followHIM - If I repent of a sin and then do it again, can I repent of the same sin? : follow HIM Favorites

Episode Date: January 17, 2022

The followHIM Favorites episodes now entail Hank Smith and John Bytheway answering Come, Follow Me study questions from the youth.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Follow Him Favorites. My name is Hank Smith. I'm here with the wonderful John. By the way, we are the co-host of a podcast called Follow Him. This year, our Follow Him Favorites is taking on a specific question given to us from a youth, a YSA, someone younger who just has a question about the gospel, and we're going to answer that specific question. And the question we received this week, John, is this idea of if I repent of something and then do it again, can I repent of the same sin basically over and over? Is that allowed? Right? What does God think about that?

I've received that question before from students who feel like or young people who feel like, man, I'm no good at repenting. Right? Because here I'm repenting, but I'm repenting for the same thing. What would you say about that? Oh, man, that's a good question. I think I had it as a kid, but I think one of my favorite synonyms for repent is to turn. One of the things that I find fascinating, Stephen Covey talked about it once, is that an airplane is off course about 90% of the time. You fly across the Pacific Ocean, New York to London or something, you are off course 90% of the time. You fly across the Pacific Ocean, New York to London or something, you are off course 90% of the time. But the airplane just keeps turning, turning back. The autopilot just keeps

kind of crosses the correct. It just keeps turning back to on course, finally lands on the numbers, pulls up to the gate, and you walk out the jetway exactly where you're supposed to be, which is incredible. You can be off course 90% of the time and get where you're going. Yeah, because you keep on turning. And that's why I like that synonym of repent is to turn. I like that. And that's a daily, that's just daily process. It's just like a journey, like a flight is a journey.

There's a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that confuses people. Sometimes, John, it's section 82, verse 7, where the Lord says, But unto the soul who sinneth shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God. And we've taken that to mean, oh, well, if you repent of a sin and then do it again, it's like you never repented and now you're guilty of all those sins. Which that's not really what the Lord says in that verse. We're kind of implying some things. It reminds me of a great parable Jesus told where he said, listen, if a man casts an evil spirit out of his house, he said, really, he meant his life.

If a man casts an evil spirit or a sin out of his life, but then he doesn't do anything else. He doesn't fill his house. That, that, that evil spirit or that sin is going to come back and he's going to find a vacant house, right? There's, he hasn't filled his life with anything. And so he's going to invite him, uh, this, this sin back and six of his evil spirit friends. So he said, and now that, that man is worse off than he was when he started. I think that's what the Lord is referring to here in section 82 is the idea of like, if you sin and you repent, get rid of that sin and you don't do anything else, you don't fill that spot, that void in

your life, then something else is going to come and that sin is going to come back and return back to your life. So I would say to anyone who's worried about this, keep repenting of that same sin. Keep casting that spirit out, but also put good things into your life, right? Start inserting more scripture study, more temple attendance, more prayer, right? All these basics, insert them into your life so those former sins can't return. That's how I read that verse anyway. And I found it to be a little more empowering than discouraging for students. Yeah.

You know, what's also encouraging to me, Hank, is that Jesus would tell, I mean, when the disciples are like, hey, how many times do I have to forgive my brother? And seven times, is that enough? And he's like, well, actually, and hyperbole is what? Seven times 70, whatever. Yeah, 490. So keep it tally, take a little notebook with you. No, that's not what he meant. He just kind of meant always. And I think if the Lord's going to ask that of us, he's probably, he's equally forgiving.

And he knows that we're going to need to keep course correcting a lot. So that gives me a lot of hope and hopefully it's helpful. In fact, John, you pretty much quoted the Book of Mormon there. Mosiah 2630, the Lord says, Yea, as often as my people repent, will I forgive them their trespasses against me? So how often can how many times can you repent? It seems that when the Lord says as often as my people repent, meaning he knows we're going to need to repent often. He's saying, oh, this isn't a one time thing.

This is a daily thing. As often as my people repent, will I forgive them? We have a very merciful Lord. Yeah. And it's got to be real. It's sincere, really is repentance. And I think you'll make progress when you keep repenting and those sins will become less enticing to you. That's an important point is to say that just because you returned to a sin doesn't mean that first repentance wasn't sincere. It was, it was sincere. And you're, you just keep trying. Was it, wasn't it Brad, our friend, Brad, brother Wilcox, who, who said, listen, worthiness is not flawlessness. That was the title of his talk. And it was, it's called being a disciple,

discipline, disciple, same word that you keep getting back on track. Now you don't plan to sin. No, that's not what we're after. But you're, you're trying, you're sincerely trying. And that's also what Brad said. You're not trying to hide it. You're seeing your bishop, you know, you are trying and make, to make those course corrections. John, what you just said reminded me of something that elder Renlund said in the April, 2015 general conference. He said,

quote, even if we've been a conscious deliberate center or have repeatedly faced failure and disappointment, the moment we decide to try again, the atonement of Christ can help us. This is the idea of the Lord understands even the deliberate sinner. You know, oh, I made a mistake. It's the idea of I actually willfully went after this sin.

Now I don't. I'm sad I did that. I want to turn it around. The moment we decide to try that, the atonement of Christ steps in. We tap into that power. Yeah, that's why I like that it's turned. Just keep getting back on course and you'll get to your destination with the help of the Savior.

But you got to keep getting back on course. The idea is I just won't stop trying. I can't say I'm never going to commit a sin again, but I can commit that I won't stop trying to become like him and do what he wants me to do. And I'm honest in that. I won't say I'm never going to commit a sin again, but I can commit that I won't stop trying to become like him and do what he wants me to do. And I'm honest in that. I won't stop trying. And over time, you know, Joseph Smith says we can eventually, we lose desire for sin. But he said it's a station to which no one ever arrived in a moment.

So it's a lifelong process. Just keep trying. And hopefully and prayerfully, that sin will become less appealing to you and less and less. And you'll taste the bitter and know to prize the good as we learned in Moses 6. It doesn't happen in a moment. It doesn't happen in a moment. And that's okay.

The Lord understands you. He gets you. He knows why you do what you do. He's not disgusted by you. He's not, what were you thinking? Right? He gets you. He knows why you do what you do. He's not disgusted by you. He's not, what were you thinking, right? He gets you. He understands your childhood, your personality, your DNA, your genetics. He understands all of it.

So go to him, the one who understands you. Well, John, let's take on another question next week. Sounds great. We hope all of you will join us for Follow Him Favorites.