The Joy of Repentance

Yesterday I wrote about how we must feel godly sorrow for our sins. Today I want to address two other important steps of the repentance process: confessing and forsaking our sins.

There is always hope because
we can repent

Once we've felt the magnitude of our sins through godly sorrow, we are expected to confess them. All sins need to be confessed to our Father in Heaven. Serious sins must also be confessed to a priesthood leader like a bishop.

Perhaps the most essential part of repentance is forsaking our sins. If we aren't willing to give up our sins, we haven't really repented. The Lord instructs us on this important principle in Doctrine and Covenants 58:43—

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

When we sincerely repent of our sins through recognizing our errors, feeling godly sorrow, confessing sins, seeking to make restitution for sins and then forsaking them, we can be partakers of the eternal joy of repentance. As President Spencer W. Kimball taught—

Repentance is ever the key to a better, happier life. All of us need it.

Elder Russell M. Nelson said—

[T]here is hope. Hope is linked to repentance. You can change. You can ‘come unto Christ, and be perfected in him.'

As we exercise faith in repentance, the Lord will bless us by forgiving us of our sins.