turned on a street I thought was right and continued on for what seemed like ages, constantly hoping that I would recognize something soon. Finally, tired and hungry, panic set in. I truly had no idea where I was. It wasn't my sister that was lost; it was me!

I started crying again, but this time it was for myself. How would I get home? Would I be lost forever? As I kept walking, I knew I needed help. After saying a prayer in my heart and asking for heavenly aid, on the corner I saw a house. Not having any idea who lived there, I tentatively knocked on the door. An older woman answered; I can only imagine what surprise she felt when this little boy told her that he was lost and didn't know what to do.

She invited me in and calmed me down just enough to get the necessary information to look up my parents in the phone book. I remember feeling safe there, she gave me something to eat and stayed with me while we waited. She was very kind. I remember the joy in having my mom come and how I felt when I was finally back home. The truth is I wasn't that far, but because I did not turn until so much later, there was no longer a direct connection onto my street and had I continued I never would have found it.

Repentance is Conversion or Turning

In my six-year-old pride, I thought I knew the right way. I fooled myself into thinking my sister was wrong and I went on my own path. But at some point, unfortunately when it was painfully obvious, I had to let my sins trouble me with that trouble that would bring me down unto repentance.⁴⁶ And I had to call for help from both God and people around me, a stranger in my case, to connect me with home.

All of this came from turning the wrong way. The word "turn" in the scriptures is used often in reference to the Lord. If we think about faith in Christ as the direction we step towards Him, repentance is the turning to Christ and aligning ourselves with Him. President Nelson has said that repentance is conversion and conversion is repentance.⁴⁷ In the New Testament, sometimes the same Greek word is translated as convert and sometimes it is translated as "turn." So when we repent, we are converting, or turning, to our Savior.

Some examples from the scriptures include:

Blessed are you, inasmuch as you have turned away from your iniquities⁴⁸
Turn ye even to me with all your heart with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.⁴⁹
When [the heart] shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.⁵⁰
Turn yourselves from all transgressions.⁵¹
Repent ye, repent ye; turn ye, turn ye unto the Lord your God.⁵²
Turn to me that I may have mercy upon them.⁵³

Repentance can sometimes be dramatic, like doing a 180 degree turn, but repentance is also incremental small degree turns like we should do daily.⁵⁴

Alma says that we should turn to the Lord with all of our mind, heart, and strength.⁵⁵ This is a question for all of us every day: Are we fully consecrated to Him?⁵⁶ Are we withholding our heart, saving our might, occupying our mind, or preserving our strength for anything other than serving Him?⁵⁷ And when we are converted, or turned, are we strengthening our brothers and sisters?⁵⁸

Jesus Christ suffered the full depths of the consequence of our sins. We must recognize that if we willingly choose not to turn from our sins and turn to Him then we must suffer even as he did.⁵⁹ But Christ descended below all things and ascended back to His Father to show us the way so we do not have to suffer if we repent.⁶⁰

Thinking back to the twelve spiritual mountains, if you haven't yet, imagine them all lined up in front of you, shortest to highest, each peak perfectly centered with the Lord on the top of the highest. The contours of the mountains all point to Him, showing us the way, if we continually turn, press forward in faith, and reach each peak. ⁶¹

In addition, when we turn to the Lord and have our hearts converted, then we should understand that the Savior will turn to us,⁶² or rather, turn or convert our circumstances for our good.⁶³

The Prodigal Son

The story of the prodigal son is a beautiful story of repentance that helps us understand the process required of us. When he “[comes] to himself”⁶⁴ he realizes the conditions he is in are less than desirable, and he knows he is the one who caused his situation. Believing that his father, as difficult as it would be to face him, would provide better conditions for him, he seeks to return home, beg for forgiveness, and be a servant for the rest of his days.⁶⁵

This moment of realization is a critical one in the repentance process. But one of the early details of the story is that this young man "took his journey into a far country."⁶⁶ His father's estate was nowhere near. This is how I imagine his return back home.

