15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.
17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
Faith unto Repentance – Alma 34:15-17
I’ve been thinking the past couple of days about Amulek’s admonition that we exercise “faith unto repentance.” Why does it take faith to repent?
When we become aware of something we have done wrong or of some deficiency in our character, it’s easy to become discouraged. We might ask rhetorical questions, such as “Why did I do that?” or “What was I thinking?” That is the moment when faith is required. If we really believe that we can be changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we will immediately begin the process of repentance, including acknowledging our sins and pleading with God to help us overcome them. On the other hand, if we allow our discouragement to convince us that we can’t change, that our recent behavior represents who we really are and who we will always be, then our progress will be stunted. We will not be motivated to take those actions which will unlock the power of the Atonement in our lives.
Today, when I fall short of my expectations for myself, I will exercise my faith unto repentance. I will take the actions necessary to overcome the deficiencies I am currently aware of, trusting that, because of God’s grace, I can become better than I am today, and can eventually be perfected.
Thank you!
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Thanks so much! I was studying about “faith unto repentance” today and this explains what I was having trouble understanding. 🙂
Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad you found this blog post useful. Have a great day!