In her talk “Remembering, Repenting and Changing” Sister Julie B Beck speaks to the Young Women of the church. She opens the talk by sharing the stories of three women. The first story is about Ruth May Fox, a former Young Women general president. She came across the plains. She had a quick temper when she was young, but was able to change as she worked on it. The next story is about a woman named Mary. She decided to ignore the counsel to not drink coffee, deciding it didn’t hurt anyone. She raised ten children, only one of which got married in the temple. Although Mary repented later in life, her children fell away from the church, and her values. The third is about a young woman, Christine, who was less active when she was given the Personal Progress program. She decided to follow the program and return to church.
Sister Beck then points out that each of these stories teaches us the importance of changing and repenting. She points out four specific lessons that these stories teach. The first is that we all make mistakes. It is part of life. WE need to try to avoid mistakes, but we all will make mistakes along the way.
The second lesson is that repenting is not a choice, we all need to repent. Sister Beck says:
“We are commanded to repent. The Savior taught that unless we repent and ‘become as a little child, . . . [we] can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.’ We must not let one little cup of coffee, one bad habit, one bad choice, one wrong decision derail us for a lifetime.”
The third lesson is that we all rely on the Savior to help us change. We do not need to change by ourselves. In fact we cannot. It is through the Atonement of Christ that we each have the opportunity to change. As we turn to the Lord for help, He will help us make the changes necessary to return to Him.
The fourth lesson is that we can all change. It is important to not allow excuses to keep us from changing. Each day we need to make positive changes in our life, so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again.
This is an excellent talk. Sister Beck touches on important principles that can benefit all of us throughout our lives. I hope that you will take the time to read and ponder her words. And that you can take the time to determine where you can change in your life.
Related Articles:
General Conference: “Repentance, Blessing of Membership”
Family Home Evening: Repentance
General Conference: “I Will Remember Your Sins No More”