The Penitent Man Kneels Before God

Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes we make big mistakes and sometimes we make small mistakes. Sometimes they hurt other people and sometimes they only hurt you. Sins fall under all of these categories. A sin is when we have knowledge of a commandment of God and we choose to break it anyway. So as we all have broken, are breaking, or will break a commandment at some point (since we are not perfect and we all make mistakes) it would greatly behoove us all to know how to get back in the good graces of God. So, how do we do that? The short answer: We repent.

So what is repentance anyway? What is required of us to be forgiven of our mistakes, our sins? Repentance is not simply feeling remorseful as the good old dictionary would have us believe. Repentance is actually a process. The length and extent of this process depends upon the individual, their sin, and their circumstances. However, no matter how great or small the sin, the same process must be followed (sorry, you can't skip any steps) in order to be forgiven and come closer spiritually to our Heavenly Father again.

The Repentance Process

#1 Recognize --> We must recognize that we have done something wrong.

It is important to note that if we do not know that something is wrong then we are not responsible for it. However, once we have the knowledge that something is wrong, we must obey or it is sin.

#2 Remorse --> We must feel badly for what we have done that is wrong.

I once went to an amusement park without my mother's permission. Once at home, my mom expressed how upset she was and at the end of it asked in exasperation "Was it worth it?" I thought about that for a moment and then defiantly said, "Yeah, it was." That really was the wrong answer. My punishment was increased because I showed no remorse for my disobedience.

#3 Ask Forgiveness --> We must ask Heavenly Father's forgiveness for our wrongdoing.

The penitent man kneels in humility and supplicates God to forgive him. Enos did this all day and night. (Enos 1:1-27)

#4 Restitution --> To the best of our ability, we must try to restore things back to the way they were before we committed the sin.

If you steal a pack of Rolos candy from the store when you are a young kid than you must give it back (no matter how many you have eaten) and tell the people at the store that you are so very sorry. (Not saying this ever happened....just thought an illustration would be appropriate here).

#5 Abandon --> We must abandon the sin...never to do it again.

If we don't abandon the sin, then we haven't repented.

**True repentance means following all these steps to the very end. We must eliminate each sin, one by one, in our lives in order to become cleaner and more worthy to have God's guidance and to return to Him again after this life. Every sin committed must pass through this process or it will return again into our lives and we will continue to distance ourselves from Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Repentance is our part, Christ's sacrifice is His. He makes up the difference between what we are capable of and where we should be. So let's do our part. All our sins do not have to be eliminated all at once, but one by one we must address our sins, repent, and discard them in order for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father again someday. Repentance is not an easy road but it will be worth it.