Repentance: Come Unto Jesus

These posts on Repentance are intended to be read in order beginning with Repentance: Introduction. At the bottom of each post is a link to the next post. This is the concluding post.

My concern is not and has not been to make new converts, but rather "to save from perishing a soul that has already known Christ," seeing to it that as many as possible pass "the fiery test ahead," keep the faith that many are losing, and so reach the goal of glory beyond. And by keeping the faith, I don't mean being a faithful member of the church. I mean as Alma said to his son Shiblon, "I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God..." (Alma 38:2 emphasis added). 

I've attempted, in this series on repentance, to use God's words which define repentance, and teaches why and when we must repent. Through His words He invites us, commands us, teaches us, sends messengers, and gives us additional written records and revelations. But He also warns us, using His justice or anger and wrath, to accept His mercy. I have, through this series on Repentance, attempted to use all these methods in the hope that perhaps even one, who is not presently repenting, will turn to Christ, repent and accept His mercy.

In this summary, I would like to make a comment about being "baptized unto repentance" as it sheds light on both baptism and repentance. In Mormon's epistle to his son Moroni, found in Moroni 8, we find a clear analysis of why we are baptized unto repentance, and not just baptized. The distinction is important. Baptism is not an end, but the beginning.  Baptism is not only the first fruits of our repentance, but we are baptized unto repentance, even those who are baptized after the age of accountability. It is the ordinance that both follows and precedes repentance in one instance, and precedes repentance in another. Note that in this epistle Mormon is teaching us the words of Christ. 

He says: "Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it had no power over them..." (Moroni 8:8 emphasis added).

Little children need no repentance because they are not capable of committing sin, and the curse of Adam, the fall, has no power over them.

Moroni then says, "behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach--repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children" (Moroni 8:10 emphasis added). 

So anyone who is accountable and capable of committing sin is sick, and needs repentance. All but little children who are not yet accountable, are under the curse of the fall of Adam unless they repent.

"And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins" (Moroni 8:11 emphasis added).

This phrase "baptism is unto repentance" changes the way we should teach baptism. It is not about becoming a member of the church, but about being able to take advantage of the gift of repentance. One cannot continually repent unless one is baptized, and, except for little children, one cannot be baptized unless one repents. And the Lord says to teach parents that they must repent and be baptized. I want to emphasize that both children and adults are baptized unto repentance, for with adults, baptism is the first fruits of repentance, continually repenting is also a fruit of repentance. And saying nothing but repentance unto this generation follows as a fruit of our repentance. Why? Having received the mercy of Christ, we want all to receive His mercy.

"But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world..." (Moroni 9:12).

As are those who are baptized and are repenting.

I want to end this series with an invitation to come unto Christ with these scriptures.

Jacob 1:6-7 "And we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy; wherefore, we knew of Christ, and his kingdom, which should come. Wherefore we labored diligently among our people that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness" (emphasis added).

In other words, before it is too late. Before God withdraws His spirit and the window for repentance closes.

Omni 1:26 Amaleki wrote: "And now my beloved brethren, I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved" (emphasis added).

I love that Amaleki says to partake of His salvation, and the power of His redemption.

3 Nephi 30:1-2 "Hearken, O ye Gentiles and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the son of the living God...saying: Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your enveyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abomination, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the House of Israel" (emphasis added).

Within this list there are any number of things we need to turn from. It is not cumulative. I might say a word about "your murders." Alma wrote that he murdered many of his people because he led them astray. We do the same when we do not teach using the word of God, so it is not easily dismissed that being a murderer may apply to us.

Alma 37:8-12 (Alma is instructing his son Helaman on the importance of the records that have been kept and preserved, for by these small and simple words kept on these records, shall great things come to pass.) He then writes "And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things (these words) should be preserved; for behold they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to a knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls. ...these records and their words brought them unto repentance; that is, they brought them to the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer. ...I only say they are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for God doth counsel in wisdom over all his works and his paths are straight, and is course is one eternal round" (emphasis added).

