PROVO, Utah — In a supernal act of love, the Savior Jesus Christ “suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him” (Doctrine and Covenants 18:11).
“I hope we and the missionaries we serve with will feel deep appreciation for the gift of repentance,” added Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “We should always remember what it cost our Savior to be able to provide that gift.”
Elder Christofferson spoke of repentance and commitments to change during the 2024 Seminar for New Mission Leaders at the Provo Missionary Training Center on Thursday, June 20. Addressing the new mission leaders alongside other general Church leaders, he shared insights from Chapter 11 of “Preach My Gospel”: “Help People Make and Keep Commitments.”
“Without invitations and commitments,” he said, “our teaching of the gospel is simply a sharing of information. It is good information, even glorious, but without action or application, it profits but little.”
A ‘series of invitations’ to repent
Inviting people to come unto Christ is a “series of invitations”: invitations to develop faith in Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and continue forward on the covenant path.
When Church President Russell M. Nelson invites everyone to “repent daily,” said Elder Christofferson, “he is speaking about more fully turning our heart to God each day. He is talking about moving forward, day by day perfecting our obedience to God and His commandments.
Similarly, when missionaries extend invitations, said Elder Christofferson, they are inviting their brothers and sisters to more fully conform their lives to God’s will and lay aside things that deprive them of His Spirit.
“Of course, we are not very good missionaries if we only issue invitations and nothing more,” he clarified. “If we understand our role, we realize that we are to prepare people for the invitation and also help them keep their commitment when they accept an invitation.”
Helping others in their personal path of repentance
He gave a four-step pattern from “Preach My Gospel” for missionaries to invite others to repent: Extend invitations, promise people blessings, share testimony and help people keep their commitments.
“It requires a conscious, intentional effort on the part of missionaries to help a person repent and prepare for baptism,” Elder Christofferson said.
This conscious effort means missionaries prepare each person they teach for their next step, seeking counsel through prayer and building lessons around invitations they are planning to extend.
Because of each person’s personal path of repentance, said Elder Christofferson, “it requires the Spirit’s guidance in all phases of preparation, teaching and follow-up.”
Teaching by the guidance of the Holy Ghost demands individual attention, rather than falling back on a familiar lesson plan, but this is what missionaries are called to do, he said.
“It is the Spirit that converts, and it is our job as missionaries to bring the Spirit into every setting and certainly to teach and testify by the Spirit.”
Repentance: ‘an individual exercise of agency’
Through a merciful Father’s plan, His children are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men” (2 Nephi 2:27), and “whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely” (Alma 42:27).
When missionaries invite others to keep commitments and help them to do so, they are helping them repent. However, repentance itself is not the power that redeems.
“Repentance is rather an individual exercise of agency that connects a person to the Savior and His redemptive power,” said Elder Christofferson. “It is Jesus Christ and the atoning grace in Him that removes the guilt of sin and sanctifies the soul.”
Missionaries can point others to the Savior by inviting them to live His teachings. As “Preach My Gospel” explains: “People are more likely to change when you invite them to act on a truth of the gospel and help them see how the change will bless them. They will change to the degree that they feel the Spirit and experience the joy of living the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Elder Christofferson testified that the sanctification of souls is achieved through the Lord’s Atonement, and missionaries can invite others to seek His sanctification in their lives.
“We sometimes forget what a sacred calling it is to invite people to partake of the divine gift of repentance — to ‘cry repentance’ (Doctrine and Covenants 18:14). By their call, missionaries are empowered to cry repentance in the Savior’s name.”