Covered in mud and filth, he would have started out, still uncertain. He may have even taken steps back to this far country at first. With each day that passed, getting closer to the home of his youth, he felt at different times, fear, concern, uncertainty, and pain. He may have been tempted on the way with riches he could easily steal and return to his riotous living. Yet, he remembered his awakening to his own sense of guilt, and where his previous actions led him to be alone, penniless, and treated less than the swine.

As he walked along the way, he sought to clean himself off, to at least try to make himself presentable before his father to beg for forgiveness. Though he would still be covered in rags, they would be clean rags. He would rehearse as he went, thinking of what he would say to his father, telling him that he is no longer worthy to be called his son, but pleading to be a servant. With each step, each day that he was pointed towards his father and moving in that direction, his resolve became stronger that he would be a good servant, that he would change his ways. And his heart did change, slowly and surely. As he distanced himself from his past life, he thought more about how wonderful it would be just to be a servant in his father’s land. He grew in confidence that he was headed the right direction. Along the way he found food here and there that sustained him, more than the husks he wished for in the pig sty anyway. He offered help to other travelers and he was humbled by their gratitude.

Finally, his familial home came into view, just beyond the hills. At this point he felt peace about what he had decided to do, but still great regret for his actions and worry over how his father might react. Even though he was still a “great way off,” someone was running to him.⁶⁷ Head down, he continued forward, willing to take what was coming to him. But he heard his name and the unmistakable voice of his father. Great shame filled him to the point that he couldn’t hear the tone of his voice. He stopped and hung his head.

And then he felt the embrace of his father and the sweet tender kisses on his face. He couldn’t believe that his father would receive him like this, but then again, his father did not know all the terrible things he had done with his inheritance. Tears welled up having to tell him. He still could not look his father in the eye and each time his father repeated the words "my son, my son" it stung his heart. Head down, he pushed away and said, “I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.”⁶⁸

His father smiled, and embraced him again. As his servants came running from behind, unaware of why their master had bolted out of the home with such excitement, the father turned to them and said, “Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”⁶⁹

His son must have been shocked, unworthy not even of the rags he had on his back, to be so forgiven and blessed to have a father who would forget his past and take him back with joy.

Repentance is the Lord's Joy

So often when we talk about repentance, we forget to talk about the joy. Repentance means joy to the Lord. It is why He suffered and brought about the Atonement, so of course He is joyful when we honor His sacrifice by repenting, by turning back to Him.

A well known scripture indicates our value:

Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;⁷⁰

But immediately after this verse the Lord explains just how valuable we are:

For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.

And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance.⁷¹

Repentance is a key requirement for being able to come unto the Savior, but the last verse explains His feelings when we do:

… how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!⁷²

That same joy is expressed in the Lord's parable of the lost sheep:

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.⁷³

When we sincerely repent, we bring joy to the Savior, and he will reward us with joy.

Conclusion

Go forth with faith, turn with repentance

Brothers and sisters, it is my hope that we go forth with faith in Jesus Christ and overcome the doubt and fear that would pull us in the opposite direction. I hope we can all look to Him, seek Him, and hear Him as we traverse the difficult mountains of life, remembering that He is the way, who marked the path to travel, He is the truth, present at each peak spiritual milestone we reach, and He is the light that shines and illuminates our journey. Then as we repent, turning to Jesus Christ with all of our might, mind, and strength, He will convert our hearts and when we see Him, we shall be like Him.

Footnotes

1 Articles of Faith 1:4 ↩

2 The words of the primary song always stick in my head: "faith is like a little seed" or the Savior's words about faith as a mustard seed, not realizing he is making the analogy to size, not the object. ↩

3 Alma 32:40 ↩

4 Alma 33:22-23 ↩

5 Moroni 7:18-19 ↩

6 I'm not one who likes to start with disclaimers for my talks, but one might be worthy of a footnote. After President Ezra Taft Benson gave his seminal talk on pride, he noted that “In the scriptures there is no such thing as righteous pride—it is always considered a sin. Therefore, no matter how the world uses the term, we must understand how God uses the term so we can understand the language of holy writ and profit thereby” (Ezra Taft Benson, "Beware of Pride"). There was nothing in President Benson's talk that caused this reaction, but afterwards it seemed that many people decided that they wouldn't use the word pride or proud in any other sense. So no longer was it appropriate to say "I'm proud of you." It seemed to me to be an extreme overreaction. The real intent of President Benson's talk which was to do away with pride in our hearts, not superficially remove modern usages of the word.

