Faith and Repentance

Hebrews 11: 1-6 "

 1 Now ^afaith is the ^bsubstance of things ^choped for, the ^devidence of things not seen.

 2 For by it the elders ^aobtained a good ^breport.

 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were ^aframed by the ^bword of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

 4 By faith ^aAbel offered unto God a more excellent ^bsacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.

 5 By faith ^aEnoch was ^btranslated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this ^ctestimony, that he pleased God.

 6 But without ^afaith it is impossible to please him: for he that ^bcometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a ^crewarder of them that ^ddiligently ^eseek him.

These scriptures clearly tell us the advantage of gaining faith in the Lord. I think if you pay particular attention to verses 1 and 6, you might be able to sort out what would help you. Sister Courtney Werner presented this lesson with many comments from the sisters. Since we are all sinners on this earth, it is up to us how to prepare to meet God again. We must first have faith in God and Jesus Christ in order to progress toward exaltation. We must center our lives around Christ as He is the one who made our resurrection possible. Yes, faith is good but as President JF Smith stated " “it is necessary, not merely that we believe, but that we repent,” and he also taught that when we perform good works in faith until the end, we will “receive the reward of the faithful and a place in the Celestial kingdom of God." The statement of "faith without works is dead" applies here. We grow line by line which even includes faith. If we first believe in our Savior, then we proceed to having faith in Him. The next part is up to us and what we DO.

Sister Werner referred to the Bible dictionary several times and read excerpts from the faith definition. I encourage you to go and read for yourselves. Here is a quote from this definition " Faith is a principle of action and of power, and by it one can command the elements, heal the sick, and influence any number of circumstances when occasion warrants (Jacob 4:4–7). Even more important, by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God."  Now that is a "destination!" We must do something in order to obtain this faith just as the manual mentions that no one can play an instrument or paint a great picture without "intelligent action."

As we strengthen our faith, we obtain more confidence in self and in our Lord. This encouragement enables us to move forward to repentance.

Repentance is the second principle of the gospel. "There is no place in Zion for the wilful sinner. There is a place for the repentant sinner, for the man who turns away from iniquity and seeks for life eternal and the light of the Gospel. We should not look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, any more than the Lord can do so, but walk uprightly and perfectly before the Lord." I read this paragraph and was touched and encouraged as I know we are not perfect. There IS a place for a sinner who turns away from sin and strives for goodness. The atonement carries us past the part we can no longer tackle on our own. We must be willing to have a change of heart and mind in order that repentance can work in our lives. As it says in John1:7" 7 But if we ^awalk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the ^bblood of Jesus Christ his Son ^ccleanseth us from all sin." Faith and repentance are powerful tools. Repentance is not optional for exaltation as discussed in class. The ability to repent is a great gift from our Savior.

President Smith stated, "God is not going to save every man and woman in the celestial kingdom. If you want to get there, and you have failings, if you are committing sins, if you are breaking the commandments of the Lord and you know it, it is a good time right now to repent and reform, and not get the idea that it is such a little thing that the Lord will forgive you, just a few stripes, just a little punishment and we will be forgiven; for you may find yourselves cast out, if you insist and persist in such a course.²⁴                  

Procrastination, as it may be applied to gospel principles, is the thief of eternal life, which is life in the presence of the Father and the Son. There are many among us, even members of the Church, who feel that there is no need for haste in the observance of gospel principles and the keeping of the commandments. …

Do not let us forget the words of [Amulek]: “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."

We are in the daylight of our lives here on earth. When we leave this planet, it will become our evening, when we rest from our labors of the day. That leads us to realize that we must work each day, each moment some times to clear our lives of sin, even the smallest.  I remember as a child I thought of sin as some terribly large mistake but have come to the knowledge it is even a sharp reply to anyone, no matter what the situation may be.

Each night before bed we have time to evaluate our day and report in to our Father. If you can't imagine that, think of checking in with a friend, where you would be and how you would talk. Our Father is more concerned than any of our friends so see if you can create that close relationship with our Father in Heaven that you have with an earthly friend. "oops. I'm sorry I did that again" may be the way your daily interview begins. Repent again and again as long as you need to do so until you can overcome that weakness.

I will close with this great comment on page 91 of the lesson. "The Lord intends that men shall be happy—that is his purpose—but men refuse to be happy and make themselves miserable, because they think their ways are better than God’s ways, and because of selfishness, greed, and the wickedness that is in their hearts; and that is the trouble with us today."

Choose to be happy and to avoid sin with all your might.

Your work in progress blogess,

Janice