Let’s face it, we all make mistakes. I’ll be the first to admit I’m far from perfect. I’ve made plenty of mistakes over the years. But, repentance isn’t as easy as washing our hands.
As we go about our day, our hands get dirty. So we wash them. Good ‘ol soap and water does the trick usually. Sometimes we need to get out the pumice and scrub like crazy.
However, true repentance isn’t that easy. You see, when we truly repent, we turn away from sin in the hope we never do it again. Now, wouldn’t it be easy if there was a little checklist we could refer to in order to track our repentance process?
Here’s a little list of the 6 elements of repentance I found:
- Sorrow for sin.
- Abandonment of sin.
- Confession of sin.
- Restitution for sin.
- Obedience to all the commandments.
- Recognition of the Savior.
While the process of repentance can be difficult, it can be very rewarding in the end.
Remember, none of us are perfect, but through Christ’s atonement, we are able to repent for our wrongdoings and become clean.
(List adapted from ‘The Miracle of Forgiveness’ by Spencer W. Kimball for elements 1-5, and Richard G. Scott for element 6 in Ensign, May 1995, 76.)
