On Repentance...

I teach lessons on sunday to the young women. Todays lesson is on repentance. It reminded me of a year ago when I was talking to a church leader about the topic (and this was completely unrelated to Te's problem).

I said that "I used to think that repentance was about paying for our mistakes, about punishment. I have learned that our sins are already paid for and the only punishment involved is what we have done to ourselves. Repentance is about overcoming the things we do that cause pain to ourselves and to others. Repentance brings peace and happiness back into our lives."

From my lesson today:
Steps of Repentance
1. Recognize we have done wrong.
2. Covenant with the Lord that we will never repeat the sin. D&C 58:43 says, By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins- behold, he will confess them and forsake them.
3. Recommit ourselves to living a better life in all areas of the gospel.
4. Make restitution for the wrongs we have committed by,
a. Repenting in prayer to the Lord
b. Confessing to our bishop (if the sin is a major one)
c. Apologizing to those we have offended
5. The depth of our repentance must be as deep as the sin we have committed.
There is no easy way. It hurts, but it also cleanses.
6. Time. Time to prove ourselves to the Lord and to our fellow men that we have
committed ourselves to a new way of life.
7. Forgive ourselves, and those who have offended us.
8. Finally, the greatest blessing, the forgiveness of the Lord. We no longer look back with depression and hurt, but forward to the future with hope and joy and love for God, self, and all mankind.

I know that for Te, there will be a long road of repentance for him because of how deeply he was involved in pornography. It will be difficult at times, but I believe that each step will ease his burden a little more and will help him look "forward to the future with hope and joy and love for God, self, and all mankind".