31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you.
I love Amulek’s use of the word “immediately” in the passage above. Our Heavenly Father loves each of us with a perfect love and is eager to bless us. Our sins hold us back from progressing and from receiving His blessings. But because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can choose to humble ourselves and repent. When we do so, the plan of redemption immediately becomes active in our lives, helping us to overcome our sins, so that we can continue to move forward with guidance and power from God.
As Linda S. Reeves challenged us in General Conference last Sunday:
Oh, how I want…each of you, my brothers and sisters, to feel the joy and closeness to Heavenly Father and to our Savior as we daily repent of our sins and weaknesses. Each accountable child of Heavenly Father needs repentance. Consider what sins we need to repent of. What is holding us back? In what ways do we need to improve? (“The Great Plan of Redemption,” General Conference, October 2016)
I appreciate the fact that she talked about daily repentance. Instead of thinking of repentance as a reactive principle, which we only apply when we recognize that we have done something wrong, Sister Reeves encouraged us to proactively identify things we need to repent of and to apply the principle continuously in our lives.
Today, I will follow Sister Reeves’ counsel. I will ponder what is holding me back, and I will repent. I will remember that humble and sincere repentance will immediately bring me into contact with the saving power of God.
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