There are a few phrases worth clarifying about faith and doubt, just as President Benson clarified how the term pride is used in the scriptures. In doing so I am not advocating that we eliminate using these phrases or feel bad for saying them; it is not the point. I pray that the Holy Ghost will make my intent clear and people will know individually the changes in their hearts that should be made rather than focus on the propriety of saying these phrases. ↩

7 Alma 32:21 ↩

8 GS Faith ↩

9 TG Doubt, Doubtful ↩

10 D&C 58:15 ↩

11 Mosiah 26:3 ↩

12 D&C 84:54, 57 ↩

13 3 Ne. 19:35 ↩

14 Matt. 17:20-21 ↩

15 Luke 12:29 ↩

16 D&C 58:27, 29 ↩

17 Luke 1:13 ↩

18 D&C 67:3 ↩

19 Matthew 8:26 ↩

20 D&C 30:1 ↩

21 Articles of Faith 1:9 ↩

22 Matt. 7:7 ↩

23 D&C 88:118 ↩

24 D&C 6:36-37 ↩

25 Psalms 34:4 ↩

26 Amos 5:4 ↩

27 JS-History 1:17 ↩

28 Jacob 3:1 ↩

29 John 1:29 ↩

30 2 Peter 1:19 ↩

31 Luke 22:44 ↩

32 John 8:12; 14:5-6 ↩

33 D&C 88:63-64 ↩

34 D&C 88:66 ↩

35 D&C 63:67-68 ↩

36 Luke 5:1-5 ↩

37 Luke 5:8 ↩

38 Luke 5:10; Matt. 4:19-20 ↩

39 2 Ne. 33:10 The rest of this verse is also notable to consider if we doubt that they are the words of Christ:

And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day.

↩

40 Moroni 10:4-5 ↩

41 D&C 97:1; 124:97 Amidst the treacherous mountainscape of our spiritual lives on this earth, these questions the Lord asks are important: Canst thou run about longer as a blind guide? Or canst thou be humble and meek, and conduct thyself wisely before me? Yea, come unto me thy Savior. Amen. D&C 19:40-41 ↩

42 Mosiah 28:3 ↩

43 1 Ne. 21:16 ↩

44 Alma 34:13-17 ↩

45 If I had more time to deliver this talk I would have mentioned more about how it is notable that I thought so strongly I was going the right way. We need to recognize that many of those we judge are going the wrong way might feel exactly the same about us. ↩

46 Alma 42:29 ↩

47 President Nelson, "Repentance and Conversion" ↩

48 D&C 66:1 ↩

49 Joel 2:12 ↩

50 2 Cor. 3:15-16 ↩

51 Ezek. 18:30 ↩

52 Hel. 7:17 ↩

53 Alma 3:14 ↩

54 President Nelson, "We Can Do Better and Be Better" ↩

55 Alma 39:13 ↩

56 2 Ne. 32:9 ↩

57 3 Ne. 26:10 ↩

58 Luke 22:32 ↩

59 D&C 19:16-17 ↩

60 D&C 88:6 ↩

61 Similarly, conduits or pillars of light accompany introductions of gospel truths and are symbols not only of God choosing to illuminate His ways but also to show the condescension and ascension of Christ. ↩

62 Zech. 1:3 ↩

63 D&C 51:17 ↩

64 Luke 15:17 ↩

65 Luke 15:17-19 ↩

66 Luke 15:13 ↩

67 Luke 15:20 ↩

68 Luke 15:21 ↩

69 Luke 15:22-24 ↩

70 D&C 19:10 ↩

71 D&C 19:11-12 ↩

72 D&C 19:13 ↩

73 Luke 15:7 ↩