Elder D. Todd Christofferson suggested “there should be a smile on our face when we speak of [repentance].”
He said there are many different views on repentance, such as God forgiving because of simple confession or that Christ did not even exist. However, “without repentance there is no progress or improvement in life,” Elder Christofferson said.
He suggested five fundamental gospel principles regarding repentance.
He said an “invitation to repent is an expression of love.” By repenting and inviting others to do the same, “we fail in a fundamental duty we owe to one another and ourselves,” Elder Christofferson said.
By praying for the opportunity to overcome sin, the Lord will “replace weakness with strength,” he said.
“Repentance means striving to change,” Elder Christofferson said.
True repentance requires “not only abandoning sin, but committing to obedience,” he said. To turn to the Lord, one must take upon themselves the baptismal covenant to completely obey Him. Without this, “repentance remains incomplete, and the remission for sins unattained,” he said.
To truly repent, it is more than saying “I’m sorry,” he said. It is recognizing the “acknowledgement of error and offense to God and man,” he said.
“True repentance is not superficial,” he said.
Finally, he said that no matter “the cost of repentance, it is swallowed up in the joy of forgiveness. He said that unresolved transgression will always result in more suffering than “any pain entailed in repentance.”
