Hoping for your positive response, thank you , Im sorry I posted it here in leave a reply because I dont know where to post hehehe. A second area of spiritual restoration we need from our unrepentant sin that David reveals here is our need for restoration to fellowship with God. Just like when the Nephites went to battle against the Lamanites and prepared themselves with defensive armor, you must be prepared to defend yourself from Satans temptations each day. I just want to know how serious it is compared to other transgressions. about two years ago, I began indulging in inappropriate activities because I had completely lost faith in the church and had no remorse. God loves you and wants to help you overcome these addictive habits. In order to be effective, an apology must be sincere and heartfelt. Again, its impossible for me to say. You can do this!! I fell away from the church in high school and while in college realized the reason for my unhappiness was because of the lack of the gospel in my life. Godly sorrow does not come because of the natural consequences of sin or because of a fear of punishment; rather, it comes from the knowledge that we have, through our actions, displeased our Heavenly Father and our Savior. What steps do i need to take? And remember that it is your responsibility to help the women in your life receive the blessings that derive from living the Lords law of chastity. I am 30 now and 2 years ago, I gained a sure testimony of the Book of Mormon and that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God and I doubt not that he was. Good luck and God bless. In the Old Testament, two Hebrew words help us understand repentance. Good luck with your mission prep and well pray for you to resolve these issues quickly and completely so you can be in the full-time missionary force soon. What is sin? Matt, I commend you for your desire to serve a mission. My sin is pretty grievous with the law of chastity. Continue to strive to be close to you Father in Heaven. This is something I have wondered for a long time but never researched. Im glad you have the desire to serve. Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or cant even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. I am curious if my boyfriend can be married in the temple with me. I am willing to put those on the shelf for now because of my testimony. Laura, like you said, lets assume the guy has resolved his transgressions, because even if he didnt, thats between him and the Lord. That went on for about 2 years, on and off. For serious sins, such as sexual intercourse outside of marriage or other serious violations of the law of chastity, I strongly encourage you to confess both to the Lord and to his representative in the Church, your bishop. I feel like a correction needs to be made. After We Repent, We Need to Let Go and Trust God. I have been seriously thinking of switching to the LDS church. Jesus Christ suffered the penalty for our sins so we can be forgiven if we sincerely repent. How these gospel principles will strengthen your marriage. I am 25, I turn 26 in 8 months. But if i do, am i also going to tell this to my parents? He told me that I had to be clean for three months, but it is extremely difficult for me because it is really hard to control myself. If you have any reservations, I think it is better to be safe than sorry, so if youre not sure what to do, its best to talk to your bishop and tell him everything. Then you dont tell your bishop about it cause you still want to go on a mission but now you have stopped comittimg the sin. Why does the LDS church claim to be the one true church on this earth when there are so many other foundations to build upon? I appreciate your candidness. When I was 12 or 13, I left the Church after my dad stopped going after he stumbled on some information about Joseph Smith and Church history. He knows I have been involved in pornography but he doesnt know any details or that Ive struggled with masterbation. If it is something where I would need to wait a year, I would rather not ask or tell anyone I had the idea and I would stop considering it in the mean time. For teachers: Writing a list can generate interest and help learners focus their attention. For example, we keep our promises to do the dishes. If thats all you do, Satan has not won, you have, you didnt give way to his temptations, that is a victory for you! When repenting to the Bishop, if I am 18 years old do I need to tell my parents the sin if it is more serious such as the Law of Chastity or can I keep it between the Bishop and I? How do i know that the Lord forgave me? All of us can do better and be better than ever before.12. Good luck. In fact, after disobeying God, they hid from God (Genesis 3:8). How do these couples go from ecstatic levels of love and happiness to frequent conflict, bitterness, and in many cases, divorce? Everything has changed since then the out look on my life and what Ive been doing. Understand that you do not have to love him in order to be Christ-like. For myself, the people I love, and for what Ive done to make the savior suffer. The length of the repentance process will vary from person to person depending on a lot of circumstances. God bless. A few weeks ago I tried smoking marijuana for the first time and I have used it twice since then. (But watching these videos dont happen each and everyday, as far as I remember we only watched it for like less than 4 days not consecutive) From that day on, I started to think unwanted thoughts in my mind and have this feeling of arousal in my body, a way so l can put myself to sleep but I never tried to masturbate. I discovered masterbation around the age of 14 or 15 and have struggled with that since. Our sin must become a burden, a weight,. However, we can read some passages that show us that Adam and Eve could have repented of their sins. He may be all smiles to get you to follow, but he is pure evil. Good luck, and God bless. This is a lifelong process. This means that as much as possible we must make right any wrong that we have done. Then one day, she invited me to go to their house and play with their computer. Negative and positive sides of repentance Negatively, repentance means turning from sin, which is defined in 1 John 3:4 as "the transgression of the law" (KJV). It is a change of mind and heart that gives us a fresh view about God, about ourselves, and about the world. We must want to unload and abandon them. The power of sin is great. That accountability has not occurred since 1959, the last time the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pulled back the curtain to show what was coming in and where it was going out. Where as worldly sorrow comes from the fear of worldly punishment or consequence that we may find unpleasant, Godly sorrow moves us to repentance when we realize that God is offended by sin, that we have made a mistake, and that we need to repent if we want to live with Him again. Missionaries are called to teach faith, repentance, and baptism, so you future missionaries will need to be familiar with the steps of repentance in order to teach them effectively. The first step of repentance is to recognize that you have committed a sin against the Heavenly Father. Thank you so much Jimmy.. thank you for taking the time to answer.. what a relief! There are some scenarios where divorce may be the proper choice. Often the things we carry are petty, even stupid. Hey, Yes, we will falter. And all who meet you need to know what a true disciple of the Lord looks like and acts like. And Ive always lived worthily my entire life. But as we seek to increase our love for God and strive to love our neighbor, the light of the gospel will surround and uplift us." