Sermon By Sister Vicki Gill: Repentance

Repentance. Is it just saying sorry?

As children we are taught to say sorry when we have done something wrong. You bump into someone, you say sorry. You spill some paint, you say sorry. You say nasty or mean words to someone, you say sorry. You hit your brother or sister, you say sorry.

Most of the time our parents tell us to say sorry because ‘that’s what you should do’, sometimes we are told to say sorry even if we don’t mean it or don’t know why we are saying it.

Does Heavenly Father accept this way of ‘I’m sorry’ as repentance?

If we look through the scriptures it is repeated often, that to repent you must go down into the waters of baptism. Being baptised means that you have made a covenant with the lord that, you will be the best person that you can be, that you will aspire to gain entry to the highest glory in the highest kingdom. Jesus knew that this was not going to be possible unless he helped us in someway, Jesus bled in the garden of Gethsemane for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:24) so that we may be able repent, to ‘say sorry’ for the things that we have done.

If we throw around our ‘I’m sorry’s’ the same way that we use the words ‘and’, ‘if’ and ‘but’, which are in almost every sentence that we speak, is our ‘I’m sorry’ worth the pain and suffering that Jesus went through for us, the answer is No.

In order for us to fully repent and be worthy of jesus’s sacrifice we have to

• Know what we have done wrong, why we are repenting and saying I’m sorry.
• Feel sorrow, not crying or pain. Real sorrow, deep within your chest, the whisperings of the Holy Ghost or your conscience telling you that something isn’t right.
• Apologise to the person and make amends, really mean it.
• Promise that you will aim to never do it again, then and only then can you ask forgiveness from the Lord.

Heavenly Father and Jesus know that mistakes can happen over and over again which is why we have the plan of salvation so that we can repent over and over again but we do need to learn from our mistakes and make sure that we caused Jesus no more pain than was absolutely necessary.

Should we only repent for the things that other people see?

The answer is simple… No.

We should repent for everything. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ see and know everything.

What things should we repent for?

Should we just repent for the big stuff? Should we just repent for the small stuff? We should repent for everything. If you have sinned then you should repent. Jesus came to earth not for the righteous but for the sinners so that they may be able to repent and be saved.

I found this talk very difficult; repentance is very simple yet also very complex.

Exodus Chapter 20 tells of Gods 10 Comandments, we all know them, but do we live them.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. …

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. …

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. …

“Honour thy father and thy mother. …

“Thou shalt not kill.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.

“Thou shalt not steal.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

“Thou shalt not covet.”

I can tell you now that should repent multiple times a day especially over the last one, Thou shalt not covet… oh how I covet… everyone does but I… we should learn to be happy with what we have been given, the bounties that Heavenly Father has bestowed upon us.

I know that this has not been the greatest talk you have every heard but I hope that it has been thought provoking.

I leave these words with you x

Sister Vicki Gill