REPENTANCE versus SAYING “I AM SORRY”
Presented by Elder Richard L. Evans
We sometimes assume that we have fully repented and made amends when we have said we are sorry. But there is a side to being sorry that is much more serious than mere polite apology. And there are circumstances in which much more than casual regret is called for. Saying we are sorry does not undo physical damage; saying we are sorry does not restore things that are lost; saying we are sorry does not always heal a broken heart. It may help, however.
Certainly saying we are sorry is a gesture in the right direction. But it is not necessarily real repentance. Real repentance is something beyond the repetition of a ready-made phrase. Sometimes people are repentant only to the point of being concerned about consequences. Sometimes a supposed repentance is prompted principally by fear and passes as soon as the fear passes. People often know the probable penalties of some of the things they do, but they sometimes decide to take a chance and hope the gamble will go in their favor. And if it does not, they may say they are sorry. Of course, a person is sorry when he is faced with unpleasant facts and possible penalties. But for the moment, at least, he may seem to be really repentant. But real repentance is more than being embarrassed and it is more than fear of consequences.
Real repentance must include a man’s admission to himself that he knows he has done what he should not have done, that he is earnestly and inwardly sorry, and will make an honest effort to make amends. If he is sincere, he will have learned his lesson. If he isn’t’, he may be sorry again and again, and go on singing the same sorrowful song. In short, when someone says he is sorry, the crux of the question is: Is he sincerely sorry or is he merely professing repentance? To be convincing, there is much a man must do besides saying he is sorry. He cannot perhaps always undo the damage, but to be convincing he must prove his sorry with a changed course of conduct.
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