Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles helps answer this question in his general conference talk "Repent … That I May Heal You" (Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2009, 40–43). The prophet Alma also helps us understand repentance and the Atonement (see Alma 42).
1.Our repentance allows us to access Christ's Atonement and be healed. Christ's suffering in Gethsemane and on Golgotha atoned for the sins of all of us. He is able and eager to forgive our sins.2. When we sin, we turn away from God. This injures our spirit.
3. When we repent, we "re-turn" to God. This helps our remorse to subside. Forgiveness also takes "away the guilt from our hearts" (Alma 24:10) and brings "peace of conscience" (Mosiah 4:3), thus healing us.
Consider sharing with someone your testimony of the blessings that have come to you as a result of repentance.
The prodigal son humbly returned to his father and said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son" (Luke 15:21). His father welcomed him home. So does our Heavenly Father welcome us when we repent.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, by James Tissot
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Point of Safe Return," Liahona and Ensign, May 2007, 100.
2.Dorothy J. R. White, "Repentance," Ensign, July 1996, 27.
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