Lessons on the Plan of Salvation
Lesson No. Twenty-Five

Repentance is a Great Blessing and an Essential Need in Our Lives

Repentance is a commandment of God, and it involves a change of mind and of heart – Many people do not understand the doctrine of repentance.  Repentance is often thought of as suffering, sorrow, punishment, and/or remorse.  These may precede repentance, but they are not repentance.  Repentance requires “a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined…. Repentance is not optional for salvation; it is a commandment of God” (LDS Bible Dictionary, Repentance, p. 760-61).

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and the Hebrew word used to teach repentance is shube.  The underlying concept of shube is that a kind, wise, gentle, loving Father in Heaven pleads with us to shube, or turn back to him – to leave unhappiness, sorrow, regret, and despair behind and turn back to our Father’s family, where we will find happiness, joy, and acceptance among his other children.  (See Theodore M. Burton, Ensign, August 1988, p. 7)

The Parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32 is one of the most profound of the Lord’s parables.  It teaches in a most touching way the meaning of repentance, and the great joy our Father has when we repent.  The following is a beautiful description of this parable:  

“Every line, every touch of the picture is full of beautiful eternal significance.  The poor boy’s presumptuous claim for all that life could give him – the leaving of the old home – the journey to a far country – the brief spasm of ‘enjoyment’ there – the mighty famine in the land – the premature exhaustion of all that could make life noble and endurable – the abysmal degradation and unutterable misery that followed – the coming to himself, and recollection of all that he had left behind – the return in heart-broken penitence and deep humility – the father’s far-off sight of him, and the gush of compassion and tenderness over this poor returning prodigal – the ringing joy of the whole household over him who had been loved and lost, and had now come home – the unjust jealousy and mean complaint of the elder brother – and then that close of the parable in a strain of music – ‘And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.  It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad; for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.’

“All this is indeed a divine epitome of the wandering of man and the love of God such as no literature has ever equaled, such as no ear of man has ever heard elsewhere” (Bruce R. McConkie, quoting Frederic Farrar, Mortal Messiah 3, p. 252)

When we come to ourselves we will repent – When the prodigal son “came to himself, he said, “How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father” (Vs 17-18).  This is a perfect description of repentance. 

The habit of repentance – If we will immediately repent of any sin that comes in our lives, and quickly turn back to the Lord, we will form a pattern and a habit that will not be broken.  If we repent we will then escape the pain, sorrow, suffering and despair that comes from disobedience, and we will enjoy peace and refuge, and the earthly happiness and eternal joy that come from repentance.