Moroni 10:32-33 "Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God Ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins that ye become holy, without spot" (emphasis added).

These are the promises and blessings of our repentance. 

I introduced the subject of Repentance with the statement that repentance is the most misunderstood doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because so many have bought into the traditional concept of repentance as a change of behavior and paying some penance.

Next we learned the Lord's definition of repentance means turning to Him and having faith in Him, and relying totally on His merits and righteousness. It is not a one and done proposition, but repenting is continual, and we endure to the end with faith in Christ to validate our repentance.

This was followed by why we need to repent. Simply, we repent to overcome our condition caused by the fall, to avoid the justice of God and receive His mercy.

Godly Sorrow was taught as the only sorrow that brings about repentance, and that Godly Sorrow is experiencing the goodness of God and our nothingness. Being sorry is not Godly Sorrow.

I wrote about why we need to repent, and why we are to say nothing but repentance unto this generation. Rather than live the gospel we are to proclaim the gospel. 

Next we read about grace and how we are saved by grace, not after all we can do, yet we are saved by grace after all we can do. This paradox manifests to us that grace is not something we earn by doing all we can do. But grace is something we attain to by repenting, which is all we can do.

The Lord has given us the means to identify when others are repenting. He tells us that "by their fruits ye shall know them." What are those fruits? One fruit we identified was that those who repent spend their lives saying nothing but repentance to others, so that they too can experience the mercy of God. 

You were introduced to fruits that are not fruits meet for repentance, and while we bring forth all manner of fruits, none of it is good.

The contrast between those who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and those who are of His church was discussed. The Lord revealed that only those who repent are of His church. We can be a member of record and still not be of His church if we are not repenting.

There are those who will not hear and will not know, notwithstanding they are invited to repent. To these the Lord has warned that if they do not repent they will suffer the justice of God.

Perhaps it was new to you that the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent. This truth sheds some light on the idea of the covenant path.

You were introduced to Michael from Duchesne, a modern type of Samuel the Lamanite, and we learned that the conditions that existed in Zarahemla also exist in Salt Lake City or other cities round about. We know that the Lord has and will continue to send prophets like Michael among the people urging them to repent.

Repentance was one of the second commandments given to Adam after he and Eve were cast out of the garden and brought the justice of God upon all who came after. Having failed to keep the first commandment (do not partake of the fruit), the Lord gave these second commandments.

Satan will and does everything in his power to deceive us, and God allows it, again showing us the doctrine of the two ways. We can even have joy in our works for a season, but by and by, the end cometh and we will be cast into the fire because of our works.

Parts 1 and 2 of All But The Very Elect Will be Deceived makes it clear that in order to not be deceived we must feast upon His words, be familiar with His prophecies, as events associated with the Lord's Great and Marvelous Work continue to happen. Part 2 shows us just how much detail is given concerning these events, especially in the Book of Mormon and Isaiah.

Repentance is the means to overcome our condition here. We know it is both a command and an invitation. We know that if we do not repent, we will be subject to God's justice. We know it is through the grace of God that we are made perfect. We know that we can recognize the fruits of repentance, one of which is to say nothing but repentance unto this generation. We see the contrast between the fruits of our repentance and the wild fruits that result when we take strength unto ourselves. We know that many will willfully refuse to repent and that as a result the Lord will eventually withdraw His spirit and leave us to our own strength. We learn that we are saved because of the righteousness of Christ, through His merits, and that we do not merit anything of ourselves. 

We "have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. ...Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ...feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life" (2 Nephi 31:19-20 emphasis added).

How great is our God! How great is the plan of His redemption! How great is it that we can rely on His merits and not our own! How great is it that we do not have to face the Justice of God! How great is it that he has so clearly described our condition on this earth and His expectations of us! 

Only two choices--Good and Evil--and we reveal to God every day, every minute, every second what we really want. So simple and yet brilliant! The one who is more "intelligent than they all" has devised a fool proof plan.

And one last thing that we have learned? Now is the time to repent. Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance. 

