We Are Commanded to Help Others Repent

John W. Welch

Christ commands all people that they "should persuade all men to repent." We assist Christ in His work when we get people to repent—it is a Christ-like effort. In a BYU Devotional, I once stated that there is no intellectual challenge greater than figuring out what you can say and what you can do to help someone else repent. This intellectual challenge is greater than learning the laws of astrophysics, molecular biology, or any other complex academic pursuit.

But this is what Bishops often do—somebody walks into your office who needs help, direction, and assistance in the process of repentance. One of the scariest moments of my life occurred two or three weeks after I had been ordained and sustained as a bishop. I realized that these faithful people who sat in my office for a fifteen-minute interview would actually go out and do what I advised them to do. I realized that I had to do my best to be right! I was asked many questions about many things, but the most important advice sought was how to fix their life and how to repent. It is quite a challenge. How do you respond? How do you do it? Try to figure out how Christ would respond. What would He advise or do in this situation? This is a quintessential Christ-like endeavor. And we are all charged to go and do likewise, to preach nothing—directly or indirectly—except repentance, reproving betimes with sharpness but showing forth an increase of love (D&C 121:43; see also Leviticus 19:17).

John W. Welch Notes

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