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf Forgiveness is a supremely wonderful blessing for those that repent. While working towards a temple marriage when dating, a couple must keep God's law of chastity, one of the basic guidelines of LDS dating. So I can anticipate the worst. Heavenly Father loves you and has provided His Son Jesus Christ as a sacrifice so that we can repent, change, and become clean again. I have not received a calling in the Church yet after being there for 2 years now and I am wondering if I will be able to because of my addiction. I hope you mentioned this to your bishop. Your answer to this question sends a direct message to Him about your feelings regarding His transcendent gift to you. Two scriptures come to mind that may help: How long does it take to convert to LDS? And after millennia of practicing his cunning arts, the adversary is experienced and incorrigible. If all you can do is a few hours, then do it and thank Heavenly Father and Christ and the Holy Ghost and those angles send to help you and take courage from it and increase from there. For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do (2 Nephi 32:5. May we use the power of the Atonement to allow the Savior to heal our hurts and sorrows to help us fully forgive our spouses. At night before we go to sleep, we should review our acts and words of the day and ask the Lord to help us recognize the things for which we need to repent. If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to talk to the bishop about it, then you definitely should. I feel like He is trying to teach me something and I cannot figure out what that is. Think of your friends and family members who have chosen to live without faith and without repentance. True repentance is not superficial. (The Divine Gift of Repentance,D. Todd Christofferson, October 2011). But as for being able to serve a mission in Feb or Mar of next year, from what I can tell, that shouldnt be an issue, assuming you stay worthy and continue to prepare yourself physically and spiritually. Moroni had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing. (Alma 43:19) You must Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). This period can be as long as three years for multiple serious transgressions and should not be less than one year from the most recent serious incident. i never repented of that sin. The Lord has promised, I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts (D&C 61:2). I have heard some really surprising things about the Church and the Prophet Joseph and left when my dad did. We must restore as far as possible all that has been damaged by our actions, whether that is someones property or someones good reputation. It will certainly help you to have her support during this process. Isnt repentance between God (the Bishop as His representative) and the individual? If its possible, PUSH (Pray until something happens) Dont feel like you arent getting an answer so why bother, keep praying, remember Ether prayed all day. I even considered her as a best friend before. Brethren, prayerfully seek to understand what stands in the way of your repentance. The priesthood leaders I have known generally have felt that a month, maybe two or three, of refraining from masturbating would be necessary repentance for that transgression. Identify what stops you from repenting. I am 18 years old and have been a member of the church since I was 8. He may want you to wait a month or two to make sure you have overcome the trials and temptations you mentioned, but it shouldnt be much longer than that. The adversary is quadrupling his efforts to disrupt testimonies and impede the work of the Lord. He will take your confession and make sure those things have been fully resolved and cleared up and then you will be able to be baptized. Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever (D&C 122:9). The Lord said to early Church missionaries, And in this place let them lift up their voice and declare my word with loud voices, without wrath or doubting, lifting up holy hands upon them. Good luck and God bless. We become free from the bondage of our sins, and we find joy. . We get some insight into repentance by studying the law of sacrifice, given to Moses as a type to point forward to the coming Atonement of Christ. Is pornography included in this? During my college days, I have a friend who is also a woman but is not a membee of the church who is veru dear and close to me. Remember the words of King Benjamin from the Book of Mormon: I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. Although confession is an essential element of repentance, it is not enough. Your bishop will be able to help you know what must be done to repent and become clean and when it will be complete. We cannot hide any act of our lives from ourselves or from the Lord. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deut 31:6. The scriptures tell us, All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and have truly repented of all their sins shall be received by baptism into his church (D&C 20:37). As we repent, we continually improve ourselves. What changed that and why Im looking for a way to change was my girlfriend and had a pregnancy scare. No bishop and none of your friends and family who truly know you, will think ill of you because you are working towards full repentance. Until shes doing things to me that is close to breaking the loc, it involves a lot of touching and kissing. Hi so when I was 12 I was sucked into the addiction of pornography for 5 months, I knew it was bad but I didnt understand how bad. The mission president wanted to keep my friend in the mission field, but he counseled with the mission department which ordered the missionary home. Focusing on your relationship with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, removes even the thought of your weakness and sins from your mind. If we have lied, we will lie no more. I know I need to confess to my bishop but right now I just moved to another state 2 days ago so I dont even know my ward yet. I believe that if a missionary has a problem with masturbation while in the mission field, they try to work it out there without sending him home. Repentance sometimes requires great courage, much strength, many tears, unceasing prayers, and untiring efforts to live the commandments of the Lord. The bishop knows about past masturbation problems now Im trying to overcome the habit but temptation is always there. The Church doesnt give local priesthood leaders a lot of direct guidance on the subject, I believe, because they want leaders to let the Holy Ghost guide them. The mark we aim for is Jesus Christ. 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