Gospel Principles is an instruction manual published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons. Chapter 19, entitled Repentance, lists seven essential steps by which a person may repent and earn forgiveness.

Mormon Repentance

Step 1: We Must Recognize Our Sins

Is this even possible? We will likely miss something until we see sin as God sees it. Surely, this is not entirely possible. Because our hearts are hard and our eyes blind, we will never comprehend our sins as God does. Being imperfect and fallen, we will never see our sin as with God’s eyes. And surely, this leaves us all marked for destruction.

Worse yet, we make excuses and give room for certain sins. Imagine living a fully perfect life except for one tiny sin that you consider minor, insignificant, and so infrequent that it hardly matters. Will that single failing keep you from heaven? Let’s take a look at this from God’s perspective:

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

James 2:10 KJV

The guilt we think insignificant is seen by God as breaking everything written in the law. That’s big, even huge, and demands the fiery wrath of God!

Step 2: We Must Feel Sorrow for Our Sins

It is true that God is love, but is that all? God is love, but does He hate? Let me put this in terms we can understand by looking through the lens of our own perspective. We love children, so we hate abortion and child abuse. We love the Jews, so we hate the Holocaust. We love our black friends and neighbors, so we hate slavery.

The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

Psalm 5:5 KJV

It is right to feel sorrow for our sins. It seems better to tremble in fear, for nothing is more terrible than the wrath of God. Our sorrow must also be accompanied by fearful trembling.

Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Ephesians 5:6 KJV

Step 3: We Must Forsake Our Sins

Some think this step is possible. I wonder, why do they delude themselves? Do they honestly believe they live or can live without sin? We exist on a plane infinitely separated and significantly below God. From our low vantage point, it is impossible to see and fully comprehend our desperate condition. Unable to recognize every sin, large or small, how can our lives not be a constant and a direct assault against the glory of the almighty God? Sin is our common enemy. We are all guilty. On our own, can we ever hope to right ourselves?

¹⁰As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: ¹¹There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. ¹²They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:10-12 KJV

The apostle Paul viewed the weakness of his own flesh this way:

For I don’t know what I am doing. For I don’t practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do.

Romans 7:15 WEB

Mormonism tells a different story. The doctrine requires a total and unfailing effort from all who would repent.

And what is repentance? The forsaking of sin. The man who repents, if he be a swearer, swears no more; or a thief, steals no more; he turns away from all former sins and commits them no more. It is not repentance to say, I repent today, and then steal tomorrow; that is the repentance of the world, which is displeasing in the sight of God.

Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, pp.71-72

The miracle of forgiveness is available to all of those who turn from their evil doings and return no more, because the Lord has said in a revelation to us in our day: ‘Go your ways and sin no more; but unto that soul who sinneth [meaning again] shall the former sins return, saith the Lord your God’ (D&C 82:7). Have that in mind, all of you who may be troubled with a burden of sin.

The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, p.120. Brackets in original, pp.71-72

Those who receive forgiveness and then repeat the sin are held accountable for their former sins.

Gospel Principles, 1997, p.253

How can anyone attempt to live up to this standard and not fall into utter, soul-wrenching despair?

Step 4: We Must Confess Our Sins

I have no argument against this step, but should our confession be to men or God? When we sin against a brother or sister, confessing to the person we harmed is right. Beyond that, is there a biblical requirement to confess to men? Gospel Principles insists that confession to men is necessary, “. . . we must confess serious sins—such as adultery, fornication, homosexual relations, spouse or child abuse, and the sale or use of illegal drugs to the proper priesthood authority.”

Is God so weak that He requires the assistance of men to forgive the more serious sins? Is His blood too watered down, too thin to cover egregious sin without the assistance of men? If the answer is yes, what does that say about the power of the Mormon God?

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John 1:9 KJV

God does not divide sin into major and minor categories. All sin is rebellion against God and an assault on His glory. According to James 2:10, any sin is equivalent to committing all sins in the eyes of God. It appears that God does not view the law as individual parts. Rather, He sees it as a whole that is either fully kept or completely broken.

Step 5: We Must Make Restitution

Since every sin is rebellion and an assault against the glory of the God who made us and grants every breath, how can we make restitution? Since we are imminently below almighty God, how can we repay?

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6, KJV, emphasis added

A Strong’s Concordance translation for filthy is “ed,” pronounced “ayd.” The term refers to a woman’s menstrual flux.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul rehearsed his impressive resume to discount the value of his best qualifications, if any. Then, viewing his best against the standard of God, he wrote:

⁴Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: ⁵Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; ⁶Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. ⁷But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. ⁸Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, ⁹And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Philippians 3:4-9, KJV, emphasis added

Turning to Strong’s Concordance, we discover the Greek for dung is “skubalon,” pronounced “skoo’-bal-on.” The translation speaks of excrement.

