Read: Mosiah 26-28
Mark: 26:29-30
"You always need to confess your sins to the Lord. If they are serious transgressions, such as immorality, they need to be confessed to a bishop or stake president. Please understand that confession is not repentance. It is an essential step, but is not of itself adequate. Partial confession by mentioning lesser mistakes will not help you resolve a more serious, undisclosed transgression. Essential to forgiveness is a willingness to fully disclose to the Lord and, where necessary, His priesthood judge all that you have done." --Elder Richard G. Scott
To ponder:
Why is confession an essential part of repentance?
I really needed these scriptures tonight! I don't know why they have been so special to me today; maybe it's because I am home alone, and it's quiet, and I could read and really think about what I was reading.
ReplyDeleteIt's been an interesting day! Today I went to lunch with good friends, and one of them called me a 'prude'! I was called this because I don't drink, I don't watch R rated movies, and I didn't agree with the actions of another person and said I wouldn't do that and explained why. So call me a prude! At first, I was a tinge bit offended--but as I thought more about it, I agree I am a 'prude'! And if being a prude means standing for what is right and true, then I'm just fine being a prude! I'm a Mormon and I'm proud to be one!
And maybe one other thing helped out today as well: When I opened my front door this evening, there was the most wonderful 'just because' gift from my daughter, Sarah! The package contained a wooden plaque that says: "The best thing about having you for a mom is that my children have you for a grandma!" Ahhh...made my day, my week, my month!
So...today's reading: I love that Alma sets the example for us once again. He was troubled and he prayed. He prayed so that he would know what to do. And the Lord answers him! Just like he will answer us if we will pray with a sincere heart and then listen for the answers. I love that in Mosiah 26:33, Alma writes down the words of the Lord. We can do this too! As we pray, study the scriptures and receive answers, we need to write these feelings and revelations down.
And I love that Alma's son finally comes around! This gives me great hope! We can never ever ever give up on our loved ones. We must keep praying and do our best to set a good example. And, Alma's son, Alma, shares with each of us that wonderful feeling of repentance and forgiveness--a turning away from something not so good to something much better!
And, I love the sons of Mosiah who went throughout the land trying to repair the damage they had done! Can't we do this too? When we have hurt someone or done something wrong, we can do our best to repair any damage we may have caused. It may mean swallowing our pride a bit (or a lot), but we can do this!
Listening to these scriptures tonight I actually wondered the same question as is posed today. Not necessarily in the same words, but I did wonder that all those who confessed were able to keep their names in the records of the Church - what is so important about that act? I think it is important to continue to keep in mind that everything the Lord asks of us is for us! So we are asked to confess are sins - not because it benefits him but because it benefits us. So I thought, how can I make this make sense. Because often times confessing something weak or sinful about myself certainly does NOT seem likes its loaded with blessings - in fact it often has the reverse results it seems. Imagine sharing a secret with a friend - it's a choice, you've decided to trust - the sharing of that secret is your choice. Imagine another friend discovering the secret - maybe because they you know so well or for whatever reason. When a friend discovers a secret about you rather than you sharing the secret the feelings with that friend can decline or twisted and awkward. Heavenly Father knows us perfectly. And He is omniscient and omnipresent - so He knows are sins and weaknesses and one day, we will need to face Him and our Savior and confess it all openly with them - we will need to have a 1:1(2, but they are one in every important way) and it's all going to come out one way or another. Wouldn't you be more confident if you've already hashed it out with them? I know I would be. It will be better for us all to share what we can of ourselves in our time (making that time now) and in our way, with a chance to explain and repair where possible - rather things being discovered because our minds are opened or things are shouted from the roof tops!
ReplyDeleteOther thoughts from today's reading: Blessed are those who are willing to bear the name of the Savior - in action! He will forgive us every time we repent. It must be a true repentance. We must also forgive one another - every time - or any repentance we attempt will be insufficient.
Don't let pride disturb your peace. Blessed are they who publish peace! If the only mission of a particular group is to lift themselves up and/or to tear others down - steer clear!
A true understanding that all are God's children would be reflected through an obvious desire to see all find salvation. Share the gospel!
To truly show our faith to God we must confess what He already knows. We must be honest with ourselves and God what we see as our transgressions and begin repentance. God commands that we do this. We all feel much better after we clean out our closets. Shed the things we don't use or use. Our closet is cleaner and we feel better. Heavenly Father wants us to be as close to Him as possible. He is giving us all the ways we can accomplish that.
ReplyDeleteAgh! Something weird just happened and everything I wrote disappeared. :(
ReplyDeleteWhen we confess our sins to the appropriate priesthood leaders we show God that we KNOW that what we did was wrong and that we're serious about fixing it. The natural man has a tendency to want to save face, and we naturally want to avoid broadcasting our shortcomings and ESPECIALLY our wrong-doings, and will often justify our bad actions so they don't seem so bad. We delude ourselves. But when we confess our sins it puts it into perspective (i.e. I didn't tell anyone because I knew it was wrong, and I'm sorry).
I love how the sons of Mosiah go around after they repent and they make amends to everyone and try desperately to undo the damage they caused and build a better reputation for themselves and the church.