ANOTHER REASON TO REPENT

Having spent most of my life involved with the educational process either as a student or as a teacher, I have observed the complex process of learning with fascination. Because most of my teaching has been in the area of religion the process of learning which transpires between the Lord and His prophets has been of particular interest.

I read with a good deal of awe the overwhelming object lessons the Lord presented as He tried to impress mortal beings with the importance of having a magnified and eternal view. On several occasions He opened visions of the Heavens and the entire history of the world so that He might stimulate His prophets to learn their lessons sufficiently well in order to be able to convey them to their congregations. He caused the waters to cover the mountains of the earth, He caused bushes to burn without consumption and He caused the earth to stand still. The list goes on and on of the majesty of His marvelous teaching models.

One of my favorites, found in the Pearl of Great Price, tells of the prophet Enoch being shown the days of his grandson Noah’s generation. While watching he glances at the Lord and to his astonishment he sees that his God is weeping. We can see that through the use of this dramatic object lesson the Lord was indeed trying to demonstrate to Enoch the serious consequences of individual and societal choices. What a wonderful revelatory side lesson was learned as Enoch understood that his God was a Heavenly Father who manifests great passion for His children, even when their disobedience to His desires has reaped disastrous consequences. Enoch witnessed his Heavenly Father’s sorrowful suffering even though His children were drowning in the floods of water built up by self-generated storms of iniquity and immorality.

Another segment of the vision which was opened to Enoch was the reaction of Satan to the tragedies of Noah’s generation. This devilish being was also having an emotional reaction. The self-appointed Beelzebub, stimulator of deceptions, lies, wars and abominations was laughing and showing forth boundless merriment as he witnessed the misery and suffering of nearly an entire generation. It was one of his moments of triumph as he glanced upon the fruits of his efforts to make all miserable like unto himself and take away their agency as was always his plan for Heavenly Father’s children.

In like manner, the Lord used an elaborate object lesson to demonstrate to Moses another eternal truth. After opening up the history of this earth from beginning to end and denying Moses’ request to see the WHOLE picture of all of God’s creations, Satan is allowed to come to Moses and tempt him by trying to convince Moses of his own power and glory. Moses, having just witnessed the magnificence of the power of the Lord, dismisses Satan as a being of nothingness and left the poor devil shaking and trembling in his fit of defeated anger.

It doesn’t take too many of these dramatic presentations for us to begin to realize that while our Heavenly Father rejoices when His children receive blessings as a result of making right choices, that other being finds mirth and merriment as he sees us fall into the consequential misery and suffering which comes as a result of improper use of our agency.

As I have pondered upon these overwhelming scenes which were opened to the spiritual minds of the ancients and the lessons to be learned, I have almost, in certain moments, been tempted to repent and align myself more closely with the admonitions and commandments of the Lord. To be sure, the thought of bringing joy to my Heavenly Parents, to some degree, moves me toward making righteous choices. However, that which really makes my Irish, Welsh, English, American blood to be stimulated toward choosing the good is the thought of that evil beast getting a belly laugh while witnessing the self-imposed suffering and misery I have brought upon myself because of stupid, silly and weak decisions. As I couple these thoughts with the suffering I have undergone because of the lessons being taught in the proverbial school of hard knocks I am impressed with an ever accelerating notion to live a life more in tune with the Plan of Happiness.

I have also found that repentance makes us feel better. Repentance seems to open the pores of our souls to freshness and new light. Repentance unclogs the mind and throws out unneeded trash. Repentance eliminates time-consuming retracing of wandering steps and gives us the opportunity to walk on paths of straightness and narrowness. Repentance removes chains formed by unhealthy habits allowing the unshackled to find new bursts of energy which lead to growth. I have definitely become an advocate of the process of repentance and recommend it to be tried by all of Heavenly Father’s children.

Just a thought. Perhaps we might be more prone to repent if we stop and ponder the personal happiness we gain through troding righteous paths, envisioning how our good choices bring joy to our loving Heavenly Father while the misery which engulfs us from our sin-induced sorrow brings merriment to that fallen one. May the Lord aid and bless us to make eternally wise choices as we renew our efforts to bring gladness to Him whom we wish to please.

Scriptures: Moses 7:35-49, Moses 1:4-22, Alma 42:10-16, Alma 42:23-27, Luke 24:47, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Romans 2:4