The First Principles of the Gospel: Repentance and Faith Marcus Reynolds Chemical Engineering, Junior mreynolds746@gmail.com The paper below is solely my original and individual work and has not, nor will be, submitted for presentation or publication elsewhere. X Marcus Reynolds
Reynolds 2 Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! When thinking of a prophet, people tend to imagine the prophet standing before a crowd and telling everyone to repent. Jonah, Abinadi, Helaman, and many others were commanded by the Lord to preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord (Mosiah 18:20). Over and over the scriptures say to repent of all your sins and iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God (Mormon 7:5). However, something most people do not think about is the order commonly given in the Book of Mormon first repent and second believe in Jesus Christ. In a letter to the public, Joseph Smith defined the principles of the gospel as first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance (Article of Faith IV). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands by this statement that faith and repentance, in that order, are the first principles taught to members of the church. How does one reconcile Joseph s statement about the order of the principles of the gospel with the text in the Book of Mormon that seems to swap the order of faith and repentance? This work will analyze the order of the first two principles of the gospel as given in the Book of Mormon. This work will use the descriptions provided by Preach My Gospel (PMG) to define repentance and faith because PMG provides concise ideas representing the current church view. PMG states that faith includes having a firm belief that [Christ] is the Only Begotten Son of God and the Savior and Redeemer of the world and such belief leads to action. However, PMG does not explain how one initially receives faith. Preach My Gospel defines repentance as something acquired from faith. It involves changing our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that are not in harmony with [God s] will, thereby forming a fresh view of God, ourselves, and the world. Unfortunately, neither of these two sections answer the question of how this whole gospel process gets started-- how does someone with no faith get faith?
Reynolds 3 Helaman 5 answers this question by saying that a group of Lamanite and Nephite dissenters gained their faith through repentance. In the middle of the story, wicked prison guards are told to Repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ (Helaman 5:41). The order here is significant repent until you have faith in Christ. This varies from the typical order of the gospel that members think of, which designates faith first and repentance second. The context of this verse gives strong proof that the order specified was deliberate in the writing here. In Helaman 5:29 & 32-33, every one of them heard a voice that told them to repent three times: 29 And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings. 32 And behold the voice came again, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants. And it came to pass that the earth shook again, and the walls trembled. 33 And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man; and the walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder. The Lamanites among them seemed to have no idea what this all meant, but at least one of the Nephite dissenters, Aminadab, understood. Aminadab told the other guards, You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ. The guards immediately followed his counsel and did begin to cry unto the voice even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed (Helaman 5:42). Afterwards, the Holy Spirit entered into their hearts and the voice came again, saying Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved (Helaman 5:47). From this, it can be seen that the prison guards first had to repent in order to
Reynolds 4 remove the cloud of darkness, and then they gained faith which allowed the Holy Spirit to enter into their hearts. But how, then, did they change from being wicked to repenting? Up until this point, they had no faith, so faith can be ruled out as a motivating factor. What seemed to motivate these prison guards was a desire for change. They cried out to Aminadab: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us? (Helaman 5:40). Their desire to be removed from their current situation of an overshadowing dark cloud led them to repent: Yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed (Helaman 5:42). This repentance caused the crust from their hard hearts to break away and allowed them to gain faith in Jesus Christ. This story provides evidence that a desire to change leads to repentance, and that nobody with a hard heart can gain faith until they repent enough to allow faith as a possibility. As mentioned earlier, people typically envision prophets saying Repent ye, repent ye to the people. Prophets are not known to say, Have faith ye, have faith ye in their initial approach. To ask disbelieving people to suddenly change their ideals and believe in Christ would be like asking a vegetarian to eat meat because it would be good for them it would have little effect unless the person was unhappy with their current lifestyle. What the people need is a desire to change, which causes repentance, before they will be open to have faith in the words of Christ. Zeezrom is a great example of first changing his heart and then gaining faith. Initially, he vehemently opposes Alma and Amulek and cannot believe the plan of salvation they are presenting. After being shown the power of God, Zeezrom realizes he was wrong and begins to understand the consequences of his actions. He felt that he began to be encircled about by the