Tongue of Angels

This is written to my friend and brother Tim Merrill and all others who speak with the Tongue of Angels. 

I have been living in France now for over 16 months without being able to speak and understand French. I can hear that it is French, but cannot hear it in the sense that I can understand it. It gives meaning to what Christ said about  hearing but not hearing. And more than that, a French person would know within seconds, that I could never pass as a fluent French speaker. I have been studying a lot since I have been here, and I know a lot of words in French, but connecting these words to form phrases and sentences is a challenge, both in hearing and speaking. Reading is a little bit easier, but I still need to translate many things I read. Fortunately there are those close to me who speak English and I can get by.

I have made the analogy before that the word of God is like another language or a language where God uses our own language so that we can learn to hear and speak His words. The Church has translated His words into many languages, so that many can now use their own language to understand and learn His words. And He has given us the necessary tools to know they are His words and how He uses and defines them. I have spent the last 30 years feasting upon and diligently searching His words. Before that I read the scriptures often, but didn't advance much beyond just doing my duty to read them. It was only after feasting, searching and praying, that I began to understand the Lord’s language and could hear His voice in His words.

His words, as Alma says, are found in me. Unlike my French, I am quite fluent in the Lord's language. I can hear His language when it is spoken, read His language when it is written and teach using His words. I am using language as in being fluent with His words, as, for example, a physicist is fluent with the words of her expertise, and speaks the language and can converse with other physicists. 

Except that the Lord's words are truth, light, spirit, even His spirit. And are like a two-edged sword, a sword of truth, which cuts through all the crap and silences all the noise.

Nephi called the Lord's language the tongue of angels. It is called the tongue of angels, because "angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 31:14; 32:3 emphasis added). 

The problem is that even though many may have His words, they never learn to speak with or hear the tongue of angels. Why? Because, like me in French, they only know some words, cannot connect them, cannot define them, cannot hear them, cannot speak them, have not feasted upon, and have not diligently searched the words of Christ to the point that His words become their words. 

Christ expounded upon His words as found in the scriptures. He said: "These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations" (3 Nephi 26:2). He then expounded upon them "from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory..." (3 Nephi 26:3).

After expounding upon all things written, it was said that "there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people..." (3 Nephi 26:6). And what do we have? We have only the "lesser part of the things (words) which he taught the people" (3 Nephi 26:8).

"And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things, then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them" (3 Nephi 26:9 emphasis added). But, 

"if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation" (3 Nephi 26:10; D&C 84:54-55 emphasis added).

This causes a problem for those who are feasting on that portion of His words that we have received, and are desiring all that the Lord has expounded, and believing what they received, because very few are doing the same. But even worse, very few want to! 

Therefore those who are learning the tongue of angels are left with very few people they can speak and converse with in the tongue of angels. 

Outside of the scriptures, there have been a few who have written with the tongue of angels, but very few. And what is remarkable to me is that those who are becoming fluent in the tongue of angels, always discover those who have written using the tongue of angels. And I speak of Hugh Nibley and Avraham Gileadi and a few others. But my experience has been limited to reading what they have written. I have never had a conversation with them using the tongue of angels.

But I have had conversations with Tim Merrill, and we understand each other. I am also fortunate that my wife Annie, who not only speaks English and French, is learning the tongue of angels, and is becoming very fluent. Another was my best friend Mike Howery and my former business partner and friend Curt Kindred (who was quickly learning). Both are deceased, and I miss our conversations. There are a few others like Cody Tower and David Ferguson, but we have very few opportunities to converse with each other. It is enlightening, however, to share emails occasionally. I also enjoy conversing with some of the sister missionaries assigned to our ward. They are receptive and open to the word of God. I wish there were others, like some of my children or grandchildren, and I am still hoping that someday we can have a conversation in the tongue of angels.

I am sure there are many who can speak with the tongue of angels, but I don't know them. So that leaves me with Tim and Annie. Annie I can talk with everyday, and she is the greatest blessing in my life for many reasons, one of which is her willingness to learn and speak with the tongue of angels. She teaches me things that I don't see, and she has the advantage of learning the word of God in both French and English.

