Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price

Jacob was the son of Lehi, the first prophet in the Book of Mormon. His older brother, Nephi, became the prophet following the death of their father, and Jacob was called (chosen) to be a teacher to the people of essential gospel truths.

In 2 Nephi 9, in the Book of Mormon, Jacob teaches passionately about the Savior, who had not yet been born, and of the redemption. One important gift that came to us through the atonement of Christ was the ability to repent. Had Jesus Christ not died for our sins, we could not have repented, and would have been unworthy to return to God no matter what we did after we sinned, and all, except for Jesus, sin from time to time during their earthly life.

Repentance is a gift we can give our Father in Heaven and our Savior. The Savior said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

There can be no question, that we are required to keep the commandments. Obedience is a key component of the gospel and a primary way we demonstrate our love for God. The scriptures do not in any way free Christians from the admonition to avoid sin, simply because they are Christians and are the recipients of the Savior’s atonement:

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (Romans 6)

Every good parent knows that if you make a rule, you must also create consequences for not obeying the rule. God is a good Father, and so there are consequences if we sin. Jacob describes these consequences in the Book of Mormon, but also tells us how to avoid the final consequences. There are, of course, still consequences, but the most important one, estrangement from God, can be prevented through repentence.

24 And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.

25 Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.

26 For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel. (2 Nephi 9)

As we can see, those who hear the gospel must be baptized. This washes away all our previous sins after we’ve completed the repentance process. However, repentance isn’t a once in a lifetime experience. It is something we must do continually, always monitoring our lives for sin and then working through the process of repentance.

If repentance were not necessary, what would be the point of the Savior’s atoning sacrifice? Clearly there are laws, and while God and the Savior always do their part, we must also do our own part, and give as much as possible, allowing God to make up the difference.

Because God is fair, the atonement protects those who never hear the gospel in their lifetime. We aren’t accountable for what we never had the opportunity to learn. If, however, we have the opportunity and choose not to take it, we are then accountable. We can’t hide from God, as Jonah learned in the Bible.

Sin is a part of life, but our responsibility to God is to avoid it as much as possible and to take the proper steps to repent when it occurs. It is, as the Savior taught, how we show our love to God.