That brings us to one of the most important aspects of repentance, the part the Lord does. "And just what does the Lord do?" you ask. HE CHANGES YOU BY GIFT. That is exactly the way it happens. And what effort do you put in at this point? Accept the gift, and praise the Lord evermore. Didn't that sound simple? It is. The Lord has reduced everything to simplicity. It is Satan who throws in the complexities. Let's turn to some of the previous accounts and see if we can turn your unbelief to BELIEF. Let's start with Alma. Do you remember? He was in a horizontal position. His father Alma, the priest, and congregation had been fasting and praying for him. He couldn't move his limbs. The Lord showed him an instant replay of his sins. After three days he suddenly stood up, bid them to be of good comfort, and delivered a sermon to his father, Alma, the prophet, and the rest of those assembled. The most interesting thing about his sermon is that it is now scripture and binding upon us.

Perhaps the story of Keith will illustrate the part that the Lord plays in repentance. Keith and I had been friends for a number of years. One day I found him knocking at my door. I was a little puzzled because our association was mainly on a Sunday basis. It was obvious that Keith had something on his mind. A two hour gospel discussion ensued. It was clear that Keith's conscience was being awakened. He was beginning to remember his transgressions and the Lord was giving him the same kind of guilt complex that Enos had experienced. A guilt complex is how the Lord needles us into repentance. The discussion centered around fasting and prayer and of what repentance really consists -- CONFESSION OF SINS. It was difficult to determine how Keith was accepting the doctrine, but one thing was perfectly clear. He was intensely interested, although when he left, I felt that he was still somewhat skeptical. Perhaps I was wrong, because, he set himself on a program of fasting and prayer once a week along with a monthly two-day fast. How do you like that for determination? Recently he visited our Seventies group and it happened to be my turn to direct the discussion. You can guess to what subject it was directed. I said, "Keith, what were you talking to the Lord about in all that fasting and praying?" "Confessing my sins," he humbly answered. "Week after week?" I asked. "Yes," he responded. "Why were you doing it so often?" I asked. "I was seeking the Lord's forgiveness. I wanted to get rid of my nagging guilt complex." "Was your confession to the Lord general or specific?" I asked. "They were specific. What I had to do was lay each sin out before the Lord, describe the part that I played, admit my guilt and ask Him to forgive me," he answered. "Did you confess all of your sins to the Lord?" I asked. "Well, there was a slight problem. You see, the Lord kept adding to the list by reminding me of those which I had forgotten." "In other words, your memory was awakened." "That's right," Keith replied. "And how long did this intense fasting continue," I inquired. "Six months!"

Was Keith rewarded for his effort? Let me testify that he was. I'll never forget the day when I met him and we were about to enter the church. It was a bright summer day as the sun reflected off the light yellow brick of our chapel -- a day when the sun can cause you to squint. But Keith was not squinting. I looked into his eyes and the pupils were enormous. I knew instantly what was happening. He was in the very process of being "born of the Spirit." He was a modern day Enos. The power of the Holy Ghost was upon him and every word that came from his lips was pure revelation. I envied him. He gave me a loving chastisement as we entered the chapel. Had Keith reached his goal? Had the Lord forgiven him? Without a doubt. Keith was no longer the same individual. Before this very day, and I'm sure that he will testify of this, he was vain, proud, cocky and arrogant. He'll smile when he reads this, but he knows that it is true. After the two day "baptism of fire" he was a completely different man. That pride, arrogance and vanity were gone. The Lord had taken them out of his character, by gift, by virtue of his sincere repentance, and replaced them with humility, kindness and love for his fellow men. There was no doubt about it. Keith was a new creature, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and no small stir was created in the ward because practically everyone noticed the change. The spirit confirmed that he had been born again. He had been CHANGED BY THE LORD from his fallen state to a state of righteousness and given a very special gift, the gift of LOVE. Just like Enos, he now carried with him this great desire for the "welfare of his brethren." (Enos 9)

Let's not get any false notions from the above. Remember that we are talking about the Lord's part in repentance. You may have worked on your personality and your character in a sincere attempt to improve both and you may be able to testify to a measure of success, but the MIGHTY CHANGE is the Lord's department. Let us consider the Lord's instructions to Oliver Cowdery.

we FAST and PRAY,

we KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS, and

we CONFESS OUR SINS TO THE LORD

HAVE YOU PUT IN YOUR APPLICATION?