At One

I just want to bear my testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that it is real.  I know it works. I know that by repenting, which includes forsaking sins/wrongs/mistakes (whatever you want to call them) and turning to the Savior, and doing your best to follow and be like him, you can receive forgiveness and peace and joy. My experience has been thus every time I have done something wrong and taken the steps to become clean and worthy and forgiven, no matter how hard it sometimes may be.  It can take courage, but you have that courage, or at least can find it-and it is worth it!

Since I was a young child I have learned that the 5 steps of Repentance are:

1. Recognize-realize that you have done wrong
2. Remorse-feel bad about doing it
3. Remit-Hand it to the Savior (use the Atonement)
4. Restitution-Do all you can to fix it/make up for it
5. Revoke-Never do it again

It works! Often each of those steps have steps inside of them, but it works.  I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us and want us to return home to them, be worthy to meet them. I know that we each have an important work to do both in this mortal life and in the eternities.  Be ready! Be clean! Be prepared! Be worthy to accomplish it!  I know that if you seek, you will find. I have been able to find many times. I use the Atonement in my daily life and it blesses me so much helping me to feel good enough about myself to be able to progress and serve. I want to worthy to have the Savior by be always, my best friend.  I want to have a relationship thus:

"I was now grown familiar with the Lord Jesus Christ, he would oft tell me he loved me, I did not doubt to believe him; If I went abroad he went with me, when I returned bee came home with me. I talked with him upon the way, he lay down with me and usually I did awake with him. Now I could go into any company and not loose him: and so sweet was his love to me as I desired nothing but him in heaven or earth." (Robert C. Winthrop, "Christian Experience," 117)

Oh, how wonderful that would be!

I want to remain worthy in all that I think, say and do.  Do you? What are you willing to do for it?

Oh! That reminds me.  The other day when I was at the temple, I was doing baptisms for the dead and I noticed that my finger was bleeding.  But by the time that this came to my attention, I had already accidentally wiped my finger against my white (pure white!) outfit.  Ooops! I just hoped that it would come out when it was washed later.  I went ahead and was baptized for some of my ancestors and when I came back and was changing my clothes, I noticed that the streak of blood was gone from out of my clothing! Thankfully! I've thought about this experience many times since and the scripture that to me goes perfectly with this is Isaiah 1:18-

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

I know that once we truly repent of all we have done wrong, that the Lord forgives and forgets.  We get "a clean slate" or "clean clothes."  A Clean Soul.  Many times I do all the steps to repent, but then I dwell on the past mistakes and do not completely forgive myself.  This is often the hardest part of fixing a mistake, and I am still working on many things that I have this problem with.  But because I know that I am forgiven by the Lord, I am able to move forward, more happily than not and with a more firm determination to serve and follow Him always.