Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, from his book, Be Nor Troubled shared:
We live in an important time in the history of the world.
Through the blessings of the Lord, and the genius of science and technology, there have been absolutely Phenomenal methods of communication that have opened us to the world. Our society’s willingness to discard past ways of doing ordinary tasks, and to instantly embrace the new without fear or hesitation, has given rise to even greater innovations. Technology has given wings to products and services almost unimaginable a decade ago.
But there is danger. Thinking can be significantly influenced by the culture that surrounds it.1 If we are not careful, the very independence one embraces, the freedom from intellectual restraint and social norms that emboldens us to push beyond the limits in fields such as technology and entrepreneur-ism, can promote the same thinking in spiritual matters. “It’s my life. I will decide. I set my own limits.” An inflated belief in oneself can be spiritually life-threatening and lead one away from the teachings of God.2
The Pew Research Center explains this trend around the world: “Young adults are more likely to be religiously unaffiliated. This is especially true in North America, where in both the U.S. and Canada younger people are less likely to claim a religious identity. . . . the gap is also prevalent in Europe—in 22 out of 35 countries—and in Latin America, where it applies in 14 out of 35 countries (including Mexico).”3
In the United States, the Pew Research Center reports that religious nones”—a shorthand used to refer to people who self-identify as atheist or agnostics, as well as those who say their religion is “nothing in particular”—now make up 23% of the U.S. adult population.4 This is a stark increase from 2007, the last time a similar Pew Research study was conducted, when 16% were “nones”; 35% of Millennial’s (those born 1981-1996) are “nones.”5
A 2015 study by a professor of religious studies at Duke University, showed that in the United States, “68 percent of Americans 65 and older said they had no doubt God exists, but just 45 percent of young adults, ages 18-30, had the same belief.”6
With this trend clearly advancing, fewer of those within and those without organized religion like hearing the word repent. It has dwindled in modern vocabulary. Repent is not a comfortable word. It implies that we are doing something wrong. Whatever it meant in generations past, for many today, the word repent involves suspicion and negative emotions. For many, teeth clench and heartbeats rise.
Christians from the dawn of time went to church and listened to spiritual leaders preach repentance. It is not unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been a part of Christian religious observance throughout the ages. Despite many doctrinal differences, one thing was constant—the word repent was part of religious observance. In fact, the very purpose of going to a religious service on Sunday was not just to feel good, but to be pricked in one’s conscience, as a weekly reminder that God had given commandments and that God-fearing people wanted to align their lives with God’s will. Preachers declared it with conviction, and church choirs sang boldly and stirringly about saints and sinners and God’s love for both.
This message of repentance has been met with different reactions often depending on the time in history. ~ Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, from his book, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness (Salt Lake City:Deseret Book, 2019), 39-41. . . . continued
(I apologize to Elder Anderson and Elder Rasband . . . . for sharing their profound insights, but mixing up credit. Precautions are in place where this won’t happen again. kdm)
