“Our Savior’s Atonement reclaims us from death and, subject to our repentance, saves us from sin.” -Dallin H. Oaks
The power of the adversary is present in everyone’s life. Aside from Christ, there is no one who has ever lived on this earth, or who will ever live on this earth who has not been tempted, tricked, and attacked by Satan and his army of devils. No one has ever been able to fully avoid him. Although there are a select few who seem to have an unbelievable ability to resist him, all have been bitten by the serpent’s venom. He is very cunning in his ability to create a false importance in things of the world, leading us to engage in activities that are not on the Lord’s path to the tree of life. What a blessing that Christ has paved the way with his Atonement. He selflessly carries all our sins and burdens, all we have to do is hand them to him. Even this process Satan successfully makes difficult, holding people back, by emphasizing guilt and a false worry of what others think. He wants us to ignore the magnificent freeing ability of the atonement and worry about the feelings and thoughts of others. He wants us to believe that if we carry our own burden others won’t know about them. Assuming that our heavy load is invisible and secretive. We completely forget that by doing this he controls us. We aren’t able to release the hold that he has on us. We fall into the unhealthy and incorrect feeling of “it’s too late”, “I’ve already done it”, or “I’m not worthy of God’s love.” All are complete lies and couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Do not doubt your abilities. Do not delay your worthy impressions. With God’s help, you cannot fail. He will give you the courage to participate in meaningful change and purposeful living. We need to repent, straightway, and trust in His reality and capacity to assist us in knowing the abundant life. He will help us learn to be sensitive to our own needs and to those of others. Those who fear, procrastinate. Those who change for the better show progress straightway and become wiser and stronger. We need to develop the courage to straightway take the first step. We need to remember that children learn to walk only because someone encourages them to take the first step”. -Marvin J. Ashton
Confession is the plan that the Lord designed to aid his children back from heavy sin. “If you are presently struggling with the residual effects of any kind of addiction or of major unrepented sin, I urge you to unburden yourself by talking with your bishop–today. He holds priesthood keys that can help you.” ? (Wendy W. Nelson)
Bishops have been set apart as a judges in Israel for the Lord. They are given the keys that allow them to release the binding chains of the adversary and to free the one repenting. “These men strive to represent the Lord. Whether we are old or young, when Satan wants us to think all is lost, bishops are there to guide us. When speaking with bishops, I have found a common theme regarding confessions of disobedience or the innocent suffering from terrible wrongs. Bishops instantly want to express Heavenly Father’s love for the individual and a desire to walk beside him or her as he or she finds the way home.” (M. Joseph Brough)
Confession is for the one who has sinned. The purpose is not for embarrassment or mockery. The Lord already knows, so it’s not for his knowledge. It’s is 100% for the one ready to repent, to help rid them of the the heaviness of sin, and return to the redeeming, ever-present love of the Lord. Confession is vital to the repentance cycle because it breaks the shackles that Satan is holding the sinner captive with, as he “grasps them with his awful chains.” (2 Nephi 28:22) It assists in applying the power of the Atonement which is a “soothing salve that can heal our spiritual wounds and remove guilt” (David A. Bednar)
Which also restores hope, “His atoning sacrifice is, and forever will be, the first principle of the gospel and the foundation upon which our hope for “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” is built.” (Bishop W. Christopher Waddell) Most importantly it opens the windows of light and truth, so the repentant can feel the Savior’s redeeming love, where safety is found “against (the) ill winds that blow, even shafts in the whirlwind, and you will feel the rock-like strength of our Redeemer, upon whom if you build your unflagging discipleship, you cannot fall.” (Bishop W. Christopher Waddell)
Confession is a gift from the Lord. Bishops do not seek their position, but they humbly serve each of us, because they love us. They desire for you to feel that love of the Savior through the healing powers of repentance. Do not procrastinate! All the voices in your head are those of Satan’s; he is the only one desiring for you to suffer and continue down a dark road! The Lord, the bishop, your family, and friends, only want you to return to the light and receive a fullness of joy. You are not alone in the feelings of being lost–everyone who has had to walk the path of repentance has felt the same hesitation. However, everyone who has accepted the invitation of the redeeming powers of the Atonement, talked with their bishop, and fully repented have felt an assurance of peace and happiness that can not be duplicated by any temporal vice.
“As I have counseled with others seeking to repent, I have marveled that people who were living in sin had difficulty making correct decisions. The Holy Ghost would leave them, and they often struggled to make choices that would bring them closer to God. They would wrestle for months or even years, embarrassed or frightened of the consequences of their sins. Often they felt that they could never change or be forgiven. I have often heard them share their fear that if their loved ones knew what they had done, they would stop loving them or leave them. When they followed this line of thinking, they resolved to just keep quiet and delay their repentance. They incorrectly felt that it was better not to repent now so that they would not further hurt those they loved. In their minds it was better to suffer after this life than go through the repentance process now. Brothers and sisters, it is never a good idea to procrastinate your repentance. The adversary often uses fear to prevent us from acting immediately upon our faith in Jesus Christ.” -Elder Matthew L. Carpenter
“There are far better things ahead, then any we leave behind.” -C.S. Lewis
-Sherri Jorgensen
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