Clearly it is not little children who need repentance, but the rest of us.
In Mormon’s words to his son Moroni, “repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.” (Moroni 8:24)
In this letter to his son Moroni, Mormon teaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ in beautiful simplicity:
And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;
And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God. (Moroni 8:25-26)
What is the remission of sins?
To remit means to cancel or to refrain from exacting or inflicting a debt or a punishment. The remission of sins is forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ has the power to remit sins or to forgive us of our sins, as we ask for forgiveness and repent. We must also forgive others in order to receive forgiveness of our sins:
Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.
I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. (D&C 64:9-10)
Our faith in Jesus Christ leads us to repent, to forgive, to be baptized, and to strive to keep the commandments. These things lead to the remission of sins. Why does the remission of sins bring meekness and lowliness of heart?
When we repent and receive forgiveness of our sins from our Savior, I believe that we are led to gratefully acknowledge our complete and utter dependence upon Him and to praise Him for His mercy and grace. Only Jesus Christ can forgive us of our sins:
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26)
How does Jesus Christ remit our sins?
Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. (2 Nephi 31:17)
As we repent and exercise faith in Christ, He remits our sins by fire and the Holy Ghost, which brings meekness and lowliness of heart, and meekness and lowliness of heart invite further visitations of the Holy Ghost. In a virtuous cycle, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, then fills us with hope and perfect love. As we learned in the previous chapter, this hope and perfect love, charity or the pure love of Christ, lead us to Jesus Christ and salvation.
Moroni concludes his letter to his son Moroni by promising to write to him again, or to meet with him again, as long as he was still alive. We know that Mormon survived for a time because Moroni received another letter from him.
Mormon urged his son Moroni to pray for the Nephites that they might repent, but Mormon lamented that the pride of his nation had proved their destruction unless they would repent. He feared that the Spirit of the Lord had ceased to strive with the Nephites. In the part of the land where he was, Mormon sorrowed because the people sought to put down all power and authority from God and they denied the Holy Ghost. As a result, and after rejecting so great a knowledge, Mormon knew that the Nephites would soon perish, and that the prophecies of the prophets and the words of our Savior Himself concerning the destruction of the Nephites were about to be fulfilled.
What might Mormon’s conclusion to his letter teach us? Is it not also an exhortation to us in the last days to repent, be baptized, and receive a remission of our sins instead of following the course of the Nephites unto destruction? Is it not an invitation to us to pray for our people, as Mormon invited his son to pray for the Nephites, in order that we might repent? I believe so.