42 Behold, he who has
repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no
more.
43 By this ye may know if a man repenteth of
his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.
Doctrine & Covenants
58:42-43
Are
you one of those people that when you’re totally sick, you will still avoid
vomiting at all costs? Some of my children are like that. No matter how awful they feel, they will
avoid throwing up; and if they do vomit, they will try to let out as little as
possible. But slowly they are learning
that after throwing up, and getting it ALL out, they start to feel a lot
better.
When
serving as a bishop, I have seen that it is the same with people coming to
confess sins. They have already done the hardest part by coming to my office,
but then they are seriously tempted to only partially confess what they did
wrong, or not totally own up to it. So I have used this analogy and invited
them to just get it all out, and reassured them how much better they will feel
afterwards.
It
doesn't matter if it is the type of sin you confess to the Lord, a bishop, or
the type of sins we confess to those we hurt; confession brings relief. All sin
brings us down and makes us depressed, angry, lonely, and spiritually sick. Don’t
try to learn to live with it like so many do. Foolishly, some try to deal with
the long term misery in order to avoid the short term pain of confession. The
short term pain is worth the long term enjoyment of finally being free from the
mistake.
Today’s Recharge:
Whether needing to confess to the Lord, a bishop, spouse, or just someone you
have hurt, you are going to feel much better once you have gotten it out and
owned up to your behavior. Is there some sin in your life you have not
confessed to the person you need to? Like the song says, “Let it go” by
confessing and rediscover the freedom from sin that the Lord gives us.
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