We came to earth to grow and progress. But all of us make mistakes in this process of growth and progression, either because we are ignorant or weak, or because we deliberately disobey.
What has Heavenly Father given us to help us with when we make these mistakes? REPENTANCE
QUOTE:
“There is never a day in any man’s life when repentance is not essential to his well-being and eternal progress” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 32).
Sometime we think that if we haven’t committed a serious transgression, we do not need to repent. But in reality, we all need to repent on a daily basis.
OBJECT LESSON:
Invite a girl to come up to the front of the class and stretch her arms out in front of her, with her elbows locked and palms up. Place the book on the palms of her hands. Explain that when we sin it is like burden that we carry with us. Each sin we commit adds to that burden. Place another book on top of the first one.
Give several examples of daily sins: gossiping; lying; cheating; stealing; thinking impure thoughts; telling questionable stories; passionate kissing; being disrespectful, disobedient, or immodest in words or actions; choosing the wrong kinds of friends; and participating in the wrong kinds of activities). With each example add another book to the stack.
As the volunteer to explain how they are feeling. Would the burden eventually make them miserable? That is how sinning can make us feel - burdensome. Ask the girls what would help the person feel better (putting the books down). How can we put down the burden of sin? REPENTANCE
QUESTION: So, what is Repentance?
Ask the girls to open to reading Doctrine and Covenants 58:42. After you read this read, also read the "Repentance" section from the "For the Strength of Youth" manual.
SCRIPTURE STORY:
You may want to review the story of Alma the Younger and how he repented. You can find this story in Alma 36:6-24. It is important to teach that while repentance is possible and you can be forgiven, it is better not to commit the sin at all.
Explain that our Heavenly Father loves each of us and wants us to be happy. Because he loves us, he has given us the principle of repentance, which helps us overcome our mistakes. When we repent, the atonement of Jesus Christ can work in our lives. When we do not repent, the Lord cannot forgive us.
What we should desire most is to become like the Savior. When we repent, we show that we have this desire. When we repent every day, we gradually perfect ourselves, we find happiness and joy, and we become more like the Savior.
There is the way Heavenly Father has instructed us to REPENT… which is different from the way the world would have you repent.
Hand out the following objects. Explain that each object can be used to handle stains on clothing. Ask the students how she would use her/his object to treat a stain:
Spot Treater - apply to stain and wash later.
Crayons - avoid the stain - create a decoration around the stain, making it look pretty.
Patch - cover stain.
Wet Wipes - try to wipe away as much as you can.
Explain that sin is like a stain on our spirit. Both the world and the Lord have ways of dealing with sin. Ask the group to consider how the items might represent teachings of the world. After listening to a few ideas, hand out scripture verses to students with objects and discuss.
Patch - D&C 58:42-43 (The world would have us hide our sins. The Lord wants us to confess them and then He will forget them. The sin will truly be gone, not just covered up.)
Spot Treater - Alma 34:33 (The world tells us to put off repentance. The Lord wants us to face up to our mistakes right away.)
Crayons - Alma 41:10 (The world tries to justify sin in many ways but calling sin by a different name doesn't change what it really is.)
Wet Wipes - Isaiah 1:16-18 (True repentance is not quick and easy. To become completely clean, we must follow the guidelines the Lord has set.)
Teach the 5 steps of repentance.
Step 1) RECONGIZE that she has sinned
Step 2) FEEL genuinely sorry for her sin
Step 3) CONFESS her sin to the Lord and to anyone she may have wronged (You will also want to talk about when is appropriate to confess to the bishop).
Step 4) DO all she can to correct the wrong things she has done
Step 5) PROMICSE to never commit the sin again
I brought in a basket full of oranges. I told the girls that we were going to talk about oranges. I asked them what was inside the orange and asked them to describe it (fruit, sweet, good). I asked them what the purpose of the peel was(protection). I then told them that we were going to consider ourselves oranges. The inside of the orange was us. Our bodies and spirits. Sweet and good. Our peel or protection was the gospel of Jesus Christ. I then I took in a glass bowl full of water. I asked them what they thought of when they saw the water. The answers I got were pure and clean. This represents the world in which we live. I then took a jar of dirt and poured it into the water. This is the sins and way's of the world. I put the orange into the bowl and asked the girls if they noticed how the orange floated on top of the water. I then proceeded to take the orange out and began to peel off little chunks of orange. For each chunk I peeled I named off a diffrent sin, such as gossiping, going to R-rated movies, being disobedient and unkind. After each chunk that I peeled I would put in the water and point out how it kept sinking lower and lower in the water. Finally when all the peel was off the orange had sunk and rested on the bottom of the bowl. I explained that when we sin this is what happens to us. We sink down into the world's level. I then took the orange and asked one of the girls to come up and try to put the peel back on. When she couldn't do it, I asked if there was any way to put the peel all back together? I then told the girls that the only person who could put back on our protection, was Heavenly Father. I further explained that even though we may stop a bad habit and a little of the peel may be able to stick to the orange, not the whole peel would. We need to use the gift of the atonement and repentance to make ourselves whole. We mostly talked about the little sins that happen daily such as gossiping and being disobedient or unkind. We also did talk about major sins and what needs to happen when we commit a major sin.
Explain that because all of us have made mistakes, we have all experienced the unpleasant feelings that mistakes bring. Even small wrongs cause us to feel unhappy. More serious mistakes cause deeper and longer lasting unhappiness. Ask the young women to describe some of the feelings they have had or that they have seen in others as a result of wrongdoing.
List the young women’s responses in a column on the chalkboard and discuss them. (The list might include guilt, depression, hopelessness, unrest, despair, and similar feelings.) Emphasize the idea that we cannot be happy when we are sinning.
Read Alma 41:10.
Explain that all of us have also known the good feelings we get when we repent. Ask the young women to describe some of these feelings. List their ideas in another column on the chalkboard and discuss them. (They may include peace, happiness, relief, contentment, joy, cheerfulness, calm, and similar feelings.)
QUOTE:
“It is through repentance that the Lord Jesus Christ can work his healing miracle, infusing us with strength when we are weak, health when we are sick, hope when we are downhearted, love when we feel empty, understanding when we search for truth” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Give the Lord Your Loyalty,” Ensign, Mar. 1980, p. 4).
Remind them of daily repentance and the joy repentance can bring to our lives.
HANDOUT: Candy Orange slices with a tag that says "Orange" you blessed to have repentance" and the scripture D&C 18:13.
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