Repentance ...According to Mormonism

The word repentance in Mormonism has an entirely different concept than traditional Christianity. It's a process in which a person transforms from unworthy to worthy. But the process must be thorough and executed without error. The Concept[1] is as follows:

1. Faith in Heavenly Father and in Jesus Christ

2. Sorrow over sin

3. Confession to God, to those personally affected by the sin, and to one's bishop if necessary

4. Successful forsaking and abandonment of sin; coming to a point where one will never repeat the sin again

5. Restitution to the fullest extent possible

6. Righteous living, "keeping all the commandments"

According to this process of repentance we can see primarily in the fourth step, that the only sins God saves us from are abandoned sins. In fact former LDS president Spencer W. Kimball said these exact words himself in the 1982 October Ensign.[2]
In addition we see that the process of this repentance is not a focus of the heart but more so the actions and deeds that must be accomplished. Let’s examine the 5th step in light of the bible where Jesus forgave a dying man on the cross who was convicted for theft (Luke 23:43). What part of the process was fulfilled by this criminal that warranted Jesus to promise this thief paradise with God that day?
Spencer W. Kimball addresses this issue in his book “The Miracle of Forgiveness.” He writes:

"Another mistaken idea is that the thief on the cross was forgiven of his sins when the dying Christ answered: "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43.) These men on the cross were thieves. How could the Lord forgive a malefactor? They had broken laws. There was no doubt of the guilt of the two men, for the one voluntarily confessed their guilt.
The Lord cannot save men in their sins but only from their sins, and that only when they have shown true repentance. The one thief did show some compassion, whether selfishly with hope we are not sure. He was confessing, but how could he abandon his evil practices when dungeon walls made evil deeds impossible? How could he restore the stolen goods when hanging on the cross? How could he, as John the Baptist required, "bring forth fruits meet for repentance?" How could he live the Lord's commands, attend his meetings, pay his tithing, serve his fellowmen? All these take time. Time was the one thing he was running out of very rapidly. "No unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven." This thought has been repeated throughout the scriptures numerous times and is a basic truth. We may be sure that the Savior's instructions to the thief on the cross were comparable to his instructions to the woman caught in adultery: "Go your way and transform yourself and repent."

As the hours passed, the thief's life would ebb out and his spirit would abandon the lifeless body and go into the spirit world, where Christ was going to orga nize his missionary program. (See 1 Pet. 3:18-20; 4-6.) There he would live along with the antediluvians and all others who had died in their sins. All the Lord's statement promised the thief was that both of them would soon be in the spirit world. The thief's show of repentance on the cross was all to his advantage, but his few words did not nullify a life of sin. The world should know that since the Lord himself cannot save men in their sins, no man on earth can administer any sacrament which will do that impossible thing. Hence the mere display of death- bed faith or repentance is not sufficient."[3]

Looking at the 6th step we see that a member must keep ALL the commandments in order to follow through with true repentance. On Sunday June 1st, 1980 former Mormon apostle Bruce R. McConkie gave a devotional to BYU where he stated:

“The saints are cleansed by the blood of Christ after they keep ALL the commandments"[4]

In the book "The Miracle of Forgiveness" Spencer W Kimball writes:

"Your Heavenly Father has promised forgiveness upon total repentance and meeting all the requirements, but that forgiveness is not granted merely for the asking. There must be works—many works—and an all-out, total surrender, with a great humility and ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit.’ It depends upon you whether or not you are forgiven, and when. It could be weeks, it could he years, it could be centuries before that happy day when you have the positive assurance that the Lord has forgiven you. That depends on your humility your sincerity, your works, your attitudes"[5]


Are you forgiven?




Notes
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[1]Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual, Chapter 14.
[2]Spencer W. Kimball, "The Gospel of Repentance," Ensign, Oct. 1982, p. 2
[3]Spencer W. Kimball, "Miracle of Forgiveness," p. 166-167
[4]BYU Devotionals online from BYU
[5]Spencer W. Kimball, "The Miracle of Forgiveness," p. 324-325

Miracle of Forgiveness
Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manuel
BYU Devotionals
Ensign, Oct. 1982