We are taught that as part of the repentance process is to forsake
our sins. To forsake is to leave them behind. To let them stay in the
past. It is much more that to simply quit doing them. It is to stop
thinking about them, to stop punishing ourselves. While we continue to
rehash all of the things we have done in the past, we cannot progress.
If our minds are so focused on the past, we will become blinded to our
future. That is why we must forsake our sins completely. That is why we
must allow the atonement to work in our lives--that is why we must move
on. If this principle is true in this world, it makes perfect sense that
it will carry on to the next life.
Think about it,
there is punishment that must be carried out for those who have sinned
and not repented. Our God is a just God--and he must abide by the
precepts that he has set forth. That means that those who do not take
the opportunity to repent now, must suffer later. It's called eternal
punishment. This sounds horrible, right? What kind of God could let his
children do such a thing? Surely not a loving one. Well hold up just one
second. Eternal punishment does not mean suffering for all eternity.
Rather, it is the suffering of God. It is "eternal" because it is named
after God, and he is eternal. It's a type of punishment rather than a duration of punishment. Just as Nike shoes are a brand of
shoe, not an actual shoe. So back to the principle of repentance. If we
are given the chance to forsake and move on from our sorrow in this
life, it would make sense that we will be given the same chance in the
next life. For those who have not repented, and have to go into eternal
punishment, they will have the opportunity to come out. God is just.
This is true. But he is also mercy. He wants all of his children to be
happy, and to repent. And guess what? He has already made a way for it to happen. It's called the Atonement. The Atonement is
the great equalizer for all men. It ensures that all men have the
opportunity to inherit eternal life. Through the Atonement, men are
given the opportunity to repent, and to forsake their sins. To move on
from the past, to move forward to a brighter future. And to acknowledge
their Savior.