Reynolds 5 pains of hell (Alma 14:6). The gospel light began in Zeezrom as a desire to change. This led to a burning fever, which was caused by the great tribulations of his mind on account of his wickedness, for [Zeezrom] supposed that Alma and Amulek were no more (Alma 15:3). He tries to do everything he can to repent, but fears that it is too late for him. Finally in Alma 15:7, Zeezrom admits that he believes all the words that Alma and Amulek spoke. Interestingly enough, faith in Christ is the last principle Zeezrom admits to before he is healed (Alma 15:8-11). This process-- wickedness/stubbornness, desire to change, repentance, faith, blessings-- is also found in other figures in the scriptures, such as Alma the Younger. Alma the Younger is a very well-known Book of Mormon character thanks to his incredible conversion story. When teaching his son, Helaman, of his conversion, Alma the Younger emphasized that he could not grasp most of the angel s teachings because he was struck with such great fear and amazement that [he] should be destroyed (Alma 36:11). Similarly to both Zeezrom and the prison guards, Alma s desire for change (in this case, worry about his fate) indicates he is ready to begin repenting. He continues on to say that he did remember all [his] sins and iniquities, for which [he] was tormented with the pains of hell (Alma 36:13). Now, Alma is going through the repentance process. Next, as Alma was being racked with torment, he says that I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. (Alma 36:17). After feeling a sincere change in heart, Alma now begins to develop faith. He progresses his repentance and faith by crying unto Jesus, have mercy on me, and reaps the rewards of these gospel principles by receiving a clean conscience. Alma concludes his experience by telling his sons that from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance (Alma 36:24, emphasis added). Based on the
Reynolds 6 order of principles given from his conversion story, it is no coincidence that Alma explicitly states he is laboring to bring others to repentance, rather than faith. This idea of first repentance and then faith is abundant in the Book of Mormon. Below are two tables listing each of the 58 times in the Book of Mormon where faith and repentance are directly juxtaposed. Table 1 references the 50 instances when the people are told to first repent and then have faith or hearken unto the Lord. Critics may argue that repentance and faith being conjoined by the word and does not necessarily designate an order. However, the consistency of the order given both in individual verses and found within conversion stories support that there is indeed an order to these two principles. Table 2 presents the 8 counter-argument verses that state first faith and then repentance. A brief overview of why the verses in Table 2 still support the swapped order of gospel principles is provided in the Justification column. It is important to note that while sometimes scriptural people teach faith and repentance during a sermon, they teach to first repent and then have faith when the audience asks what the next step is. Table 1: Repentance then Faith (numbering and italics added) 1 Nephi 10:18 and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they (1) repent and (2) come unto him 2 Nephi 28:32 I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will (1) repent and (2) come unto me 2 Nephi 30:2 for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that (1) repent and (2) believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel. Jacob 6:5 I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would (1) repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and a (2) cleave unto God Mosiah 3:21 none shall be found a blameless before God, except it be little children, only through (1) repentance and (2) faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent Mosiah 11:21 And except they (1) repent and (2) turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will
Reynolds 7 deliver them into the hands of their enemies Mosiah 11:23 except this people (1) repent and (2) turn unto the Lord their God, they shall be brought into bondage Mosiah 16:13 (1) repent of your sins, and (2) remember that only in and through Christ ye can be saved Mosiah 18:7 And he did teach them, and did preach unto them (1) repentance, and redemption, and (2) faith on the Lord Mosiah 25:15 And Alma did speak unto them preaching unto the people (1) repentance and (2) faith on the Lord Mosiah 25:22 for there was nothing preached in all the churches except it were (1) repentance and (2) faith in God Alma 3:14 I will set a mark on them that they and their seed may be a separated from thee and thy seed except they (1) repent of their wickedness and (2) turn to me that I may have mercy upon them. Alma 7:9 But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying (1) Repent ye, and (2) prepare the way of the Lord Alma 7:14 (1) repent, and be born again therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, (2) that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, Alma 13:10 it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance they choosing to (1) repent and (2) work righteousness rather than to perish Alma 19:36 we see that his arm is extended to all people who will (1) repent and (2) believe on his name Alma 22:16 if thou wilt (1) repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and (2) call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest Alma 23:15 they did (1) repent and (2) come to the knowledge of the truth Alma 26:22 Yea, he that (1) repenteth and (2) exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God Alma 26:35 he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will (1) repent and (2) believe on his name Alma 29:2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, (1) repentance and (2) the plan of redemption, that they should (1) repent and (2) come unto our God Alma 37:9 yea, these records and their words brought them unto (1) repentance; that is, they brought them to (2) the knowledge of the Lord their God, and to rejoice in Jesus Christ their Redeemer.
