Comments on: RS/MP Lesson 5: “Repentance” (Joseph Smith Manual)

By: joespencer

joespencer — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:13:25 +0000

I'll also be interested to hear more from me on this theme of individuality. I've been working, now and again, on a paper on this very topic. I'm waiting for it to come together, though, in order to see what I really think about it all.

By: Robert C.

Robert C. — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:43:14 +0000

I finally found time to read this—thanks again Joe for posting the thoughts of your research on this. I’ll be interested to hear more from you on this theme of individuality (or should I say “single subjectivity,” or something else?) vis-a-vis various communities (heavenly and worldly, or are there 2 wordly communities to think about here following Celestial, Terrestrial, Telestial?).

By: robf

robf — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 19:53:58 +0000

Today I taught the Enos story to the 10 and 11 year old primary class, and was struck by how completely the Enos wrestling with God story fits this view of repentance as entering the presence of God to help with the work of the covenants. Especially Enos’s struggles in the Spirit to ensure the ongoing blessing of the covenants for his immediate (Nephite) and extended (Lamanite) kin.

By: joespencer

joespencer — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:17:23 +0000

Thanks, all.

Rob, I couldn’t agree more with your comments on the Nauvoo focus of the manual.

By: Jim F

Jim F — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:51:40 +0000

Joe, thanks for the way in which you’ve organized this. Its focus on repentance is wonderful.

By: NathanG

NathanG — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:26:07 +0000

I really like the “repentance as a wager” concept.

I’ve felt for some time that if I’m busy doing the Lord’s work, I have no time for sin. If on the other hand, I spend my time sinning, I have no time to do the Lord’s work (is this not an enemy of God?) If I am trying to repent of my sins, it is more than just turning from my sins, I now have time that was spent in sin that needs to be put to some use. If that time is not turned to something productive, what fills that void?

Repentance should be more than a mental exercise of attributing magnitude of offense to an action and returning that magnitude of repentance plus interest (which discussions of restitution often sound like). Repentance should involve both the heart and the mind. Repentance should be a change of heart (which shouldn’t really be a daily event). We can have a daily change of actions as we recognize incorrect things, but repentance as a change of heart probably isn’t a daily activity.

By: robf

robf — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:31:00 +0000

I’m glad that Joseph Smith’s Nauvoo period is so heavily emphasized in this manual, as I think some folks had started to think that those teachings were maybe too speculative, when in fact they appear to be the most fully developed and expansive of his teachings. They completely rock my soul.

This idea of repentance that Joseph Smith taught is very different from the CTR version we get in Primary, and rarely transcend as older members. By focusing on the “sin as stain” model, we tend to think as long as we keep our noses clean, or use the gospel as a hankie to clean up with when we mess up. Does this narcissism lead us to do exactly what we are urged to leave behind–narrow self-serving? Are we called to merely keep our own noses clean, or to help in the work of wiping other dirty noses?