Repent and be forgiven

In the scriptures, one of the most common themes is that of repentance.  Today's scripture mastery comes from one of the many verses that talk about repentance: Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43

 42 Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

 43 By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.

The key to repentance is much more than just saying "I am sorry"...(though that is definitely a part of repentance.)  With true repentance, we confess our wrongdoing--and then we forsake the sin.  That means that we do not continue to do that sin.

True repentance comes from within.  It comes from a true desire to change our lives for the better.  Often, when caught doing something wrong, we try to "fake it." meaning that we pretend to be sorry for whatever we have done that has hurt or offended someone else, but as soon as nobody is watching, we go right back to whatever we apologized for.  Now, I know that true repentance can be triggered by getting caught--if we truly are sorry for our actions, and really do repent.  If we make a heartfelt apology, and a true restitution to those we have harmed.  The difficult thing for most of us is that last step--not returning to the sin. 

Today's scripture fits in very well with yesterday's scripture mastery.  See my comments on the post titled "Acting on our own."  It is often much easier to repent, if we recognize that we have sinned, without getting caught, or without somebody telling us to repent first.  If we do a self-analysis, and realize that we need to repent, and begin making the changes on our own first, God will often give us much more help in the repentance process--because he can see that our heart is truly in the right place.

Take a good look inside yourself, and choose one of those sins that you haven't wanted to let go--and begin the repentance process.  You will be glad you did!