Repentance: A Joyful Choice for Us and Jesus the Christ

Repentance: A Joyful Choice*

 "And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words 

the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, 

and they were 

filled with joy, 

having received 

a remission of their sins, 

and having 

peace of conscience, 

because of the 

exceeding faith which they had in 

Jesus Christ..... "

Mosiah 4:3

Repentance is not only possible... 

but also joyful 

because of 

our Savior.

My dear brothers and sisters, 

when I was 12 years old, 

my family lived in Göteborg, 

a coastal city in southern Sweden. 

Fifty years ago, we attended church in a large remodeled home. 

One Sunday, my friend Steffan, the only other deacon in the branch, greeted me at church with some excitement. 

We went to the chapel’s adjacent overflow area, 

and he pulled from his pocket a large firecracker and some matches. 

In an act of youthful bravado, 

I took the firecracker and lit the long gray fuse. 

I intended to snuff out the fuse before it blew up. 

But when I burned my fingers trying to do so, 

I dropped the firecracker. 

Steffan and I watched in horror as the fuse continued to burn.

The firecracker exploded, 

and sulfurous fumes filled the overflow area and the chapel. 

We hurriedly gathered up the scattered remnants of the firecracker 

and opened the windows to try to get the smell out, 

naively hoping that no one would notice. 

Fortunately, no one was hurt and no damage was done.

As members came to the meeting, 

they did notice the overpowering smell. 

It was hard to miss. 

The smell distracted from the sacred nature of the meeting. 

Because there were so few Aaronic Priesthood holders—

and in what can only be described as dissociative thinking—

I passed the sacrament, yet I did not feel worthy to partake of it. 

When the sacrament tray was offered to me, 

I took neither the bread nor the water. I felt horrible. 

I was embarrassed, 

and I knew that what I had done had displeased God.

After church, the branch president, 

Frank Lindberg, a distinguished older man with silver-gray hair, 

asked me to come to his office. 

After I sat down, he looked at me kindly and said he had noticed that 

I had not partaken of the sacrament. 

He asked why. 

I suspect he knew why. 

I was sure everyone knew what I had done. 

After I told him, he asked how I felt. 

Through tears, I haltingly told him 

I was sorry and that I knew I had let God down.

President Lindberg opened a well-worn copy of the 

Doctrine and Covenants and asked me to read some underlined verses. I read the following out loud:

“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, 

the same is forgiven, 

and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

“By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins

—behold, he will confess them 

and forsake them.”

Doctrine and Covenants 58:42–43

I will never forget President Lindberg’s compassionate smile 

when I looked up after I had finished reading. 

With some emotion, 

he told me that he felt it would be fine 

for me to resume partaking of the sacrament. 

As I left his office, 

I felt indescribable joy.

Such joy is one of the 

inherent results of repentance. 

Real repentance must involve faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 

faith that He can change us, 

faith that He can forgive us, 

and faith that He will help us avoid more mistakes. 

This kind of faith makes His Atonement effective in our lives. 

When we “perceive afterwards” and 

“turn around” with the Savior’s help, 

we can feel hope in His promises 

and the joy of forgiveness. 

Without the Redeemer, 

the inherent hope and joy evaporate, 

and repentance becomes simply miserable behavior modification. 

But by exercising faith in Him, 

we become converted...

“The Atonement, which can reclaim each one of us, 

bears no scars. 

That means that no matter what we have done 

or where we have been 

or how something happened,

 if we truly repent, 

[the Savior] has promised that 

He would atone. 

And when He atoned, that settled that. …

The Atonement … can 

wash clean every stain 

no matter how difficult 

or how long or how many times repeated.”

Boyd K. Packer

“For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain 

of all men, 

that all men 

might repent and come unto him.”

Jesus Christ can forgive because He paid the price for our sins.

Our Redeemer chooses to forgive because of 

His incomparable 

compassion, 

mercy, 

and love.

Our Savior wants to forgive 

because this is one of His 

divine attributes.

And, like the Good Shepherd He is, 

He is joyful 

when we choose to repent.

Even as we feel godly sorrow 

for our actions, 

when we choose to repent, 

we immediately invite 

the Savior into our lives. 

As Amulek taught, “Come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.” 

Brothers and sisters...I invite you to feel 

more joy in your life: 

joy in the knowledge that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real; 

joy in the Savior’s ability, willingness, and desire to forgive; 

and joy in choosing to repent. 

Let us follow the instruction to 

“with joy … draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

 

May we choose to repent, 

forsake our sins, 

and turn our hearts and wills around 

to follow our Savior. 

I testify of His living reality. 

I am a witness and repeated recipient of His incomparable 

compassion, 

mercy, and 

love. 

I pray that the redeeming blessings of His Atonement 

may be yours now—

and again and again and again 

throughout your lives, 

as they have been in mine. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, 

amen.

 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, 

he was bruised 

for our iniquities: 

the chastisement of our peace 

was upon him; 

and with his stripes 

we are healed."

 2 Nephi 2:26.

“Behold, he who has repented of his sins, 

the same is forgiven, 

and I, the Lord, 

remember them no more.

By this ye may know 

if a man repenteth of his sins—

behold, he will confess them 

and forsake them.”

D&C 58:42-43

Rejoice, the Lord is King

*Excerpts from the talk:

Repentance: A Joyful Choice

By Elder Dale G. Renlund

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles