Spencer W. Kimball
"As we have seen, one can wait too long to repent. Many of the Nephites did. Of these, Samuel the Lamanite said:
’But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.’ (Hel. 13:38. Italics added.)
"Again, observe the emphasis in the words italicized. And let us not suppose that in calling people to repentance the prophets are concerned only with the more grievous sins such as murder, adultery, stealing, and so on, nor only with those persons who have not accepted the gospel ordinances. All transgressions must be cleansed, all weaknesses must be overcome, before a person can attain perfection and godhood. Accordingly the intent of this book is to stress the vital importance of each of us transforming his life through repentance and forgiveness. Future chapters will deal with the various aspects of this subject in greater detail.
"Oliver Wendell Holmes said: ’Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.’ Tagore expressed a similar thought in these words: ’I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung.’
“My plea therefore is this: Let us get our instruments tightly strung and our melodies sweetly sung. Let us not die with our music still in us. Let us rather use this precious mortal probation to move confidently and gloriously upward toward the eternal life which God our Father gives to those who keep his commandments.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 16-7)
Henry B. Eyring
"Upon hearing President Kimball’s description of the effort repentance requires, those who are now in serious sin will have a thought delivered to their minds that goes something like this: ’Well, if it is that difficult to repent, I might as well go on in sin. Later, when I need forgiveness, I’ll just go through that once.’
“That is so unwise. Let me tell you why. First, people who postpone repentance may run out of time. And second, they will find more misery in more sin, not the happiness they hope for but can’t find. Remember the warning from Samuel the Lamanite: (Helaman 13:38).” (To Draw Closer to God, p. 65)
Ezra Taft Benson
"Some people intend to make a decision and then never get around to it…They intend to paint the barn, to fix the fence, to haul away that old machinery or remove that old shed, but the time of decision just never arrives.
“Some of us face a similar situation in our personal lives…We intend to pay a full tithing, to begin keeping the Word of Wisdom, to make our initial home teaching visits early in the month. However, without actual decision followed by implementation, the weeks and months go by and nothing is accomplished. We could drift into eternity on these kinds of good intentions. The Lord apparently sensed this weakness in His children, for He said: ’Wherefore, if ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today.’ (DC 64:25)” (God, Family, Country, p. 389.)
Richard L. Evans
“It sometimes seems that we live as if we wonder when life is going to begin. It isn’t always clear just what we are waiting for, but some of us sometimes persist in waiting so long that life slips by—finding us still waiting for something that has been going on all the time. … This is the life in which the work of this life is to be done. Today is as much a part of eternity as any day a thousand years ago or as will be any day a thousand years hence. This is it, whether we are thrilled or disappointed, busy or bored! This is life, and it is passing.” (Improvement Era, Jan. 1967, p. 65.)