“Repent … That I May Heal You”
The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement
but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to
“re-turn” toward God.
I have thought of the
Lord’s invitation to
come unto Him and to
spiritually be wrapped in His arms.
He said,
“Behold, [my arms] of mercy [are] extended towards you,
and whosoever will come, him will I receive;
and blessed are those who come unto me.”
The scriptures speak of His arms being open,
extended, stretched out, and encircling.
They are described as mighty and holy,
“lengthened out all the day long.”
The Lord has said,
“I am he [who] comforteth you.”
The Lord’s desire that we come unto Him and
be wrapped in His arms is often an invitation to repent.
“Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men,
for the arms of mercy are extended towards them,
and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.”
When we sin, we turn away from God.
When we repent, we turn back toward God.
The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement
but rather a loving appeal to turn around and
It is the beckoning of
a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son
to be more than we are,
to reach up to a higher way of life,
to change, and
to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments.
Being disciples of Christ,
we rejoice in the blessing of
repenting and the joy of being forgiven.
They become part of us,
shaping the way we think and feel.
Among the tens of thousands listening to this conference,
there are many degrees of
personal worthiness and righteousness.
Yet repentance is a blessing to all of us.
We each need to feel the Savior’s arms of mercy
through the forgiveness
of our sins.
I am amazed at the Savior’s
encircling arms of mercy and love
for the repentant,
no matter how selfish the forsaken sin.
I testify that the Savior is
able and eager to forgive our sins.
What a marvelous privilege for each of us
to turn away from our sins and to come unto Christ.
Divine forgiveness is one of the sweetest fruits of the gospel,
removing guilt and pain from our hearts and
replacing them with joy and peace of conscience.
Jesus declares,
“Will ye not now return unto me,
and repent of your sins,
and be converted,
For most,
repenting is quiet and quite private,
daily seeking the Lord’s help
to make needed changes.
For most, repentance is more a journey
than a one-time event.
It is not easy.
To change is difficult.
It requires running into the wind,
swimming upstream.
Jesus said,
“If any man will come after me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross
Repentance is turning away from some things,
such as dishonesty, pride, anger, and impure thoughts,
and turning toward other things,
such as kindness, unselfishness, patience, and spirituality.
It is “re-turning” toward God.
Realizing where we need to change,
we sorrow for the sadness we have caused.
This leads to sincere
and heartfelt confession to the Lord and,
When possible,
we restore what we have wrongly harmed or taken.
As we improve,
we see life more clearly
and feel the Holy Ghost working
more strongly within us.
The scriptures do not say
that we will forget
our forsaken sins in mortality.
Rather, they declare
The forsaking of sins implies never returning.
Forsaking requires time.
To help us,
the Lord at times allows
the residue of our mistakes
to rest
It is a vital part of our mortal learning.
For those who are truly repentant
but seem unable to feel relief:
continue keeping the commandments.
I promise you,
relief will come in the timetable of the Lord.
Healing also requires time.
I bear witness that our Savior can deliver us from our sins.
I have personally felt His redeeming power.
I have unmistakably seen His healing hand
upon thousands in nations
throughout the world.
I testify that
His divine gift removes
guilt from our heart and
brings peace to our conscience.
He loves us.
He invites each of us to repent,
turn away from our sins,
and come unto Him.
I witness that He is there
in the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.
O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!
And thus the work of the Lord did commence among the Lamanites; thus the Lord did begin to pour out his Spirit upon them; and we see that his arm is extended to all people who will repent and believe on his name.
With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever.
But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.
Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.
Behold, thou art Oliver, and I have spoken unto thee because of thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love.
Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you.
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.
And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people 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, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll—
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”
It is well with my soul;
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control:
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
It is well with my soul;
It is well, it is well with my soul.
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul.
It is well with my soul;
It is well, it is well with my soul.
O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The heav’ns be rolled back like a scroll.
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend;
Even so, it is well with my soul.
It is well with my soul;
It is well, it is well with my soul.
The Apostle Paul spoke of the Savior “nailing [our sins] to his cross” (see Colossians 2:13–15) and offering forgiveness to all who repent.
Text: Horatio G. Spafford, 1876
Music: Philip P. Bliss, 1876; arr.
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