We know that we can be forgiven and change our lives, but if we do not act according to and consistent with the covenant that we entered into, it is as if we had not been forgiven in the first place. Seeing King Benjamin’s Speech as a "manual for discipleship," Elder Maxwell has taught, "Much emphasis was given by King Benjamin to retaining a remission of our sins (Mosiah 4:26). We do not ponder that concept very much in the church. We ought to think of it a lot more. Retention clearly depends on the regularity of our repentance. In the church we worry, and should, over the retention of new members, but the retention of our remissions is cause for even deeper concern."
Neal A. Maxwell, "A Manual for Discipleship," in King Benjamin’s Speech: "That Ye May Learn Wisdom," ed. John W. Welch and Stephen D. Ricks (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1998), 16.