A Different Take on Faith & Repentance

A rich young man once came to the Lord seeking to know what he must do to have eternal life. He wasn’t expecting the Lord’s response: “Sell what you have, give to the poor, and come follow me.” This was not one of the ten commandments. This was a unique and completely individual commandment from the Lord. But the young man sorrowed in his heart at how difficult it was. 

The young man sought the will of the Lord and he received it, which is faith.  But he was not yet willing to follow it, which is repentance. This was a moment of truth, and because he would not act on the commandment he received, he missed a chance to be converted unto the Lord. 

Because the Lord is not with us on the earth today, we must go to Him and receive through personal revelation those things that will bring us back into His presence. The young rich ruler came to understand he can only receive eternal life by following commands personally revealed to him.

What Does Faith Have to Do With Revelation?

It makes sense that Moses could part the Red Sea with “faith”, but it never made sense what “revelation” had to do with this miraculous event, until I began to see the words faith and revelation as interchangeable in this context. Moroni teaches us (Ether 12) that we must ask in faith whatever we desire from the Lord. However, the key is that we must also believe that we’ll receive it. Asking for and receiving revelation from the Lord is exercising faith in Him. As you get better at this process, your faith will grow, but only if you act on things He reveals. Doing exactly what He tells you to do is repentance.

When the children of Israel saw Pharaoh and his Egyptian army bearing down on them as they were pinned against the Red Sea, they complained against Moses that he would be the cause of their destruction (Exodus 14:10-12). Moses cried unto the Lord for deliverance and the Lord revealed to him exactly what to do. “Lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Exodus 14:15-16). Moses asked the Lord what to do and the Lord revealed it to him. Faith is asking for and receiving revelation. Even so, Moses still had to act on what he received. What if he hadn’t been willing to raise his rod because he didn’t believe that would work?

Repentance is Harder & Easier Than You Think

Most members of the church believe repentance means paying for your past mistakes and working diligently to change your inner natural man one weakness at a time, for the rest of your life. There may be some truth to that, but I’m suggesting a different way of looking at it. Repentance simply means doing whatever the Lord asks you to do, regardless of how hard it is. Even if it goes against everything you currently believe. In my experience, God has never asked me to pay a price for something I did in the past. He has only ever told me what I must do today and going forward.

In our society, when you break the law, you go to jail as a punishment. That is not repentance. Jail time is a man-made consequence. The difference between punishment and repentance is that punishment is not a choice. Punishment is the natural and unavoidable consequence of breaking the law. On the other hand, repentance is always a choice. Whether you repent or not is completely up to you. No one can force you to repent regardless of whatever punishment they threaten you with. Only you can know the Lord’s specific commands for you and only you can decide to follow them or not. 

If you confess to stealing bread, a judge will determine the punishment or debt you must pay to society, according to the law. Conversely, if you confess to the Lord, He might say something like, “you need to get an honest job, so you won’t have to steal.” Anyone can tell you to stop stealing and threaten you with jail, but the Lord knows your heart. He knows when you are just being slothful and don’t want to work and He beckons you to come unto Him with specific instructions for your situation. In this example, true repentance is not just restraining yourself from stealing. It’s doing the work to go and get a job. 

If this new way of looking at repentance seems more difficult, that’s good, it means you get it. We all know the commandment to be honest in our dealings with our fellow man. We’ve all dealt with the consequences of our own lies. But trying to be perfectly honest in every situation on your own is maddening. No one can do it. It will only lead to more guilt if that’s the impossible standard you choose to live by. On the other hand, if you seek to do whatever the Lord says, He will give you exact instructions. For example, “go to your employer and tell them you think you’re getting paid more than you deserve.” Now that’s a real test! In my experience, specific commands from the Lord requiring honesty are far more difficult to follow than simply “trying your best to be honest.”

Trying your best to be honest will not save you. It can’t because you will fail at it no matter how hard you try. But doing whatever the Lord tells you to do actually will save you, and that’s why it is easier, because it can actually be done! Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying it’s ever okay to lie or to sin in any manner because I know that sin will always come with consequences. What I am saying is that if you truly want to repent, you must seek the Lord’s will for you. Do whatever He tells you to do. Then He can redeem you and in Him you will find rest. This is faith and repentance.

Have You Ever Had a Moment of Truth?

For most people, almost immediately after the Lord tells them to do something difficult, they get a rush of thoughts in their head about why they can’t do it. I suppose the rich young ruler may have said to himself something like, “if I give away all my possessions, how will I survive?” Maybe he was hoping to be a good influence on people and thought that without his wealth, no one would listen to him. Maybe he wondered if that much money would be wasted on the poor because they wouldn’t know how to use it for good. Or, perhaps he was open to doing it, just not right away. We all do this to ourselves constantly in our moments of truth! Instead of following what the Lord tells us to do, we talk ourselves out of it.

This might be why the Lord commands us to constantly cry nothing but repentance unto this generation! Repent, repent! repent! The cry for repentance is really the battle call to stay motivated. Those who remind you to repent are risking their own life and limb to do you a huge favor. They are encouraging you in your moment of truth not to fall back and take the easy path, but to push forward and do whatever the Lord has asked you to do. They are telling you to “do the work!” Don’t let any misconceptions you may have about repentance deter you from letting their message sink in. Repentance should always be our personal quest and we need reminding of this constantly.

I’ve spoken with many people and encouraged them to seek the Lord through personal revelation. Most people’s first reaction is so predictable that I’ve come to expect it. I share with them some of my own profound experiences with receiving revelation, and they believe me, and they even think it’s possible for them. But then they say, “I’m not ready.” When they respond that way I yell out, “Repent, repent, repent!” And then they think I’m crazy and that I’m judging them unrighteously. But I’m not. I’m encouraging them to act on what the spirit has already confirmed to them. Granted, I know that they don’t really understand my intention. The word “repent” has been so twisted from its original meaning that we think it’s a bad thing when we are called to repent.

I get it. Repentance is hard. It’s always a shock to think you’re doing just fine only to find out you’re going to have to start all over. The young rich man thought he had been doing everything right since his youth and in one moment, in one direct command, the Lord blew that misconception out of the water.

Almost 20 years ago in a moment of clarity, the spirit spoke to me and invited me to be a better man. I responded that I was not ready. That was the biggest mistake of my life. That was my moment of truth and I missed it. How I wish someone had been standing there next to me calling me to repent. But even if they had, I probably would have dismissed their words because I thought repentance meant something different. I hope I never make that colossal mistake again. If you feel like calling me to repentance, please do. I could use all the reminders I can get. If your callout comes from a place of trying to shame me, it won’t work. But if your intention is to motivate me to follow the Lord, then bless you for trying.

Conversion

Almost immediately, when I began seeking for and hearing the voice of the Lord, He showed me the idols I needed to give up in my life. One of those idols was my career. No one had ever told me before that my job was against the commandments, in fact most people I knew in the church were pretty proud of me for what I had accomplished. There was no scripture or Ensign article that said anything negative about how I earned my living whatsoever. I even knew of one of the 12 apostles that made his living in the exact same way!

Even so, when the Lord told me I needed to give up my company, I knew that it was the truth. I’m not saying it was wrong for anyone else on the planet, but I had exercised faith in the Lord and received His word straight to me. Unfortunately, I did not at that time have the courage to immediately repent. I couldn’t believe the situation I found myself in. It was a total shock. That was a moment of truth for me.

It is true that I did not immediately act on the will of the Lord, but this time around, what I did not say is, “I’m not ready.” Instead, I replied, “okay.” Over the next couple of weeks, I put it out of my mind because it was too painful to think about. Somehow, I could feel the consequences of not giving this command my full attention, and so I came up with a plan for exiting my business. I presented it to the Lord, He accepted it and I was at peace. You could say it was in that moment that I was converted. I had exercised faith, repented, and been converted to the Lord.

Repentance and conversion are two different things. Repentance leads to conversion. But it does not take an entire lifetime of repentance to be converted. All it takes to be converted is for you to repent in your moment of truth. When the Lord calls you to do something, please listen, and then get to work. The more you do this, the more you begin to trust Him. The more you repent, the more you will see that all of His commands to you are perfect. They are always the right thing to do. They will always lead you back to Him. He is the Master. His words are always so beautifully tailored to just you. He knows exactly what you need to do to come unto Him.

I love the Lord and know Him through the commandments He has personally given me, and I have come to know Him through faith and repentance. I receive personal revelation from Him, and act on it no matter how hard it is, willing to do whatever He says.

Forgiveness

Repentance and forgiveness are also not the same thing. When I go to the Lord, I acknowledge that I am nothing, that I have no right to come before Him, and that the only reason I am there is because of His love for us and because He has commanded us to come unto Him. It is then that I seek for His forgiveness for the many sins I have committed. He does not have to forgive us. We never deserve it. But I ask for His forgiveness anyway, hoping that He will have mercy on me. I lay everything on the altar before Him and I completely expose myself. I do this because I trust in Him. Sometimes He tells me I’m doing okay and other times He tells me what I still lack. 

Please don’t think that just because you have repented that you don’t also need to ask for forgiveness. Repenting from our sins is a choice, the consequences are not. When we seek forgiveness from the Lord, we are begging Him to remove from us the spiritual consequences of our sins, which only He can do because He paid the debt according to the law. We cannot do this ourselves, no matter how obedient we are to His commands. I will share this, though. When you repent of your sins by following whatever the Lord tells you to do, the forgiveness seems to come easier. He delights in forgiving those who love Him. Those who love Him, keep His commandments. It is by keeping His commandments that He empowers us to overcome our desire to sin.

Conclusion

None of the crooked paths we follow outside of the true Doctrine of Christ will lead us back to Him. The only way to know for sure whether or not you are on the straight path is if you receive your baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. In 3 Nephi 9:19-20 the Lord tells us what we must do before we can receive this first comforter.

He will no longer accept the shedding of blood or your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, no matter how good your intentions are. To me, that means it doesn’t matter what commandments you keep or laws you follow if you did not receive them directly from Him. The only sacrifice the Lord will accept is if you will offer up a broken heart and contrite spirit, which mean you must humbly seek Him through personal revelation and do whatever He says, no matter what.

The steps you must take to receive your 1^st Comforter are broken down into further detail in many other scriptures pertaining to the Doctrine of Christ. Things like faith, repentance, conversion, and baptism by water, all of which are contained in the admonition to offer unto the Lord your broken heart and contrite spirit. It is impossible to know what this offering fully means without the Lord revealing to you the specific path you must take. 

I may have pushed too far in this post by implying that repentance is doing whatever the Lord commands you to do. I’m quite sure there is much more to this beautiful principle than any of us are fully aware of, especially me. My goal was to emphasize the point that the truly difficult part of repentance is not what we normally think, and that’s because we confuse repentance with the consequences of sin. Repentance is breaking your own will and following the will of the Lord. Repentance is doing the hard things that you know you’re supposed to be doing but keep putting off. 

As you walk by faith, the Lord may someday command you to sell all of your possessions and give the money to the poor. You may ask yourself, “But how will I eat?” But did the Lord not fill His disciples’ nets full of fishes? Or maybe you will wonder, “With no home where will I go for protection from the elements?” But did not the Lord calm the storms? Can He not do the same for us wherever we are? I hope that young rich man got another moment of truth. I’m sure He did. I hope that in his next moment, he remembered the lesson from his first encounter with the Lord and chose to follow Him. And I hope the same thing for all of us.

Justin