Righteous Persistence

Hey, Y'all! It has definitely been a hot minute! So many things have happened since my last post.  My best friend returned from his mission and has become my eternal best friend as of December 15, 2017!  So you could say I have been a little preoccupied with this whole getting married, moving, and going to school craziness.
The past few months have got me thinking about how blessed I have been.    I definitely have a plethora of things to be grateful for.  But to me, there is one thing that just might trump them all, the gift and blessing of repentance.  You might have noticed that the principle of repentance is something that I write about quite often.  Repentance is something that I have really come to love and appreciate in my life.  Repentance is not always an easy thing to do, but it ALWAYS has a positive outcome.

In this past October General Conference, I was reminded that repentance is positive by a talk given by Stephen W. Owen. In Brother Owen's talk, he speaks about how we can "win" in life, and how repentance affects us in four different ways.

REPENTANCE BRINGS HAPPINESS
Brother Owen shares the parable of the prodigal son.  I personally love this parable.  I think it brings great light to the fact that we all have moments in our lives where we must come to ourselves and make a redirection.  Like all of us, the prodigal son was hesitant to repent at first.  He was afraid of how his father would react to his return and change in heart.  I think we all have similar thoughts when it comes time for us to repent.  We might think that Heavenly Father won't forgive us, or that we have committed the same sin too many times to merit any forgiveness.

REPENTANCE REQUIRES PERSISTENCE
If we desire to be successful in anything in life, we must be persistent.  If we are not persistent, we will not succeed.  It is just that simple.  Persistence is an interesting principle.  The dictionary defines persistence as " a firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition."  We are often persistent in many things.  Some are persistent in their diet and exercise.  Others are persistent in their financial matters. The real question is, are we persistent in spiritual matters.  Are we making these spiritual matters a priority?  If your answer is no, or not so much, it is okay, because we can repent and be better.  That is the beautiful thing about the gospel.  There will always be a way for us to improve and be better.  This is made possible through the principle of repentance.  Repentance gives us hope and motivation to continue on the path.  I am so grateful for repentance, and knowing that all that is bad in our lives, that we have control over, can be made right through the gift and power of repentance. 

REPENTANCE IS FOR EVERYONE
One might think that repentance is just for those who are spiritual.  But in reality, repentance is simply a fresh view of oneself and the world.  If we are lacking in our ability to make responsible financial choices, we can repent, or change our perspective and make some changes.  If we are having trouble making healthy eating and exercise choices, we can find a new motivation and goal that will help us get to prime health.  The same principle applies to anyone that is religious.  We might feel that we are letting certain priorities like praying, reading the Book of Mormon, or other scripture slip into to cracks.  For me, I find that it is sometimes hard to balance spiritual life, work life, and school.  There are just so many elements that do not always mix.  However, I have found time and time again that when I make my spiritual life a priority above all else, everything seems to get better.  I somehow have more time to study, and studying magically becomes enjoyable.  I seem to do better at work.  I am happier and have more energy.  So we see that the principle of repentance is not something that we apply just once or twice in our lives.   It is an every day, or even an every moment tool that we can use to draw ourselves closer to the Savior Jesus Christ.  He is the one that makes repentance possible.  Helaman 5:9-11 reads:
O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world. And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins. And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.  And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty stormshall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. 

We must remember that our lives can be centered on Jesus Christ.  If we make a poor choice we can recover if we just have faith, persevere, and repent.