REPENTANCE.--HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATION.
Historical illustration of the truth of the statement made by Isaiah,
with which our last chapter closed, and which in effect says that the
Lord will have mercy on the penitent sinner and abundantly pardon
him--would be easy, whether in the experience of individuals or of
peoples and nations.
When Cain was crest-fallen because the offerings of his more righteous
brother were accepted, while his own half-hearted and begrudgingly-tendered
offerings were rejected, the Lord said to him, "Cain, why art
thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well,
shalt thou not be accepted?"[A] So it would seem that the Lord was
just as ready to receive Cain as he was Abel, if the former would only
repent.
[Footnote A: Gen. iv: 6, 7.]
In my first chapter on repentance (chapter xvii), I referred to the
case of Paul's conversion, and I only name it again in order to call
the reader's attention to the readiness with which the Lord forgave him
fully, and made him an honored servant in his church on his turning
away from his sins. In the same chapter reference is also made to the
case of Zeezrom, the lawyer, to Alma, the son of the first Alma, and
to the sons of Mosiah his companions, all of whom, like Paul, were
among the chief of sinners, because they persecuted the Church of God;
but on their sincere repentance, as in Paul's case, the Lord freely
and abundantly pardoned them. Among the remarkable characters of old,
perhaps none are more interesting than the person known in the Book of
Ether as the brother of Jared.[B] He is the prophet whom God chose to
lead away a colony from the great tower, built shortly after the flood,
to the choice land of America. After this colony had been led from the
tower into the wilderness, they pitched their tents in a land they
called Moriancumer, by the sea-side; and here they dwelt for four years.
[Footnote B: See Book of Mormon.]
During this season of rest and peace they forgot their God, and
neglected to call upon him. It seems, too, that the brother of Jared
was guilty of this thing, as well as his brethren. At last the Lord
appeared to the brother of Jared in a cloud, and reproved him for his
neglect, and for the space of about three hours he chastened him for
his sins. "And the brother of Jared repented of the evil which he had
done, and did call upon the name of the Lord for his brethren who were
with him. And the Lord said unto him, I forgive thee and thy brethren
of their sins; but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember
that my spirit will not always strive with man; wherefore, if ye will
sin until ye are fully ripe, ye shall be cut off from the presence
of the Lord."[C] Note how readily the Lord forgave as soon as the
transgressors repented!
[Footnote C: Book of Ether, in Book of Mormon, ch. ii.]
Time would fail me to tell of Laman and Lemuel, the elder brothers
of Nephi, who so frequently were in rebellion against God, and their
younger brother, whom the Lord had chosen to be a leader and a prophet
unto them. How often they assaulted his person, bound him with cords,
scorned his teachings, rejected his warnings and trampled the message
of God under their feet! Yet as often as they repented both Nephi and
the Lord forgave them, and that freely.
The experience of these persons, and that of many others related
in holy writ, is surely sufficient to prove the willingness of God
to forgive. Yet, take one more evidence of it, not from personal
experience, however, but from the spirit of the teachings of the Son of
God. On a certain occasion the apostle Peter came to Jesus and said:
"Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him; till
seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven
times: but until seventy times seven."[D]
[Footnote D: Matt. xviii: 21, 22.]
Since the Lord requires so much mercy, such a generous spirit
of forgiveness in his children, may it not be reasonably
concluded--inasmuch as every noble quality that man possesses, is, in
Deity, enlarged and perfected--that God is infinitely more forgiving
than he has commanded his children to be? Such a conclusion, it seems
to me, is but reasonable; and, indeed, it is needful that such an idea
respecting the character of God, should exist in the minds of men; for,
as I have remarked elsewhere, such is the weakness of man, and the
frequency of his transgressions of God's law, that unless he knows that
the Lord is merciful, slow to anger, long-suffering, and always ready
to forgive, he would become disheartened; gloomy despair would drive
hope from the soul; and, hope once destroyed, leaves man a prey to all
the fiends of hell. He will then give a loose rein to every passion,
and under the whip and spur of his desperation, ride recklessly to
certain and everlasting destruction. He would have no good, he would
know no evil. Lucifer-like, he would exclaim:
* * * "Whither shall I fly? Which way I fly is hell--myself am
hell! And in the lowest deep, a lower deep Still opening wider,
threatens to devour me!"
But man is rescued from this gloomy prospect by the assurance of God's
longsuffering and willingness to forgive; by knowing that while man
may drive compassion from his heart, God never will. Yet stay! there
is something more. Because of the loving kindness of our Father in
heaven, as abundantly manifested in his willingness to pardon our
transgressions, let us not lay the flattering unction to our souls
that we can go on sinning, carelessly and recklessly, without making
any effort to resist evil, relying, nay, rather, presuming upon the
kindness of God to forgive. Such a course would be doing despite to the
grace of God; it would be an unmitigated insult to the Most High; a
most presumptuous sin, deserving the severest condemnation.
The Lord is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from our
transgressions,[E] but it is on condition of our repentance, that we
confess our sins, and make a manly, determined effort to forsake them.
Therefore, while the tender mercies of our God, and his readiness to
forgive should encourage men "to pray and not faint," and by that means
seek forgiveness of sins, they should also remember that it is decreed
that the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man,[F] and
that there are some sins that may not be forgiven either in this life,
or in that which is to come.[G]
[Footnote E: I. John i: 9.]
[Footnote F: Gen. vi: 3.]
[Footnote G: Matt. xii: 31, 32.]