It can be hard to clearly understand how the Lord could not remember our sins once they are repented of. It’s difficult because sin is so heavy and dark, it can be all-consuming and controlling. It’s miraculous what happens with the power of the Atonement, as the love of the Savior literally lifts the heavy, lightens the dark, unbinds the chains that once had a tight grip. Through the Atonement we can have freedom from the poisonous bite of the serpent. It’s hard to understand how that happens, but it does. It’s absolutely real. We remember our sins, because that helps us not to make the same mistakes twice, it also allows us to be empathetic to others who may be struggling as we once did. I believe that memory that we hold is what causes us to question the scripture that promise the Lord will remember our sins no more. I believe this is possible through the power of the Atonement, the power from which true pure cleansing can take place. Which is why repentance must be done in the manner from which the Lord has designed, because he is the author of the laws which encompass the Atonement.
D&C 58:42 Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
The best explanation that has helped me better understand this is from a story I told in a previous post, about a retired detective. He had spent his whole life solving problems and had nothing to show for his hard work. He told me that “nothing has less value then solved problems.” He went in to explain that once the problem is solved it is boxed up and forgotten, never to be talked about again, it is as if they never existed. This is exactly how the Lord handles our sins. Once they are repented of, or “solved”, they have no value. They are boxed up and forgotten, never to be remembered again.
I have asked several other people their opinion on this topic, and I am going to include their responses in here as well, to give a better understanding and different perspectives.
Don: “Sometimes I say things I don’t know if I should say because I don’t have a prophet to quote to back me up. It’s good to stay close to the scriptures and prophetic interruption. I’ll just tell you what I think the Spirit has taught me. And it has always helped me understand the scriptures and gospel better. To start with, words ( from the languages of men) do not always have the same meaning within the context of the revealed will of God to men, as they do with the normal context of communication amongst men. Many stumble by trying to be too literal with words in the scriptures. Personally, I believe that the word “remember” means to “take action.” When we”remember Christ” we don’t just recall Him, we let our heats be changed by Him, and or actions and lives become centered on Him.
When He remembers our sins no more. He no longer takes ANY action to mere out justice. The Atonement satisfies all requirements of justice, and we are wrapped safely in the arms of His love. There is not even a minute amount of hesitancy. There is nothing to remember (or act upon) just unconditional love. I hope this helps. BTW I agree with her that He cognitively remembers and that He knows the end from the beginning.”
Craig: “Do you believe God can tell a lie? He is not like us where we say something but mean something else. If we repent, Christ’s atonement kicks in (which he has already paid for by the way), and then the Lord remembers our sin no more. It is absolutely literal, no symbolism here.”
Seth: “The Lord says he remembers them no more. He doesn’t say he can’t remember them, he chooses not to. He does know the beginning and the end, but he chooses not to remember them.”
Here is what has been said in General Conferences over the years:
“When you have done all within your power to overcome your mistakes, and have determined in your heart that you will never repeat them again, then … peace of conscience [can come to you] by which you will know that your sins have been forgiven” (in “Law of Chastity Vital, Girls Told,” Church News, Sept. 2, 1972, 7).
Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater.
The Lord said, “He that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven” (D&C 1:32; emphasis added). And He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). “Be faithful and diligent … and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love” (D&C 6:20).
And He declared, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (D&C 58:42).
Satan will try to make us believe that our sins are not forgiven because we can remember them. Satan is a liar; he tries to blur our vision and lead us away from the path of repentance and forgiveness. God did not promise that we would not remember our sins. Remembering will help us avoid making the same mistakes again. But if we stay true and faithful, the memory of our sins will be softened over time. This will be part of the needed healing and sanctification process. Alma testified that after he cried out to Jesus for mercy, he could still remember his sins, but the memory of his sins no longer distressed and tortured him, because he knew he had been forgiven (see Alma 36:17–19).
It is our responsibility to avoid anything that would bring back old sinful memories. When we continue to have a “broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 12:19), we may trust that God will “remember [our sins] no more.” -President Harold B. Lee
“The discouraging idea that a mistake (or even a series of them) makes it everlastingly too late, does not come from the Lord. He has said that if we will repent, not only will He forgive us our transgressions, but He will forget them and remember our sins no more. (See Isa. 43:25; Heb. 8:12; Heb. 10:17; D&C 58:42; Alma 36:19.) Repentance is like soap; it can wash sin away. Ground-in dirt may take the strong detergent of discipline to get the stains out, but out they will come.” – Boyd K. Packer
“This is not to say that sin should be covered, although that is the natural impulse of anyone who commits a sin. Rather than repent, we want to hide any mistakes or sins committed. But as Cain discovered when he killed Abel, he could not hide his sins from the Lord, for all things are present before Him. He knows of every disobedient act we commit, but–different from the general public–He, with His knowledge of our sins, gives the specific promise that He will remember them no more if we repent.
Washing dirty linen and repentance are intrinsically linked. Sin brings an uncleanliness before the Lord that must be reconciled. There is, however, a time and a place for confession and asking forgiveness. The scope of those parameters depends on the nature and the magnitude of the sin. Where there has been a public offense or a violation of public trust, the responsibility would be to air that wrongdoing in public and ask forgiveness. The span of our responsibility in repentance is to the Lord, His servants, and those we have offended.
There is a parallel between our garments being washed clean through the blood of the Lamb and how we wash our own dirty linen. It is through His atoning sacrifice that our garments will be cleansed. The scriptural reference to garments encompasses our whole being. The need for cleansing comes as we become soiled through sin. The judgment and forgiving are the Savior’s prerogative, for only He can forgive and wash away our sins. -Lynn A. Mickelsen (The Atonement, Repentance, and Dirty Linen)
“Satan, “the father of all lies” (2 Nephi 2:18), “the father of contention” (3 Nephi 11:29), “the author of all sin” (Helaman 6:30), and the “enemy unto God” (Moroni 7:12), uses the forces of evil to convince us that this concept applies whenever we have sinned. The scriptures call him the “accuser” because he wants us to feel that we are beyond forgiveness (see Revelation 12:10). Satan wants us to think that when we have sinned we have gone past a “point of no return”–that it is too late to change our course. In our beautiful but also troubled world, it is a sad reality that this attitude is the source of great sorrow, grief, and distress to families, marriages, and individual lives.
Satan tries to counterfeit the work of God, and by doing this he may deceive many. To make us lose hope, feel miserable like himself, and believe that we are beyond forgiveness, Satan might even misuse words from the scriptures that emphasize the justice of God, in order to imply that there is no mercy. -Dieter F. Uchtdorf (Point of Safe Return)
-Sherri Jorgensen
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