Lessons from the Doctrine and Covenants 2025
Lesson No. Eight

Repent or Suffer - D&C 19

“And surely every man must repent or suffer” (D&C 19:4) – In completing His infinite and eternal atonement Jesus suffered only as God could suffer. D&C 19 is unique because Jesus speaks in the first person as He describes His suffering. Jesus twice commands Martin Harris (and each of us) to repent or suffer as He did. (See Vs 15, 20) In verses 15-20 the word “repent” or a derivative is used 5 times, and the word “suffer” or a derivative is used 8 times.

“Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your suffering be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men. Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit” (D&C 19:15-20, emphasis added).

Jesus’ suffering – To even begin appreciate Jesus’ suffering we must understand that while He lived in mortality He was both man and God, both human and divine. Elder Tad R. Callister wrote:

“For those few moments in the eternal spectrum called mortality the Savior yielded to the mortal plight; he submitted to the inhumanity of man; his body longed for sleep; he hungered; he felt the pains of sickness. He was in all respects subjected to every mortal failing experienced by the human family. Not once did he raise the shield of Godhood in order to soften the blows. Not once did he don the bulletproof vest of divinity. That he had Godly power did not make his suffering any less excruciating, any less poignant, or any less real. To the contrary, it is for this very reason that his suffering was more, not less, than his mortal counterparts could experience.

“He took upon him infinite suffering, but chose to defend with only mortal faculties, with but one exception – his Godhood was summoned to hold off unconsciousness and death (i.e., the twin relief mechanisms of man) that would otherwise overpower a mere mortal when he reaches this threshold of pain. For the Savior, however, there would be no such relief. His divinity would be called upon, not to immunize him from pain, but to enlarge the receptacle that would hold it. He simply brought a larger cup to hold the biter drink” (The Infinite Atonement, p. 119).

“Repentance is not optional for salvation; it is a commandment of God” (LDS Bible Dictionary, Repentance). “Since we are born into conditions of mortality, repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined. Without this there can be no progress in the things of the soul’s salvation, for all accountable persons are stained by sin and must be cleansed in order to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Ibid).

“Discover the joy of daily repentance – This is one of the ‘five specific actions that we can take to help us maintain positive spiritual momentum….Please do not fear or delay repenting. Satan delights in your misery. Cut it short. Cast his influence out of your life!....The Savior loves us always but especially when we repent….Walking the covenant path, coupled with daily repentance, fuels positive spiritual momentum” (President Russell M. Nelson, Conference Report, April 2022).

This life is the time to repent – There is repentance in the spirit world. (See D&C 138:57-59) But It is a great mistake to think we don’t have to repent in this life because we can do it in the spirit world. Repentance is more difficult in the spirit world than it is in this life. For those who should have repented in mortality but did not will find the repentance process much longer and more difficult in the spirit world. Apostle Melvin J. Ballard taught:

“A man may receive the priesthood and all its privileges and blessings, but until he learns to overcome the flesh, his temper, his tongue, his disposition to indulge in the things God has forbidden, he cannot come into the celestial kingdom of God – he must overcome either in this life or in the life to come. But this life is the time in which men are to repent. Do not let any of us imagine that we can go down to the grave not having overcome the corruptions of the flesh and then lose in the grave all our sins and evil tendencies. They will be with us. They will be with the spirit when separated from the body.

“It is my judgment that any man or woman can do more to conform to the laws of God in one year in this life than they could in ten years when they are dead. The spirit only can repent and change, and then the battle has to go forward with the flesh afterwards. It is much easier to overcome and serve the Lord when both flesh and spirit are combined as one. This is the time when men are more pliable and susceptible. We will find when we are dead every desire, every feeling will be greatly intensified. When clay is pliable, it is much easier to change than when it gets hard and sets.

“This life is the time to repent. That is why I presume it will take a thousand years after the first resurrection until the last group will be prepared to come forth. It will take them a thousand years to do what it would have taken but three score years and ten to accomplish in this life….The point I have in mind is that we are sentencing ourselves to long periods of bondage, separating our spirits from our bodies, or we are shortening that period, according to the way in which we overcome and master ourselves” (Book of Mormon Student Manual).

Testimony – To develop strong muscles, opposition or resistance is necessary. This may be provided by physical work or lifting weights. Likewise, if we repent in mortality our body provide the opposition and resistance our spirit needs to become stronger much faster.

If we repent in this life our time in the spirit world will be very useful. This is because in the spirit world “the limitations and restrictions of mortality will no longer curtail us, and [our] talents will be multiplied a hundredfold” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Ensign, Dec 71).

One of the restrictions of mortality is that our memory of our pre-earth life is veiled. If we repent now, in the worlds to come our memories of our pre-earth life will be restored much more quickly and easily than otherwise. This will allow us to do a greater work in the service of the Lord, and to bless our family and many others in greater ways than ever before.

Released on March 8th. 2025.