One way John the Baptist helped the people prepare themselves to receive Jesus Christ was by inviting them to repent. This lesson is intended to help you better understand repentance and the joy that regular repentance brings.
What brings you joy?
Reflect on what brings joy to you. Consider listing as many examples as you can in 30 seconds.
President Russell M. Nelson taught the following about how we can receive joy in our lives:
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Official portrait of President Russell M. Nelson taken January 2018
When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him.
Repentance is changing by turning away from sin and drawing closer to God through the Atonement of Jesus Christ (see Guide to the Scriptures, “ Repent, Repentance,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Did you put repentance on your list of things that bring you joy? Why or why not?
If you did not think of repentance as something that brings you joy, what feelings or emotions come when you think of repentance? Why?
Why might someone not always immediately feel joy while repenting?
Ponder any questions you may have about repentance. Later in the lesson, you will have an opportunity to seek for answers to these questions.
“Repent ye. … Prepare ye the way of the Lord”
To help prepare the people to receive Jesus Christ, John the Baptist invited them to repent (see Matthew 3:1–3).
In the previous lesson, you studied what Mark and Matthew recorded about John the Baptist. Luke included additional details about John. Read Luke 3:10–14, looking for how John helped the people repent.
What changes did John invite the people to make?
How might these changes have helped the people turn from sin and be prepared to accept and follow Jesus Christ?
Study the following statement by President Russell M. Nelson. As you do, pay attention to what the Holy Ghost is teaching you about repentance and the Savior Jesus Christ.
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Official portrait of President Russell M. Nelson taken January 2018
Too many people consider repentance as punishment—something to be avoided except in the most serious circumstances. But this feeling of being penalized is engendered by Satan. He tries to block us from looking to Jesus Christ, who stands with open arms, hoping and willing to heal, forgive, cleanse, strengthen, purify, and sanctify us.
The word for repentance in the Greek New Testament is metanoeo. The prefix meta- means “change.” The suffix -noeo is related to Greek words that mean “mind,” “knowledge,” “spirit,” and “breath.”
Thus, when Jesus asks you and me to “repent” [Luke 13:3, 5], He is inviting us to change our mind, our knowledge, our spirit—even the way we breathe. He is asking us to change the way we love, think, serve, spend our time, treat our wives, teach our children, and even care for our bodies.
Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Whether you are diligently moving along the covenant path, have slipped or stepped from the covenant path, or can’t even see the path from where you are now, I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day.
(Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 67)
What stands out to you from President Nelson’s teachings about repentance and Jesus Christ?
When have you witnessed the blessings of repentance in yourself or others?
Why do you think the Savior is so hopeful that we will repent and is so willing to forgive us?
For the next several minutes, you will choose and study a specific aspect of repentance that will help you draw closer to and become more like Jesus Christ, have increased access to His power and peace, and feel greater joy. The following are specific aspects of repentance that you may want to study. Choose one of these to study, or study one of your own questions about the topic of repentance.
How do I repent?
How can I find more joy in repentance?
How can I overcome the fear of repentance?
What might a regular, daily focus on repentance involve, or what might it look like in my life?
The following are some specific resources to help you deepen your understanding of repentance. These are available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on the Gospel Library app. These and other resources can be used to guide your study of the aspect of repentance you have chosen. Consider taking notes and highlighting details that you find most important.
For the Strength of Youth [booklet, 2011], “Repentance,” 28–29
1. Answer the following questions in your study journal:
What did you learn from your study?
What advice would you give to someone struggling to understand why they need to repent? What would you want them to know and understand about Jesus Christ?
What has helped you to develop or strengthen your testimony of the joy of repentance through Jesus Christ?
Optional: Want to Learn More?
Luke 3:7. Why did John call the people a “generation of vipers”?
A Palestinian viper is the most common poisonous snake in Israel. Vipers are active at night and typically hunt by hiding and then sneaking up on their prey. When they feel threatened, vipers will coil their bodies, hiss, and strike at their opponents. Similarly, the Pharisees and Sadducees felt threatened by John because he drew many people away from their false teachings.
In the scriptures, types of people are sometimes symbolized by trees that produce either good fruit or bad fruit. To “bring forth … fruits worthy of repentance” means to change our desires and actions to follow God’s teachings.
In ancient Rome, publicans were tax collectors for the Roman government. Publicans were generally hated by the Jews, because the people viewed them as traitors to their own nation and because the publicans often charged more money for taxes than was necessary (see Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 3:19–20 [in the Bible appendix]; Luke 3:12–13). Some publicans readily accepted the gospel (see Matthew 9:9–10 ; Luke 19:1–10; Guide to the Scriptures, “ Publican,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Does repentance save us?
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Official portrait of Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, 2006. Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency, 3 February 2008. Made official portrait in 2008 replacing portrait taken in 2004.
It is not repentance per se that saves man. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that saves us. It is not by our sincere and honest change of behavior alone that we are saved, but “by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). True repentance, however, is the condition required so that God’s forgiveness can come into our lives. True repentance makes “a brilliant day [out] of the darkest night” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 362).
