The Process of Repentance

One great relief in life is the unburdening that comes with sincere contriteness for offenses, and sincere resolve to make amends. It is a restoring, healing, renewing process, this process of repentance.
And it was the Lord God himself who gave us the principle of repentance—and expects us to use it—and knew that we would need it. He knows our hearts. He knows whether our repentance is sincere or simply superficial—whether it is prompted primarily by passing fear, or merely by embarrassment, or whether it is real repentance.
Paul made some remarks about putting off the “old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,”119 and said, “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”120 We can’t run away from ourselves—but there are ways by which men may leave “the old man” behind, and become better than once they were. And there need not be hopelessness; there need not be frustration.
People can repent and improve. But they can’t do it without changing habits, without resisting temptation, without honest effort. The Lord God will help, and others also. But we must also do something for ourselves.
He who is willing and wants to and will work at it can rise and reach out and be better. And he shouldn’t be discouraged by slow degrees of success. Progress is eternal. Perfection is something to be reached for—and there is a far and limitless future, eternal and everlasting, which holds out sincere hope to all who are willing, to all who will work, to all who have the courage, the heart, the desire, the deep-down determination to be better than they have been.
And we would say to those who are heartsick, to those who are discouraged, to those who sorrow because of sin—to those of unquiet conscience: close the door upon the past and look toward the future, toward the sunlight, with a sincere resolve to be better. One of the greatest messages of life is that people can repent, can improve themselves, can improve upon the past.