TESTIMONY OF JOHN.
The World:—Your name is John?
John:—It is.
The World:—Were you called by the Lord to preach repentance to the people of your generation?
John:—I was. I was sent before the Lord to prepare His way. I called upon the people to repent of their sins, for the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. (Matt. 3: 1, 2.)
The World:—Were you able to bring many to repentance?
John:—Yes, many people of Judaea and Jerusalem, upon hearing the proclamation, repented, came forward and confessed their sins, and were baptized in the river Jordan. (Mark 1: 5.)
The World:—Are we to understand that confession of sins is essential?
John:—Such has been the teaching of the servants of the Lord in every dispensation. Without confession of sins repentance is incomplete. Here are the words of the inspired teachers: "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Prov. 28: 13.) "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1: 8, 9.) But confession should be accompanied with a promise and determination to sin no more. To confess his sins before God will not benefit a man unless his confession is accompanied with a determination to sin no more. He must covenant with the Lord that he is willing to forsake sin, and that in future he will, with His Divine assistance, yield to no evil, but will shun the very appearance of it, and keep himself unspotted from the world. God cannot be deceived, and He will not pardon those who merely confess their sins, and still make no effort to forsake them.
The World:—Repentance is, therefore, conditional?
John:—It is. Men must be willing to confess their sins and to forsake them. They must also be willing to forgive others. In fact, Christ told the people that His Father would not forgive them their trespasses if they in their hearts failed to forgive those who trespassed against them. These are His words: "If ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Matt. 6: 14, 15.) And this forgiveness must be without limit. On one occasion Peter asked the Lord, "How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him, till seven times?" The Master answered, "I say not unto thee, until seven times; but until seventy times seven." On another occasion He taught the disciples, saying, "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him." (Luke 17: 3, 4.) Nowhere are repentance, confession and forgiveness more beautifully portrayed than in Christ's parable of the prodigal son. After having wasted his substance in riotous living, and being brought down so low that he had to satisfy his hunger with swine's food, the prodigal at last came to himself. He thought of his father's home in which he had spent so many happy years, of the good things of the earth with which the tables had always been laden, of the hired servants who waited upon the family. The spirit of repentance entered his heart, and springing to his feet he exclaimed, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. * * * But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. * * * And the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my sen was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." (Luke 15: 18-20, 21-24.) In this parable is clearly exhibited the love and mercy of God. Verily, he that cometh to Him shall in nowise be cast out.
The World:—We will excuse the witness.
Latter-day Saints:—This is our case. We believe we have proved most conclusively that repentance is essential to salvation. "For this ye know," said the apostle, "that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God." (Eph. 5: 5.) The Lord has also said by the mouth of John the Revelator: "The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Rev. 21: 8.) We, therefore, say unto all men, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Gal. 6: 7.) "We have pointed out all the prominent principles connected with true repentance. And it can easily be seen by every honest heart, that God requires mankind to seek diligently to discern good from evil, and to ascertain what sins and evils they are guilty of; to be exercised with a Godly sorrow that they have ever sinned against so great and good a Being as God; to make suitable confession before God, for all past sins committed; and such a confession must be accompanied with a solemn covenant or promise to sin no more; and the heart should be fixed and immovable in this covenant. All persons who will do these things will have a measure of the Spirit of Christ resting upon them, imparting humility, and meekness, and lowliness of heart. But still this repentance does not guarantee to them a remission of sins; it only prepares the heart to obey properly a great and holy ordinance which God has instituted expressly for the remission of sins. We mean the ordinance of baptism."