Elder Spencer V. Jones
Of the Seventy
Our loving Heavenly Father, . . . knowing that you and
I would all sin and become unclean, provided a cleansing process from sin that . . . actually
does work.
Every decision we make, good or bad, carries an accompanying consequence.
I grew up in what some of you might call a boring
farming community: Virden, New Mexico, population 135. One summer night
when I was
a boy, my cousins, some friends, and I were looking for ways to create some
excitement. Someone suggested we play a harmless prank on a neighbor. My
conscience
whispered it was wrong, but I didn’t have the courage to resist the enthusiastic
response of the group.
After performing our mischievous act, we sprinted
down the dark country road to make our escape, laughing and congratulating
ourselves
as we ran. Suddenly, one of the group stumbled, crying out, “Oh no, I kicked
a cat!” Almost instantly we felt a very fine mist settle over us. It carried
a horrible odor. What my friend thought was a cat was actually a skunk. It
had sprayed us in self-defense. Very few odors are as nauseating as skunk
spray, and we smelled terrible.
Dejectedly, we went home in search of a little
parental comfort for our pitiful plight. As we stepped inside the kitchen
door, Mom took one
sniff and shooed us out into the yard. We were cast out of our home. Then
she launched the cleansing process. She burned our clothes. Then, it seemed
that every home remedy or concoction in the community was volunteered in
our
behalf. Among them, we endured a variety of baths: first tomato juice, then
cow’s milk, and even harsh homemade lye soap. But the stench remained. Even
my dad’s powerful aftershave lotion could not overpower the stench. For days
we were condemned to eat outside under a tree, sleep outdoors in a tent,
and
ride in the back of the pickup truck.
After a while, naively thinking the smell was gone, we tried
to approach some normal-smelling girls. They would not allow us within yards,
shattering our fragile teenage egos!
Now, I must admit that being sprayed by a skunk is not a common
consequence of sin. Most consequences are not as immediate or dramatic. But
sooner or later, for all sin, a consequence will be paid.
At times, consequences of sin may appear to be very subtle
to the sinner. We may even convince ourselves, as we did before approaching
the girls, that no one will be able to detect our sins and that they are well
concealed. But always to our Heavenly Father and often to spiritually sensitive
leaders, parents, and friends, our sins are glaringly apparent.
While attending a youth fireside with Elder Richard
G. Scott, I noticed five youths scattered among the congregation whose
countenances
or body language almost screamed that something was spiritually amiss in
their lives. After the meeting, when I mentioned the five youths to Elder
Scott,
he simply replied, “There were eight.”
Isaiah prophesied, “Their countenance doth witness against
them, and doth declare their sin to be even as Sodom, and they cannot hide
it” (2 Nephi 13:9; see also Isaiah
3:9).
God has declared, “He that sinneth and repenteth not shall
be cast out” (D&C 42:28). Just as my cousins and I were “cast out” of
our earthly home as a consequence of our prank, we will be cast out of our Heavenly
Father’s home if we do not repent.
“When we undertake to cover our sins,” as I tried to do with
my dad’s aftershave lotion, “the heavens withdraw themselves; [and] the Spirit
of the Lord is grieved” (D&C 121:37). We lose our spiritual gifts. The
Lord has declared, “He that repents not, from him shall be taken even the
light which he has received” (D&C 1:33).
Each one of us has the light of Christ, or a
conscience. It constantly prompts us to choose good. Good choices yield
good consequences.
On the other hand, delaying repentance and continuing to commit sin is like
continuing to kick the skunk. The stench will become stronger with each
sin,
alienating us further and further from God and those we love. Soon we could
become like Laman and Lemuel, who, after continually making bad choices,
became “past feeling” and could no longer feel the still small voice (see
1 Nephi 17:45).
If I had responded to my conscience when it first whispered
that the prank was wrong, I would have avoided the whole stinking ordeal.
Through Nephi, the Savior taught that “no unclean thing can
dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever” (1
Nephi 10:21).
But our loving Heavenly Father, with a foreknowledge
of our frailties, and knowing that you and I would all sin and become unclean,
provided
a cleansing process from sin that—unlike tomato juice, milk, and lye soap—actually
does work.
He sent a Savior, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to
atone for our sins (see Alma
22:14).
In the Garden of Gethsemane, as Christ demonstrated
perfect obedience, His anguish caused Him, “even God, the greatest of all, to tremble
because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit”
(D&C 19:18). Then He allowed Himself to be “lifted up upon the cross and
slain for the sins of the world” (1
Nephi 11:33).
“He suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent
and come unto him. . . . And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!”
(D&C 18:11, 13).
The Savior has indicated how to know “if a man repenteth of
his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them” (D&C 58:43). Then
comes the miraculous promise, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow” (Isaiah
1:18).
If the Spirit is pricking your heart to correct something
in your life, know this: your soul is precious. Heavenly Father wants you
to be part of His eternal family.
I lovingly plead, “Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance” (Alma
34:33). Start the process now. Remove the stench of sin with the remedy
of repentance. Then, through the Atonement, the Savior can wash you clean.
I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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