Renpentance: Can I be Forgiven?

I find it interesting how Satan entices people to sin. He would have one to believe that a little sin is ok.  "Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God." (2 Nephi 28:8) He wants wants us to believe that telling one little lie will not hurt us, but we all know that that one lie leads to more and more until we are trapped.  This same pattern is used for stealing, cheating, pornography and many more sins.

Once we are trapped, Satan tries to keep us bound by telling us that we cannot be forgiven. He wants us to think that we have gone to far and committed to much sin that there is no way we can be clean again. That even the Atonement can not help us, that Christ is not there and there is no hope for us. He wants us to feel it is too late.

BUT THIS IS A LIE!

Christ is always there for us. His atonement has both healing and cleansing powers. We can break the chains that bind us and become Free again as we turn to the Lord. It is not to late.

One story from the Book of Mormon illustrates this perfectly. Alma the younger and the four sons of Mosiah were the "vilest of sinners." They were idolatrous men, and lead many away to do iniquity by speaking flattering words to the people, "giving a chance for the enemy of God [Satan] to exercise his power over them." They rebelled against God and tried to destroy the church. They were very wicked men.

In the Mercy of the Lord the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger were spared. For those who might not know the story an Angel of the Lord Appeared to them and declared unto them that the church was the Lords and also that the Power and Authority of God is real.

Alma the younger had the opportunity to repent and he explains his experience as such: "My soul was racked with eternal torment: but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more."

Repentance for Alma the Younger was not easy  but it was possible. After the repentance process he no longer felt pained or burdened. He was healed and made clean and pure again.

Although we might not have an Angel of the Lord Appear to us, we to may repent and be healed through Christ's Atonement .

To Repent we must:

1. Recognize our Sins
2. Feel Sorrow for our sins
3. Forsake (stop) our sinning
4. Confess sin to the Lord & person we sinned Against
5. Make Restitution (Do all that is possible to make right our wrong)
6.Forgive others
7. Then keep the Commandments (Go and sin no more)

I know that we can be forgiven of our sins we have committed. I know that through the Power of the Atonement we can be made Clean and Pure and be healed. I know that Christ is there and if we turn to him he can give us strengthen to break the chains that bind us we can have our soul Pained no more.