The context of the sacramental rite is that of assembled believers. It is to be given “to those who repent and are baptized in my name.” This it becomes a renewal covenant. When Jesus declares his gospel, the essential declaration is repentance and baptism. Therefore, when the covenants are renewed, the essential covenants must also be repentance and baptism. In that process we affirm the path of the gospel.
The Principle of Repentance: One of the guarantees of our mortal existence is sin. It is a possible consequence of choice, and while many will avoid the greater sins, we all succumb to some sin at one point or another. If sin is such a natural consequence of our mortal existence, what is the harm? The harm is that is precludes us from one of the prerequisites of Godhood in the Eternal Reality. One of the qualities, and therefore essential natures, of God is to be pure. In Him no sin dwells. The nature of the Glory of God precludes the presence of a sinful being:
Moses 6:57
57 Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.
In a very real sense, sin precludes our ability to become as God. While the scriptures are most clear about the inability of the sinful to enter the final Glorious presence of God, it is equally true that we on earth, as sinners, are unable to enter his presence. Not even for the brief time we take to pray. Had not God prepared a way to recover from the eternally devastating effects of sin, we should be lost forever.
When we sin we create the conditions that require eternal justice to exact from us a price. As we saw in the discussion of Eternal Law, justice and mercy are opposing forces. God provides a merciful opportunity for us, but cannot save us in our sins.
Alma 34:15
15 And thus he 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.
The atoning sacrifice of Christ brought “about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice”. His redeeming sacrifice, in a real sense, is God’s mercy toward his mortal children. However, note that the effect of Christ’s merciful mission is not our reconciliation with God, but the creation of the conditions whereby we may become reconciled. As Alma indicates, it “bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance” (Alma 34:15)
Repentance is the means whereby we participate in the process of mercy. We are cognizant of our separation from God, and our inability to reach Him on our own merits. Through repentance we shed ourselves of the sin that was holding us back. We clear ourselves not only of the sin, but of the consequences of the sin. If others are involved, we reconcile ourselves with them. Through repentance we recover from our mistakes, and remove their effects from our lives. Had not Christ atoned us, we would be unable to shed our sins, and they would burden us down to Hell. Through Christ, we may truly become reconciled, and place our feet back on the path toward exaltation.
It is this ability to change that is the wonder of repentance. All too often we assume that repentance must be a sad thing, for it is attached to concepts of sin. What we miss is that repentance is a wonderful beginning. One of the most essential of all gospel principles is repentance, because it is the very first mechanism through which we change. As we attempt to become more like God, we must find those behaviors that are not in accord with our goal, and change them. This recognition of the need and the work necessary to begin the process, are the principle known as repentance. Repentance is a transformational principle, and opens to door to all blessings of the eternities.
Through repentance, we realign our spirits with God, so that we are no longer separated by the darkness of our sins. We are again able to feel his Glory. One of the best examples of this process is Alma’s conversion story:
Alma 36:12-21
12 But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
13 Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.
14 Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.
15 Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.
16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
Alma contrasts the harrowing pain in his soul as he came to understand the nature of his sin with the joy of the Lord which accompanied the repentance process. Note particularly verse 20, where he notes that the joy was as great as the pain. This is the repentance process. If we do not feel the pain in our souls, we have not truly understood the consequences of our actions. Of course, the more serious the sin, the greater that pain will be.
Juxtaposed to the pain of recognition is the joy of forgiveness. When we repent, we place our souls again in God’s hands, and say to Him “I bring you this unclean thing, please heal it”. The joy we feel is the effect of our forgiveness, and our ability to once again feel of God’s spirit and Glory.
Of all of the steps to repentance that have ever been devised, there is one critical step which sees less attention that it should. In a very real way, our individual ability to allow another to repent affects our ability to repent and be forgiven. We are clearly told that if we forgive our fellow men, we shall be forgiven (3 Nephi 13:14-15). In fact it is more important that we forgive others:
Doctrine and Covenants 64:9
9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
As Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount to both the Old and the New world:
3 Nephi 14:2
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.