Tim writes a blog and I am nourished every time I read and re-read his posts. We have had many opportunities to teach each other and increase our fluency in the tongue of angels. And before I left for France we could have lunch together and just talk to each other. Often I write what I post just for him to read and comment on, because I know he will hear what I am writing. His command of the English language opens up new dimensions to me. Both his poetry and prose are written in a language I understand and love. He is constantly expanding my mind and intellect, like one of his most recent post The Mind of God: Ye Are Gods. I discover new treasures each time and have wanted to write a post just using quotes from his blog posts, something along the lines of Nibley's Of All Things. Maybe one day I will get to it. 

Someone might ask: isn't it enough to just have the scriptures? Do we really need someone else to speak and write about His words? 

The answer is yes and yes. The portion of His words that we have presently allows us hear His voice in His words. But the problem is once we start hearing His voice in His words, they become our words, and we wish we were angels and could shout His words for all to hear! But we can't. So we write them so perhaps a few can read and hear them. And we learn from the Parable of the Sower, that there are very few who actually receive His words in their hearts, leaving us with few to converse with. 

And yes, we need others to write about and teach His words. God has given some the gift of knowledge and the gift of teaching the word of God. Those who have these gifts want to use them, but unfortunately in the church these gifts are not usually recognized or deemed important. So those with gifts, who want to shout the words they have received, will find a much more limited way to do so. And Tim has found his way to use his God given gifts of the Spirit.

I know that in God and Christ are found all treasures of wisdom and knowledge (2 Colossians 2:3). Tim knows that, and he uses God's gift to him to share treasures that he is discovering, with me and others. See, God's words are not just words we find on paper or digitally on our devices, but they are truth and light and spirit. They are experienced, not just read! Light is discernible, and as we receive more light and truth we increase in intelligence. And we can take it with us when we die! And the more of it that we have received the better it will be for us hereafter!

But do you know what is sad and frustrating? It is to try and start a conversation with someone who is not fluent in the tongue of angels, and has no desire to be! The words are spoken, but there seems to be no recognition or response to them. Perhaps we are so conditioned in tradition that we make the words of God of none effect. And when they are spoken, there is no recognition. I have found, however, that when teaching the word of God, there are those who are starving and receive it with joy, but then as the Parable of the Sower says, the cares of the world choke the word and it never finds its way to the heart.

They may be fluent in the language of religion and tradition, but not the language of light and truth.

I take seriously Jacob's admonition that we take the responsibility upon us, "answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day" (Jacob 1:19 emphasis added). 

And it is sad and frustrating that so very few speak the same language. In fact others can be critical that I am not more "mainstream" or that I have been radicalized. While I don't know for sure, I believe that I was released as a Gospel doctrine teacher in Arizona because I taught concerning the prophecies in the Book of Mormon, even though the curriculum at that time was the Book of Mormon. Others did not personally know of these prophecies and therefore thought that I was perhaps teaching false doctrine.

Tim also takes this responsibility seriously. In fact sometimes he will post so quickly that an old man like me can't keep up with him. But Tim is not writing just for others, but for himself as well. I know the feeling. He feels that there are so few he can converse with, that his writing helps him converse with the Lord and share what he has received with others. 

He experiences joy when someone repents as a result of reading the word of God in his posts. He knows that we do not "live the Gospel." We "proclaim the Gospel" to everyone who will hear.

But there is loneliness associated with it. I know he would like to sit with everyone one of his readers and converse with them, to not only see if they are becoming fluent in the tongue of angels, but to just share the treasures he has discovered with someone who will find joy in those treasures as well. That is what we have done together, and I miss Tim and our conservations together.

I love this promise:

"Then those who feared Jehovah spoke often one with another. And Jehovah heard it, and took heed, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared Jehovah and who thought on his name. They will be mine, says Jehovah of Hosts, in the day I make up my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him" (Malachi 3:16-18 emphasis added).