Repentance

What does it mean to Repent?  You've probably run into that word reading a book of some kind or a movie with some preacher giving a "crazy" sermon.  To Repent is to turn from our old destructive behavior to a more healthy behavior.  It is turning back to Christ and allowing him to work with us.  True repentance is more than feeling sorry or being told you've done wrong.  It is an act of faith to change yourself for the better.  You repent by:

1. Recognizing you've done something wrong. If you don't know realize you have done wrong, you are not going to change.  A moral compass (conceince) helps here.
2. Feel remorse (sorrow) for what you have done wrong. If you don't recognize the weight of the problem you are still not going to change and will go right back to the very thing that got you in trouble.  You're behavior will be, "Oh, I've done something bad.  But it wasn't that bad."  Not a good thought process.
3. Quit the behavior. Get out and stay out before it's too late.  Feeling sorry and knowing you've done wrong requires action against the behavior.  If your house was on fire are you going to let it burn?
4. Confess your wrong.   Depending of the gravity of the mistake will depend on who you need to confess your wrong to. A simple wrong against yourself, you confess to God in Prayer, and make an effort to fix it.  (Refer back to 3.)  Against someone else, you admit your wrong to the person you've done wrong to. Anything involving morality, addictions, or civil law; you better talk to your spiritual leader (bishop), parent or a trusted individual who can help you get help to resolve the problem.  It is important not to go back to the thing that got you in trouble in the first place.
5. Make restitution. Repairs will need to be made whether with yourself or someone else you need to make sure everything is restored to order.  I read a quote once that said, ‎"Until we take responsibility for what we have done, the Atonement can't help us."  Unless you clean up the mess it is still a problem.  It hinders your ability to progress.
6. Resolve never to do it again. just because the problem is fixed doesn't mean you won't come back to it. You need to decided NOW that you will never ever do that again for you own health and safety.  You are not going to have a snake bite you after getting treated for it the first time.  You should treat bad behavior the same way.

Sin is not being caught in the act and feeling bad. Sin is breaking a law.  God has set down rules for our prgression, not damnation.  As we obey these rules it makes it possible to excel. There isn't a grey area between justice and mercy.   You have done something bad or good.   Sometimes we make a mistake out of ignorance, that's okay.  Just don't do it again and everything will be fine.   Repentance is a way to become a more perfect person. 

One type of behavior that is just as destructive is saying "I can repent (or clean it up) later."  Such behavior makes a mockery of Christ's sacrifice for us because we are indugling in degenerate bahavior and expecting good to come from it.  Christ said, 'be ye perfect.'  Christ make it possible for us to be perfect.  But we need to become perfect ourselves by becoming a better person.  You can't turn refuse back into something good.  You have to remove it.  We just need to cast out burdens on him and follow him.  Christ had already paid the price for sin.  We need to take advantage of this gift NOW, so that we can enjoy the blessings of exaltation.  Once you are freed from your burdens you can enjoy life much more fully.  You become a more perfect person and are no longer held down by your past mistakes.