Former BYU-Hawaii professor Steven Harper, addressed students and faculty on the topic of repentance and relating it to Joseph Smith. “I wish to teach and testify of this doctrine by drawing on Joseph’s autobiographies, revelations, and teachings to tell the story of Joseph Smith and hearty repentance,” he said introducing his message.
Brother Harper was introduced by his wife Jennifer. Sister Harper shared that after they were married in the Idaho Falls Temple, they spent a semester in Nauvoo learning church history. This encouraged him to earned a graduate degrees in history. He previously taught religion and history at BYU-Hawaii in 2000 for two years and is now an editor of Joseph Smith Papers.
“I am captivated by Joseph’s phrase that he “repented heartily for all my sins.” He liked that adverb heartily. He used it frequently but not carelessly…Joseph’s clear, candid, autobiographies help us understand what he meant by hearty repentance,” said Brother Harper.
He emphasized three qualities that Joseph Smith exemplified including identification and confession of his sins, mourning for his sin, and prayerfully sought forgiveness.
“He did not justify or rationalize his sins or postpone repentance. He chose to act on the heartfelt need for renewal that a generous God had planted in his soul. And he did it heartily. He did it with his whole heart…To Joseph, hearty repentance was an active process. He had to do his part—confess his sins, mourn for them, and cry to the Lord—as a witness to the Savior, who would then do His part—namely, forgive,” said Brother Harper.
He also quoted President Benson when he taught, “No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the fall and its effect upon all mankind.”
Brother Harper shared the story of Joseph Smith going against the will of the Lord and giving the manuscript to Martin Harris, who ended up loosing it. The Lord rebuked Joseph Smith for not listening to him and going against his word. Then the Lord said in D&C 3:10 “Remember, God is merciful. Repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still chosen, and art again called to the work” (D&C 3:10).
“By choosing to repent heartily, Joseph was still chosen and again called to the work of translating the Book of Mormon,” emphasized Brother Harper.
“Brothers and sisters, will you join with me in a commitment to repent heartily? But what if I’m lacking the will to repent? You might ask…In that case I urge you to pray for the desire to desire to repent. Begin where you are and keep going until you become convicted of your sins. You will know that you’re becoming convicted of your sins when they begin to cause you to mourn.
“Relentless repentance is like scrambling up and finally conquering a long, steep slope. There may be backsliding, scraped knees, and muscles that scream at the work required to continue the unyielding ascent. The mountain may seem to conquer the will to continue, to mock the determination to surmount. But the relentless repenter keeps climbing the mountain. Sisters and brothers, keep climbing your mountains. Repent relentlessly. Help each other repent relentlessly so that you can rejoice with the Savior in the repentant soul. Allow each other to repent so sorrow can be replaced with compensatory joy,” said Brother Harper.
Photo by Monique Saenz.