Isaiah and Paul held a similar opinion of their ability to impress God with good works. Imagine going before a holy God to make atonement for your sins with nothing more than a box of soiled menstrual rags and steaming mounds of your own excrement.

We possess nothing worthy of repayment for evil deeds. Remember, filthy rags and dung represent our best efforts, not our failings. Sin is the one problem we all have in common, from which we cannot work our way clear.

by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel”. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Galatians 5:4 KJV

On the contrary, the Mormon church teaches another standard.

We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Mormon Third Article of Faith

Is salvation really gained by a combination of our works and the atonement of Jesus? Paul knew better. Jesus is our all and all. He alone is enough. Any attempt to save ourselves by combining our effort and Jesus’ contribution is a recipe for hell.

⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV

Step 6: We Must Forgive Others

No argument here.

On a personal note, I have been banned from all properties of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have never gone onto a church property and caused a disturbance. I have never threatened to do such a thing. And I never will. The Mormon people have a right to worship in peace, as do we all, and I would stand with them to defend that right.

Beginning in 2017, the Mormon church has forcefully kept me from attending the weddings, baptisms, ordinations, and funerals of those people I love most. I have an audio file of the church’s lead attorney promising further legal action against me if I attend even the funeral of my own Mother.

The church has manufactured evidence against me. I have been found not guilty in a court of law. As of this writing, nine police officers have been sent to arrest or drive me away. No action was taken against me on every occasion because I honor, obey, and sustain the law.

If it is a Mormon requirement to forgive, why has the church failed to forgive me of the offenses they imagined?

Step 7: We Must Keep the Commandments of God

In step 1, we have established that none of us are good, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We know that a lifetime of keeping the commandments produces nothing but filthy rags and dung. We have established that we cannot recognize all our sins. That being the case, how will we ever be able to keep steps 2-7? Nevertheless, Mormonism affirms that no salvation is possible unless we perfectly follow the seven steps of repentance and all the commandments from biblical and Mormon teachings!

Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.

Doctrine and Covenants 25:15, emphasis added

Questions for Mormon Bishops

• Doctrine & Covenants 58:43, “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” If you have not done this, how will you be saved?
• Doctrine & Covenants 25:15, “Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.” If you have not done this, how will you be saved?

Biblical Repentance

Change Your Mind and Turn

If we desire to repent, we should begin with an understanding of what repent means. In Hebrew, the word for repent is “nacham,” pronounced, “nä·kham.” According to Strong’s Concordance, it means to “make a strong turning to a new course of action.” The Greek equivalent is “metanoia,” pronounced “met-an’-oy-ah.” Returning to Strong’s, we discover the meaning is “change of mind.”

We see a common thread when the Hebrew and Greek meanings are considered together. It is a change of mind, direction, purpose, and focus. We see no requirement to turn from a specific sin, forsake all sin, or keep every commandment. In the original languages, we see nothing of Mormonism’s seven steps.

Why did God Repent?

In Exodus 32, the Lord was angry with the people of Israel and saw that they deserved the fullness of His destructive wrath. God is two things: He is just, so His fearful wrath is deserved and appropriate for all who sin. God is also love. He will extend mercy to save undeserving sinners under certain conditions. Moses, acting as a shadow of the Messiah who was to come, prayed to God for mercy and grace, and it was granted:

And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Exodus 32:14 KJV, emphasis added

Believe in Him Who the Father Sent

In this example, we clearly see that repentance is not a cessation of sin but a change of mind and a turning to a new course. The Mormon version of repentance only makes sense if God actually sinned. As Moses interceded for the people in a relatively small way, Jesus is the mediator between us and God with a reach that spans all eternity. Jesus is the reason God will turn from the destruction we all deserve and extend the grace we cannot earn.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 KJV

What, then, must we do to be forgiven? Jesus was asked what the people must do to be doing the work of God. His answer was astounding in its simple clarity and beauty:

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

John 6:29 KJV

Turn to Jesus

We can repent the Mormon way according to the seven impossible steps of forgiveness. This method requires that we trust in our own ability to turn from sin and keep every commandment fully. It demands that we approach God with our filthy rags and dung to impress and turn away His wrath. Doing this is evidence that we do not trust fully in Jesus. Instead, we become guilty of trusting in ourselves. In this, we turn from one sine to embrace another. How is this not trading one offense against God for another? Paul spoke of the fate of people who try to find salvation through a combination of Jesus’ atonement and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Mormon gospel.

Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

Galatians 5:4 KJV

Instead, what if we turn to Jesus and trust him alone? In doing this, we automatically turn away from everything else. Our vision, direction, love, praise, and devotion turn from the world and become directed toward Him alone, and we become new.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

1 Corinthians 5:17 KJV

This is when we find rest in His sure promise:

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:1 KJV