"Perhaps at no other time do we feel the divine love of the Savior as abundantly as we do when we repent."—Linda S. Reeves, "Claim the Blessings of Your Covenants"
So today was a great lesson on Repentance and the need for it in our lives. One of my favorite quotes from the lesson was "When we repent, our life changes."
It made me think of an experience I had several years ago. I was cleaning my house and had asked a friend to come and help me. As she came in the house she noticed a Computer tower that was on top of a shelf in plain sight that was broken. I had put it up there when it broke to deal with it later. But then it disappeared, at least to me. I never saw it again. It just sat there in plain sight but I couldn't see it. She said "What about this Computer tower?" In that question I could suddenly see it and noticed that it was indeed taking up good space and cluttering up the house. I couldn't clean it until I could see it. In the lesson it quotes one of the greatest stories of repentance in the Book of Mormon it is the story of Alma the Younger.
“My soul was harrowed up [troubled] to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.
“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.
“… 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.
“… It came to pass that as I was … harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy … concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
“Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me. …
“And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more. …
“And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
“… There can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy” (Alma 36:12–14, 17–21).
I had never noticed the word "saw" in that scripture until today. Only once Alma saw what he was doing as sinful could he make the necessary steps to change and repent. Only once he recognized his need for the Savior could he call upon him to help. Last quote from the lesson: "We should repent now, every day. When we get up in the morning, we should examine ourselves to see whether the Spirit of God is with us. At night before we go to sleep, we should review our acts and words of the day and ask the Lord to help us recognize the things for which we need to repent. By repenting every day and having the Lord forgive our sins, we will experience the daily process of becoming perfect. As with Alma, our happiness and joy can be sweet and exquisite."
Several questions come to mind as I think about this message for me today. First, What do I need to see more clearly in my self and my life so I can start to change? and Second, How can I implement this question into my daily prayers so my best friend, Jesus, can help me to see myself and my life more clearly?
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