After the condemnatory remarks, Mormon ends with a positive principle. Repentance is possible only for those who “are under condemnation, and under the curse of a broken law.” That is, one can only repent of a sin if one knows that they have committed it. If a person does not understand the law, they cannot have intentionally strayed from it. We live according to the knowledge we have, and we repent only of those things where we know that we are “under condemnation,” or when we have violated a law that we know.
This understanding of repentance is important because “the first fruits of repentance is baptism.” Baptism follows repentance, which follows the understanding of the law so that sin is understood and applicable.
The remission of sins changes us because it allows us to begin again, and to become meek and humble. It allows us to realign ourselves with the law that we know. If we know God’s law, then the remission of sins reconciles us to God.