--- title: "Repentance & Forgiveness" date: 2025-11-10T09:23:00-07:00 author: Matt Bloomfield canonical_url: "https://www.mlj.one/church/talks/repentance-forgiveness" section: Blog --- [ ← Church Talks ](https://www.mlj.one/church/talks) Talk November 10, 2025 # Repentance & Forgiveness I gave this talk on March 17th, 2024 in the Snowflake 9th Ward Sacrament Meeting at the Temple View Chapel in Snowflake, Arizona, per an assignment from President Todd Burk. --- As I start this talk I want to pose a question. I want each of us to consider this question fully - as I think it somewhat indicates where we are on our spiritual journey. The question is: **Why did you come to church today?** For some of us, the reason may be a sense of duty - I feel I should go as a church member. It may be exploratory, perhaps we are **new to the church and want to know what it’s all about.** It may be that the **rest of our family was planning to come** so we tagged along. Maybe we have hungered for the opportunity all week and are looking forward to this time. So again, I ask, **Why did you come to church today?** **—** ### The Gospel is Simple I grew up as a member of the church where the gospel was taught in my home. I went to seminary, we had family home evenings, and we read scriptures as a family. When it came time to serve a mission I felt pretty prepared for it. But somehow when I got to the MTC I had no real idea what the gospel was. I understood a lot of church principles and had received a spiritual confirmation about the Book of Mormon being the word of God, but I didn’t have a tangible framework for the gospel. I remember learning our missionary purpose, to “invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end” and **thinking, that’s it?** It wasn’t until then that I realized how simple it all is - all the programs, the committees, the presidencies, the activities - their whole purpose - was to accomplish these five principles of the gospel - Faith, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. These principles act in a great round, once we have gotten to the end we repeat them over and over throughout our lives, substituting baptism for the ordinance of the sacrament. So, today, I want to talk about our journey down this path and the key role Repentance & Forgiveness play in our daily journeys. ### What is Repentance? The first hurdle to overcome when it comes to repentance, in my opinion, is defining it. Unless you grew up in the church or love reading books from the 1800s you probably don’t come across the word very often. The dictionary defines it as, “to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin.” I think that’s a good start but not fully encompassing of the experience. In Swedish, my mission language, the word for repentance, is omvända sig. This is interesting because it literally means to turn oneself around. This suggests there is some action involved, that not only do you need to feel remorse, but you need to change your behavior. Luckily for us, we also have the Gospel Topics which help us define these things. Indeed, they confirm, “It is **much more than just acknowledging** wrongdoings. It is a **change of mind and heart that gives us a fresh view about God, about ourselves, and about the world**. It includes **turning away from sin and turning to God** for forgiveness. It is **motivated** by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments.” So, it’s acknowledgment, then a change of mind and heart, then turning away from sin and toward God. And it must be motivated by love for God. It’s a process, and often it can happen quickly, or sometimes it can take weeks, months or years. But it’s not a set of rigid steps - as my Mission President told me once, if repentance were a checklist the church would release an app for that. It’s a spiritual journey we all must take. ### Why Should We Repent? The Lord has said that He “cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:31). With sin comes the withdrawal of the Holy Ghost. It makes us unable to dwell in the presence of Heavenly Father, for “no unclean thing can dwell with God” The Apostle John taught: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, \[Jesus Christ\] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” It seems that, especially with sins we view as larger or more public, we meet a crossroads. We can either choose to humble ourselves and repent, or we can pretend that we didn’t sin, or that the commandment we transgressed was outdated or didn’t apply. We can leave the church and the Savior’s gospel entirely. But this is pride and will never lead to lasting happiness. The only path forward is through the Savior. There should never be shame associated with repentance. As Elder Neil L Andersen taught, “Repentance is not the backup plan; it is the plan.” ### How do we repent? The first step to repentance is having Faith in Jesus Christ. In the gospel topics on Repentance, we read: ‘Repentance is an act of faith in Jesus Christ—an acknowledgment of the power of His Atonement. We can be forgiven only on His terms. As we gratefully recognize His Atonement and His power to cleanse us from sin, we are able to “exercise \[our\] faith unto repentance.”’ Armed with this faith, we can confront the fact that we have sinned. It can be hard to admit this even to ourselves. This acknowledgment naturally causes us to sorrow, which leads us to the Savior and his great promise of forgiveness. As we confess our sins in full to our Heavenly Father through prayer, we allow the Savior to heal us. This confrontation and confession is so important as it allows us to fully repent. If we cannot admit what we have done then we cannot change, either. **Again, from the gospel topics:** Serious transgressions, such as violations of the law of chastity, may jeopardize a person’s membership in the Church. Therefore, such sins need to be confessed to both the Lord and His priesthood representatives in the Church. This is done under the care of a bishop or branch president and possibly a stake or mission president, who serve as watchmen and judges in the Church. While only the Lord can forgive sins, these priesthood leaders play a critical role in the process of repentance. They will keep confessions confidential and help throughout the process of repentance. And now, it’s up to us to turn away from sin and focus on the Savior. Repentance brings us closer to Him and lets us walk beside him. As we do so we will find happiness. ### Through Jesus Christ, Forgiveness Will Come As bitter as the feelings of guilt are, forgiveness is always sweeter. The Lord has promised: “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” **We can experience this miracle whether we need to repent of serious sins or day-to-day weaknesses. Just as the Savior pleaded with people anciently, He pleads with us today:** “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” “Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? “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.” ### Daily Repentance Shortly after he was called as President of the church, President Nelson began teaching us about daily repentance. I think this teaching fundamentally changed my view of repentance from being something burdensome to something that lightened and uplifted my life. “Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day. When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ! ### Personal Experience Recently, I’ve felt a lack of the Spirit in my life. That’s been really hard for me and I’ve been struggling to understand why. Finally, as I was pondering, I realized there were some things in my life that I had not repented for. I humbly went to my Father in Heaven and prayed sincerely for forgiveness. I confessed fully to Him what I had done - which in itself was cathartic. It can be hard to admit, even to one who knows, that you have failed. Then, it came. I felt a spiritual confirmation that I was forgiven. I felt peace. I felt the love of my Savior. I sometimes fear that we will feel like we come into this life with a punch ticket, and once it’s filled, we can’t repent any longer. Or at least, the Lord will be slower to move or less enthusiastic to rescue us. But this cannot be further from the truth. Mosiah 26:30 clearly states, “Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.” Alma 7:12 expresses the depth of the atonement and the Savior’s ability and willingness to help us, “he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” ### Conclusion So, starting where we began, why did you come to church today? What was your motivation? I hope that, for each of us, we realize the great blessing weekly attendance and the opportunity to take the sacrament is. I hope we take advantage of daily repentance. As I have strived to repent daily I have found so much growth and felt so deeply the love of a Savior who knows me, who knows my weaknesses, my struggles, my repeated sins, and loves me anyway. I’ve found forgiveness and peace and the restoration of the Spirit of the Lord, and I’ve found opportunities to do better and be better. Perhaps most importantly I have found a renewed vision of who I am. I’ve been able to see myself as the Lord sees me and believe that I can become that person. I pray that for each of us, we will take the opportunities the atonement of Jesus Christ affords us and choose to repent, to become clean, and to be forgiven. I bear my testimony that the Savior’s promises are real and far-reaching, and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.