"Sin will forever be part of this mortal world. Sin draws us away from God. It diminishes our peace and joy. It inhibits us from receiving heavenly comfort and direction from the Holy Spirit." p. 73
"Sin will be part of each of our lives." p. 73
"It is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves." Moses 6:56
SIN & THE LAWS OF GOD
"While some sin may bring a feeling of temporary exhilaration, sin will never bring long-term happiness. Sin separates us form God and diverts us from our divine destiny." p. 74
"The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23
"Sin has consequences." p. 74
"There are different degrees of sin, and we should not lump all sin into the same category." p. 74
"The inappropriate tampering with the sacred creation of life is very grievous to God". p. 75
"We have all felt pain and disappointment in ourselves because of sin. We have all suffered guilt and regret. This is called remorse of conscience. It comes from not keeping the commandments of God and is the opposite of joy." p. 75
LIVING WITHOUT REGRET
The Apostle Paul lists the fruits of righteous living as being 'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.'" p. 76
GUILT & REGRET
"If the rebellion against God and His commandments continues without repentance, the pain and guilt are magnified in the next life, as the unrighteous come to realize the magnificent blessings the Father and the Savior have given." p. 77
"There is a constancy and permanency in God's laws. The scriptures tell us that these laws are as eternal as the life of the soul." p. 77
"The Savior has given us a striking vision for our eternal progression. He said, 'Ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect' ... The finishing of our souls will certainly not be concluded in this world, but we are to be, through the power of repentance and the Atonement of the Savior, constantly becoming more like our Father and His Son." p. 77-78
President Boyd K. Packer: "Save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. This is the promise of the Atonement of Christ ... Do not give up if at first you fail ... Do not give up. That brilliant morning of forgiveness will come." p. 78
SINS OF COMMISSION & OMISSION
"Doing things we should not do are sins of commission, and not doing things we should do are sins of omission." p. 78
Elder Neal A. Maxwell: "Many of us thus have sufficient faith to avoid the major sins of commission, but not enough faith to sacrifice our distracting obsessions or to focus on our omissions." p. 79
"One of the greatest stumbling blocks to receiving the divine gift of forgiveness is attempting to repent of a sin and not to repent of sinning. Repentance at its core is not turning away from one transgression, but turning our whole heart back to God." p. 79
"How can an individual ever feel forgiven from a serious sin of commission wen he omits saying his prayers, attending church, keeping the Sabbath Day holy, paying his tithes and offerings, reading his scriptures, and serving and ministering to others?" p. 80
"While overcoming sin may appear to be an overwhelming mountain to climb, it was never meant to be scaled alone." p. 80
LANCE
It's finally starting to come together for Lance. He has been so caught up in repenting of certain sins that he has forgotten that true repentance is more than that. As he texted back and forth with Emma this past week, she reminded him of something while she was in Sunday School this past week. "Lance! Do you remember that lesson in seminary when SisterJones had written all sorts of sins all over the whiteboard? It was filled with things like adultery, lying, stealing, wasting time, pornography and on and on. Then she had you come up to the front and face the board and take steps backward from the board to the back of the room. Just as you were getting to the back of the room, she had you turn around and there on the back wall, she had taped a giant picture of the Savior with his hands outstretched. I just remember her saying, 'Sometimes, we think repentance is stepping away from sin but really, repentance should be turning toward the Savior, and as we focus on Him, the sins will be left behind.' Lance, my good buddy, I think that's what you're finally figuring out. Keep focusing on Jesus and that's when things will really change for you."
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