Closing the Sunday morning session of the April 2025 general conference, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, said that the Savior Jesus Christ suffered to “pay the price and provide forgiveness for repented sins.”
The Savior’s Atonement erases all repented sins and enhances His power to succor individuals in their mortal infirmities, President Oaks continued.
He also noted that the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred on those who repent and are baptized by water.
“Persons who have this remission of sins — and then regularly renew their cleansing by daily repentance and living according to the covenants they make through the ordinance of the sacrament — qualify for the promise that the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Lord, ‘may always ... be with them’ (Doctrine and Covenants 20:77),” he said.
President Oaks was among a number of speakers during the 195th Annual General Conference who addressed the topic of repentance.
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles opened the Saturday afternoon session by reaffirming the Church’s position on the topic of abortion: “By His decree, we cherish life and preserve life, and we choose the continuation of life once conceived.”
But for any who have experienced the deep pain and regret of having or participating in an abortion, forgiveness and healing are possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Elder Andersen testified.
“Forgiveness can come through the miracle of His atoning grace, as you turn to Him with a humble and repentant heart,” he said.
Joy and repentance
Also during the Sunday morning session, Sister Tamara W. Runia spoke to those who sometimes feel that repentance and forgiveness work for everyone but them — “those who privately wonder, ‘Since I keep making the same mistakes, maybe this is the way I am.’ Those who, like me, have days when the covenant path feels so steep, it’s almost a covenant hike.”
Sister Runia, who is the first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, said there was a time when she measured her relationship with the Savior by how perfectly she lived. She thought an obedient life meant never needing to repent; and when she made mistakes, which was often, she distanced herself from God, believing He was disappointed in her.
But she’s since learned that this just isn’t true, Sister Runia said. And if someone waits until they’re clean enough or perfect enough to approach the Savior, they’ve missed the whole point, she said.
“I testify that while God cares about our mistakes, He cares more about what happens after we make a mistake,” Sister Runia said. “Are we going to turn to Him again and again? Are we going to stay in this covenant relationship?”
It might be discouraging for someone to hear the Lord’s words, “If [you] love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) when they haven’t kept all the commandments. But it’s also a commandment to repent, Sister Runia said, adding that the commandments are a path away from pain.
“So when the Lord says, ‘Repent ye, yepent ye,’ what if you imagined Him saying, ‘I love you. I love you,’” Sister Runia said. “Picture Him, not scolding, but pleading with you, showing you how to leave behind the behavior causing you pain, inviting you to step out of darkness and turn to His light.”
The invitation to repent is an expression of God’s love, Sister Runia continued. And saying yes to that invitation is an expression of a person’s love for Him. Those who repent can picture the Savior smiling brightly with joy each time.
“Your repentance doesn’t burden Jesus Christ; it brightens His joy,” Sister Runia said, adding, “We don’t stay on the covenant path by never making a mistake. We stay on the path by repenting every day. And when we’re repenting, God forgives without shaming us, comparing us to anyone else or scolding us because this is the same thing we were repenting of last week.”
Sister Runia said that coming unto Christ means asking Him, “Will You help me?” with hope, with a revealed assurance that His arms are always extended. This fresh view of repentance means that “even though we don’t have perfect obedience yet, we try affectionate obedience, choosing to stay, again and again, because we love Him.”
Personal revelation and repentance
Speaking during the Saturday evening session, Elder James R. Rasband, General Authority Seventy, highlighted how repentance often precedes personal revelation.
Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation is a plan of mercy, he said, and that mercy is particularly evident at times when people plead for forgiveness, such as when, in the Sacred Grove, a young Joseph Smith cried to the Lord for mercy. Three years later, the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith after he prayed for forgiveness of all his “sins and follies” (Joseph Smith—History 1:29).
“Somehow, his recognition that he needed mercy that only the Lord could provide helped open the windows of heaven,” Elder Rasband said of Joseph Smith.
This pattern of revelation following a plea for mercy is a familiar one in the scriptures, he continued. For instance, Enos heard the voice of the Lord only after praying for forgiveness (Enos 1:1-8), and King Lamoni’s father’s conversion began with his prayer, “I will give away all my sins to know thee” (Alma 22:18).
“We may not be blessed with these same dramatic experiences, but for those who sometimes struggle to feel answers to prayer, seeking the Lord’s mercy is one of the most powerful ways to feel the witness of the Holy Ghost,” Elder Rasband said.
Healing and repentance
Elder Scott D. Whiting, General Authority Seventy, also touched on the theme of repentance while speaking during the Sunday afternoon session.
He said that when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, they transgressed a law given directly from Heavenly Father. They realized they were naked, and Lucifer tempted them to hide from God.
The impulse to hide — what he referred to as the second temptation — after doing something wrong (the first temptation) is a natural human behavior, Elder Whiting said. An individual’s strength to avoid first temptations continually improves as they strive to become more like the Savior.
“We cultivate faith in Jesus Christ by repenting daily and keeping covenants that endow us with power,” Elder Whiting said.
He continued that if someone incurs a physical injury, their condition will deteriorate and may even become life-threatening if they don’t seek proper medical attention. This is true for spiritual wounds as well — except that spiritual wounds can threaten a person’s eternal salvation.
Don’t hide from those who can offer needed support, such as good bishops, branch presidents and other Church leaders, Elder Whiting said.
“Instead avail yourself of the miraculous healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ,” Elder Whiting said. “This is the very purpose of our existence: to obtain a weakened and mortal body that is ‘subject to all manner of infirmities’ (Mosiah 2:11) and that will succumb to, sadly, many first temptations; to progress even when we fall to these temptations; and to seek divine help after doing so, that we might become more like our Savior and our Father in Heaven.”
Humility and repentance
Elder Christopher H. Kim, General Authority Seventy, spoke during the Sunday afternoon session about how daily repentance brings humility to hearts. Humility, in turn, helps individuals always have the Holy Spirit with them.
Additionally, when individuals put their trust in the Lord and rely on Him, they will be supported in their trials, troubles and afflictions.
“If we sincerely repent, humble ourselves and trust and rely on the Lord, our hearts will be softened,” Elder Kim said. “He will then pour out His Spirit and show us the mysteries of heaven. We will believe all the words that He has taught, and our understanding will deepen.”