Reynolds 8 Alma 37:33 Alma 41:6 Alma 42:4 Helaman 5:41 Helaman 12:23 Helaman 13:6 Helaman 13:11 Preach unto them (1) repentance, and (2) faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; If he hath (1) repented of his sins, and (2) desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness. And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to (1) repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to (1) repent and (2) serve God You must (1) repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall (2) have faith in Christ Therefore, blessed are they who will (1) repent and (2) hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved nothing can save this people save it be (1) repentance and (2) faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, blessed are they who will (1) repent and (2) turn unto me 3 Nephi 3:15 (1) repent of all your iniquities, and (2) cry unto the Lord 3 Nephi 3:25 they did (1) repent of all their sins; and (2) they did put up their a prayers unto the Lord their God, that he would deliver them 3 Nephi 5:4 as many as would (1) repent of their sins and (2) enter into a covenant that they would murder no more were set at liberty 3 Nephi 9:13 (1) repent of your sins, and (2) be converted, that I may heal you 3 Nephi 9:22 Therefore, whoso (1) repenteth and (2) cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive therefore (1) repent, and (2) come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved 3 Nephi 11:32 I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to (1) repent and (2) believe in me 3 Nephi 18:32 for ye know not but what they will (1) return and repent, and (2) come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them 3 Nephi 21:6 if they will not harden their hearts, that they may (1) repent and (2) come unto me and be baptized in my name and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people 3 Nephi 21:20 whosoever will not (1) repent and (2) come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people 3 Nephi 21;22 But if they will (1) repent and (2) hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them 3 Nephi 27:20 Now this is the commandment: (1) Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and (2) come unto me and be baptized in my name Mormon 3:2 the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people (1) Repent ye, and (2) come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be a spared
Reynolds 9 Mormon 3:22 And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to (1) repent and (2) prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ Mormon 7:5 Know ye that ye must come to the a knowledge of your fathers, and (1) repent of all your sins and iniquities, and(2) believe in Jesus Christ Ether 4:18 Therefore, (1) repent all ye ends of the earth, and (2) come unto me, and (2) believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; Ether 5:5 And if it so be that they (1) repent and (2) come unto the Father in the name of Jesus, they shall be received into the kingdom of God Ether 9:34 Now when the people saw that they must perish they began to (1) repent of their iniquities and (2) cry unto the Lord Ether 11:1 there came also in the days of Com many prophets, and prophesied of the destruction of that great people except they should (1) repent, and (2) turn unto the Lord Moroni 7:34 And he hath said: (1) Repent all ye ends of the earth, and (2) come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved Moroni 9:22 for I know that they must perish except they (1) repent and (2) return unto him Alma 12:15-16 Alma 22:14 Table 2: Faith then Repentance (numbering and italics added) he has all power to save every man that (1) believeth on his name and (2) bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance 16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through (1) faith and (2) repentance, and so forth Alma 34:15 thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall (1) believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have (1) faith unto (2) repentance. 3 Nephi 23:5 And whosoever will (1) hearken unto my words and (2) repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved 3 Nephi 27:19 therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, Justification It seems as though repentance here is actually referring to baptism. This idea is supported by verse 16 mentioning spiritual death as a contrast. Directly after this in Alma 22:16, Aaron tells the king to repent and then call on God s name in faith. The audience had already begun repenting (detailed analysis later in essay) Same case as Alma 34:15. The audience had already begun repenting. Part of a chiasmus used in 3 Nephi 27:19-20 to
Reynolds 10 Helaman 6:4 Helaman 14:13 Helaman 15:7 because of their (1) faith, and (2) the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end many of the Lamanites did come down into the land of Zarahemla, and did declare unto the people of the Nephites the manner of their conversion, and did exhort them to (1) faith and (2) repentance And if ye (1) believe on his name ye will (2) repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits. the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to (1) faith on the Lord, and (2) unto repentance, which (1) faith and (2) repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them emphasize the importance of enduring to the end. Helaman 6:5 states the people were first brought to be humble (desire to change & repent), then they followed God In Helaman 14:11-12, Samuel declares his intent to preach repentance first. In Helaman 15:1-3 Samuel is preaching repentance; In Helaman 15:14, Samuel tells the people that the next step for them to take is repentance Typically, when asked to teach the first principles of the gospel from the Book of Mormon, LDS missionaries will point to 2 Nephi 31. After a close look at this chapter, one realizes that no verse can be found which states faith comes before repentance. In fact, verse 17 seems to mention repentance as the first principle of the gospel. In his essay on 2 Nephi 31, renowned scholar Noel B. Reynolds directly addresses this: Latter-day Saint discourse has long privileged the requirement of faith in Jesus Christ as the first principle of the gospel. Nephi also sees it as fundamental, but mentions it in last place, leading first with repentance (Reynolds 2015). However, Reynolds dismisses the significance of this order by saying: No convert could have made it onto this path save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save (v. 19). On Nephi s model, we should not see faith as just a first step. Rather, that same faith must inform and sustain believers in each step of this gospel journey as they endure faithfully to the end.
