Elder Dallin H. Oaks
“Why is it necessary for us to suffer
on the way to repentance for serious transgressions? We tend to think of the
results of repentance as simply cleansing us from sin. But that is an
incomplete view of the matter. …
“When a person has gone through the process
that results in what the scriptures call a broken heart and a contrite spirit,
the Savior does more than cleanse that person from sin. He also gives him or
her new strength. That strengthening is essential for us to realize the purpose
of the cleansing, which is to return to our Heavenly Father. To be admitted to
his presence, we must be more than clean. We must also be changed from a
morally weak person who has sinned into a strong person with the spiritual
stature to dwell in the presence of God” (“Sin and Suffering,” Ensign, July
1992, 73).
