From Tadd R. Callister’s book ‘The Infinite Atonement:’
The repentant soul becomes as white as the driven snow. For such a saint it is as though the act were never committed.24 That is the miracle of repentance. As Elder Matthew Cowley said, “I believe that when we repent there is some erasing going on up there so that when we get there we will be judged as we are for what we are and maybe not for what we have been.” He also commented, “That’s what I like about it—the erasing.”(25 below.) But for the unrepentant there is no erasing. The Lord warned, “Behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:17).
The Lord loves and longs to forgive each of his children. If we will but repent, “He will pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). Peter explained that the Lord was not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Even Ahab, the reprobate king of Israel, had a transitory moment of repentance that was rewarded by the Lord: “Because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil of his days” (1 Kings 21:29). It is as if the Lord wants to bless every attempt, however small or feeble it may be, to put our life in his hands. To those who sincerely repent the Lord has promised, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42). Ezekiel reassured us of the same great truth: “None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him” (Ezekiel 33:16). It is a glorious thought—the Lord will judge us by what we have become, not by what we were. If we repent he will judge the new man, not the old man. This is David’s plea: “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake” (Psalm 25:7).~Tadd R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000), 390-391 [pocket book edition]
24. Even when we repent, however, we may still suffer from the consequences of our sin—missed opportunities, hurt relationships, and the like.
25. Smith, Matthew Cowley, 295
