My Talk I Gave On Forgiveness/The Atonement:

BEING FORGIVEN: (This talk was given on Sunday, October 19, 2008)
By: Jenny Spencer
What if we all had the chance to be forgiven? What is it like to be forgiven? What an honor that would be.
Well it is a tremendous honor to be forgiven, and it is entirely possible through the help and strength of the Lord.



While on my way to my Grandma’s house a couple years back, I had the misfortune of hitting a deer, crazy how it happened, the deer just kind nicked the edge of the car, and shot across the road, anyways, after being a little shook up from that I got to Grandma’s house that night, and after telling her my story of hitting the deer, she simply looked at me and asked… Did you stop the car, walk over to the deer, and apologize?
The reality of sin is when you distance yourself from the Lord. The Lord created the Atonement for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins, repent and “Be of One” Or as self evident, meaning, at one ment.
It is so great to have someone so self giving that he gave his life in such a matter, that he knew it would help bring us eternal life and happiness, even in our shortcomings. It may not seem like it, but the Lord, because of his selfless act , knows our pain, and through his strength can help us.
Along with his sacrifice, the Lord created Repentance, which would allow us to wash away all sorrow, and sin, and become one with him.
To paraphrase what Spencer W. Kimball said…. The essential elements to repentance are…
1) Feeling sorrowful of your sins. = You must understand what you’ve done is wrong first, to feel remorse for your sin.

2) Abandonment of Sin.= In order to carry out the rest of the steps, it is important that you try not to repeat your wrongs.
3) Confession Of Sin.= First confess your sins to the Lord. If they are more serious then that is the time to confess to the Bishop or Stake Presidency.
4) Restitution Of Sin.= You have to fix what you did wrong to show Heavenly Father that you truly care.
5) Obedience To All Commandments.= Full obedience brings the complete power of the Gospel into your life, with strength to focus on the abandonment of specific sins. It includes the things you might not initially consider part of repentance. Such as attending meetings, paying tithing, giving service, and forgiving others. The Lord said “He that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.”
And last but not least. Recognition Of The Savior, because through him, Repentance was possible.


“The next time Satan reminds you of your past. Remind him of his future.”
The most used weapon to thinking your not forgiven is your past, Satan will try everyway possible to bring this against you, but you’ve already done your part, so there is no need to accept Satan’s words of discouragement.
So now that we’ve gotten past all the hard stuff. Now comes the best part of it all. Rewards. Now I don’t know about you guys, but I tend to like rewards myself.
The particular reward that I’m referring to this time is The feeling of peace, and a deeper love for the Savior.
The Savior said.
“But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come.”
The Lord also said,
Mathew. 11: 28-30
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Brothers and sisters, it can be a long road through the process of repentance, but such as Heavenly Father went through long suffering for us, he is only asking us to do little compared to what he did. I am only a little more than halfway there myself, but I can tell you that I know and believe this to be true, I believe if we do what we are asked to do in this life, when choices in life need to be corrected, we correct them. I believe that he will and has done his part to help us understand the rest.
My favorite
scripture is Alma 26:12
Yea, I know that I am nothing. As to my strength, I am weak; Therefore, I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
I like this scripture because even with as much as the Lord was perfect in his obedience to God, He still does understands us.
In part to close, I would like to share with you a favorite poem of mine…
I would like to bear my testimony….