Reynolds 11 While it can be agreed that faith must be a continuing part of the gospel, an insight is missed if one ignores why Nephi led with repentance in verse 17. Nephi understood that repentance was an essential first step to begin the conversion process. When Nephi does mention faith and repentance in this chapter, he says that they happen simultaneously: Follow the Son, with full purpose of heart with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ (2 Nephi 31:13). The present progressive tense form of the verb repent, indicates that faith and repentance are done together, which follows the gospel idea that faith and repentance perpetuate each other. 2 Nephi 31 provides great insights about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it gives no evidence to dismiss the idea of repentance first and faith second. Critics may turn to Alma 34:15-17 where Amulek says the people should exercise faith unto repentance. However, a detailed analysis reveals that the audience in Alma 34 had, in fact, already begun to repent. The audience in Alma 32-34 is the poor Zoramites whose afflictions had truly humbled them" and were in a preparation to hear the word (Alma 32:6). Alma recognizes that the people were ready to repent or were already repenting in verse 13 when he says, for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance. A reader that thought Alma 32 was purely about faith may be surprised to find that Alma begins this chapter by preaching repentance; he tells each person to (1) humble himself (2) repent of his sins and (3) endure to the end (Alma 32:15). Again, here is the cycle of a desire to change leading to repentance first, and then repentance leading to faith. This may be why Alma talks about repentance in the first half of Alma 32 and faith only in the second half of Alma 32. In Alma 34, Amulek is likely telling the people to simply continue to repent, which will grow their faith, which will in turn grow their repentance. This example and other places in the Book of Mormon
Reynolds 12 that seem to say faith first are just a statement that the first two principles of the gospel build on each other. Finally, what does Christ, the ultimate teacher, teach about repentance and faith in His visit to the Nephites? In 3 Nephi 11:32, Jesus tells the people, This is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me. Christ s words are consistent with other passages in the Book of Mormon repent first and then believe in the Savior. He adds more depth to this doctrine in verse 36: And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child. The repentance process causes people to become humble like children and gain room in their hearts to believe the words of Christ. This document has analyzed whether repentance or faith should be the first principle of the gospel. The words of many different Book of Mormon prophets support the idea that repentance is followed by faith. Those few verses in the Book of Mormon that do mention faith first seem to place it together with repentance, as to suggest that both principles feed each other. Christ himself even tells the people that they must first repent and then gain faith. Each person or group examined in the Book of Mormon began their conversion with a desire for change: the prison guards wanted to be removed from the cloud of darkness, Zeezrom was filled with guilt over the trouble he caused Alma & Amulek, and Alma the Younger was worried about the fate of his soul. They then grew in the gospel through repentance and faith, in that order. It is fascinating to realize that even Joseph Smith went through this process of repentance then faith. In his 1832 account, Joseph states that his mind became seriously imprest with regard to all important concerns for the welfare of my immortal soul which led me to searching
Reynolds 13 the scriptures ("History, circa Summer 1832 ; emphasis added). His desire to change led to repentance and then exercising faith by reading scriptures. In addition, Joseph went to the sacred grove with two motivating factors to pray about: forgiveness and knowledge of the truth. God answers his prayer by first addressing Joseph s desire for forgiveness: Joseph <my son> thy sins are forgiven thee, after which point God teaches that the true church needed to be restored upon the earth ("History, circa Summer 1832 ). It is unknown to this author why Joseph ordered Article of Faith IV as first faith and second repentance even though his personal story and the Book of Mormon consistently teach the reverse order. Church members may ask themselves, How can I strengthen my faith? Missionaries may ask, How can I get more spiritual power? Investigators may ask, How can I gain faith that I ve never had? Inherent in all of these questions is desire for change. As seen from the stories of Lamanite prison guards, Zeezrom, and Alma the Younger, the Book of Mormon makes the answer to these questions quite clear: repent more! If repentance precedes faith, then repenting more will help us gain more faith, no matter what the circumstance.
Reynolds 14 Abstract Members of the LDS church are typically taught the first two principles of the gospel as First, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; Second, repentance (Articles of Faith IV). However, a reversal of the first two principles of the gospel is most commonly observed in the Book of Mormon. Throughout the entire Book of Mormon, numerous prophets preach to repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel (2 Nephi 30:2). The order given is significant repent and then have faith. This order is found in the conversion of Nephite & Lamanite dissenters, Zeezrom, and Alma the Younger, as well as in the teachings of many Book of Mormon prophets, including Christ himself. From all the evidence in the Book of Mormon, it can be concluded that the gospel starts in someone as a desire for change, which leads to the principles of first repentance and second faith.
Reynolds 15 Works Cited "History, circa Summer 1832," p. 2-3, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed November 20, 2017, http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-circa-summer-1832/3 Noel B. Reynolds, "The Gospel According to Nephi: An Essay on 2 Nephi 31," Religious Educator 16, no. 2 (2015): 50 75. Preach My Gospel. (2004). Salt Lake City, UT: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.