I am grateful to have been again filled with words to write this day. Often in the hub-bub of life the words don't come all at once, or even in small doses. Sometimes the words don't arrive even until the eleventh hour, like today. Regardless, I know that as I follow counsel given this last General Conference to "slow down a little, [and] proceed at the optimum speed for [my] circumstances ("Of Things that Matter Most", President Dieter F. Uchtdorf)" the Spirit can better work through me to write what the Lord would have me write.
With that said, I am excited to discuss today the repentance process, and how all of us can take advantage of the Atonement to improve our station and more fully partake of the goodness of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I will use two examples to illustrate this--Aminadab in the Book of Mormon, and biological process by which wounds are healed.
Aminadab was a Nephite by birth, who was raised a believer in Christ. At some point in his life he dissented from the Church, and joined the Lamanites in the land of Nephi. We do not know if he was a guard or a prisoner, but he somehow ended up among the 300 people who witnessed a miracle as brothers Nephi and Lehi were encircled by a pillar of fire. He heard the voice of perfect mildness which said "Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings...for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants. (Helaman 5: 29, 32)" And when all but Nephi and Lehi were surrounded by a cloud of darkness and left enduring a massive earthquake, it was Aminadab who first looked upon the prophets, noticing that they "converse[d] with the angels of God." When the others around him asked what they should do, it was Aminadab who recognized the truth, saying to the others:
You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you. (Helaman 5:41)
The Lamanites heeded Aminadab's words, repenting and calling upon God. Soon the cloud of darkness dispersed, the pillar of fire spread to cover the whole multitude, and every person there was filled with the Holy Spirit. After receiving a testimony of the truth, the three hundred went out, and told their family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances of what they had experience, until the "more part of the Lamanites were convinced." What a great turn of events this was, which mainly occurred as one man recognized the truth when he saw it, and had the courage to repent, and to help others to repent as well.
The story of Aminadab is great, but only illustrates the beginning of the repentance process. True healing takes time. This was elucidated by my stake presidency in Ward Conference last week, as they compared spiritual healing to the physical healing of wounds. Physical wounds heal themselves through three stages: the Inflammatory stage, the Proliferation stage, and the Remodeling stage. I will now briefly explain these stages, and liken them to the repentance process:
The Inflammatory Stage. This stage takes place in the first 1-3 days after the wound is received, and involves removing any foreign agents from the wound, performing a self-cleaning, and preparing the wound for healing. Just as this stage is the foundation for pure healing, pure repentance cannot happen if we do not remove from ourselves those noxious agents which bind us, and clean out our souls that spiritual healing may take place. This involves truly humbling ourselves, utilizing the proper priesthood channels when necessary, and ridding ourselves of the cause for our sin. In my opinion, this is the hardest part, and examples of this not done well are replete throughout the scriptures, as well as in modernity. I cannot understate the difficulty that it takes to become self-aware to the point at which one recognizes the causes of his or her sinful behavior. But the blessings are glorious as we come to know our wrongs, and as Aminadab, come to remember the Source by which healing can take place.
The Proliferation Stage. This stage can take up to three weeks, and is mainly concerned with the building of new tissue and skin cells. As sinful behavior is also habitual behavior, it is important to again fill our lives with the good so that the evil may not prevail against us (see D & C 21:6, Moroni 9;26). Spiritual proliferation occurs as we learn again to serve, first creating the good habit, and second letting the testimony of the truth grow in our hearts, that we may be fully nourished by our good works (see Alma 32: 28-43).
The Remodeling Stage. This final stage can take anywhere from six months to two years, and is the process by which the body restores the wound fully to its state before the wound was received. This may be the hardest for us to understand, that true repentance takes a very long time, even after we have reached the checkpoints of worthiness or spiritual guidance. Just because we act upon the Spirit once or twice does not mean that we are safe from the wiles of the adversary. We must remain ever vigilant thereafter, having a perfect remembrance of the pain that we felt before, that we may most effectively avoid falling into our sins again.
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God. (Alma 34:32, 42: 4)
I know that as we employ these steps into our lives, we will move toward the healing of our wounds, toward a spiritual endurance that will last until the end of this life, and will extend our life into the eternities, living with He who has bought our souls with a painful price that we can never repay. Let us ever be mindful of the Savior, and in this time of giving thanks, be ever grateful for the grace that is made possibly only as we confess our sins, and go about forsaking them throughout this probationary state.
Have a great week!
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