This experience reminded me of the idea of death-bed repentance, where one lives in sin for as long as they think they can get away with it, then repent when they feel they're about to die. This is foolish, as some people die very suddenly, and none of us know how much, or rather how little, time we have left. Nor do we know exactly how long the repentance process will take.
I found the following quote on LDS.org. I'm not sure who said it:
We should take warning and not wait for the death-bed to repent, as we see the infant taken away by death, so may the youth and middle-aged, as well as the infant be suddenly called into eternity. Let this, then, prove as a warning to all not to procrastinate repentance, or wait till a death-bed, for it is the will of God that man should repent and serve Him in health, and in the strength and power of his mind, in order to secure his blessing, and not wait until he is called to die.
Just as it isn't wise to wait to roll the bins out until you hear the trucks coming, it's not wise to wait to repent until you're mortally ill or injured.
For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
Alma 34:32-33
Those who heard Elder Holland's talk on the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard may remember that he said that, "It is never too late so long as the Master of the vineyard says there is time," [Emphasis in the Original] but he also said right after that, right at the end of his talk:
Please listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit telling you right now, this very moment, that you should accept the atoning gift of the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy the fellowship of His labor. Don’t delay. It’s getting late.
[Emphasis Added]
I highly doubt that he meant to imply that we could procrastinate our repentance as long as we wanted and the there would always be time to repent later. I think that he meant that even if we feel like we should have repented years ago (but didn't), it's not too late for us to repent right now. It's my opinion that "right now" is the best possible time to repent. In fact, some people might say that right now is the only time anyone ever has to do anything. So if there's something we need to take care of (like repenting of some past sin or transgression), it would make the most sense to do it now.
1 comment:
Yes, right now is the best time. It is the only time we have. And it doesn't get easier by waiting (which I think I keep hoping).
It does sometimes seem confusing as the Lord tries to tell us "Repent Now" and "It's Not Too Late".
We want to take "It's Not Too Late" and change it to "It will be ok later." But if we choose not to repent now, it might not be ok later. For one thing, we become more and more entrenched in our sin. Our sin muscles and our excuses muscles become stronger and stronger than our righteous muscles. not good.
If we WANT to repent or wish that we had repented, but we feel badly because we really should have repented long ago, we still can. Satan would have us think it is too late for us, but as we live and breathe, we still can. How wonderful is that??!! How foolish we are not to accept the Lord's gracious offer and outstretched arm.
The sooner we turn to God and begin on the path to happiness and light, the sooner we can begin to receive His great blessings. WHAT are we waiting for?
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