While reading the January 2026 Liahona, I was spiritually touched by Madelyn Maxfield’s article that counsels this magnified redefinition of repentance: “But repentance isn’t just about becoming less sinful. It’s also about becoming more Christlike. Turning to Him—changing our attitudes and aligning our perspectives with His—is a form of repentance too” (“Repentance Isn’t Only About Overcoming Sin,” Liahona, January 2026, 44).
Repentance is Heavenly Father’s gift to us. Because of Christ’s Atonement, we can repent and be forgiven when we disobey God’s commandments. Authentic repentance, however, not only involves turning away from sinful thoughts and actions but also faithfully turning toward Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. As Sister Maxfield emphasized, the aim of repentance is “becoming more Christlike” (“Repentance Isn’t Only About Overcoming Sin,” 44).
The Process of Repentance
Initially, the key steps of repentance are the following:
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“Faith in our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.”
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“Sorrow for sin.”
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“Confession”
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“Giving up sin.”
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“Restitution”
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“Righteous living.”
(“Repentance,” Gospel Library).
The last step emphasizes the importance of doing things like studying the scriptures, praying daily, attending church, fasting for added guidance, partaking of the sacrament, and worshipping in the temple to help us receive the power of Jesus Christ in our lives.
As President Russell M. Nelson has clearly explained: “Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind. When coupled with faith, repentance opens our access to the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. …When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves” (in Conference Report, Apr. 2019, 67).
Sister Maxfield’s expanding definition of repentance invites us to ponder daily how transforming our attitudes and paralleling our perspective with the Savior’s can guide us to become more Christlike.
Changing Our Attitudes
Attitude refers to a mindset for dealing with the ups and downs of life. As an example of a negative attitude, Sister Maxfield describes how she wanted to leave her mission to attend her friend’s wedding. Then, after praying and studying the scriptures, “I realized I needed to repent for my poor attitude. It took time, but as I pleaded for my Redeemer’s help…the Lord answered my prayers. I was so happy for my friend, and I found so much joy in my testimony that Heavenly Father really does see and love every one of His children. I gained so much more than I missed out on” (“Repentance Isn’t Only About Overcoming Sin,” 45).
By changing her attitude, she learned that this approach to repenting allows us to know of God’s love and support for us in new ways. She learned to be happy for her friend and to complete her mission with joyful thoughts and renewed faith.
Another example of how attitudes can influence thoughts and actions is demonstrated when Lehi told his sons that he had been commanded by the Lord to send them to Jerusalem to retrieve the scriptures of the Jews. Nephi’s brothers murmured and complained that this was too hard for them to do. Nephi, however, responded: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commanded them” (1 Nephi 3:7).
Even though they faced many life-threatening challenges, Nephi’s attitude of faith was the key to their successfully completing this divinely commanded mission.
Aligning Our Perspective with God’s Will
Perspective is the way we see things when we look at them from a certain distance and appreciate their true value. Gaining an eternal perspective of the gospel involves understanding our individual roles and duties in God’s plan by accepting difficulties, progressing through them, making decisions, and centering our lives on our divine potential. We are striving to learn what God’s will is for us.
In Gethsemane, Jesus Christ provides the greatest example of how to seek such perspective. When our Savior faced the pains of His atoning sacrifice for us, “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Despite all of the agonies He was experiencing and would endure with His Crucifixion, Jesus repeatedly prayed, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). Christ’s Gethsemane prayer provides a template for our prayers and actions. Like our Redeemer, we should individually be striving to think and act according to God’s will.
Becoming Instruments in the Hands of God
Repenting is usually understood as not only obeying the commandments to overcome sin, but also having a faithful attitude that seeks to align our perspectives and actions with the will of God. This expanded definition of repentance helps us guide and refine how to live our daily lives. Ammon summarized his and his brethren’s missions to the Lamanites with this declaration, “And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made the instruments in the hands of God” (Alma 26:3). They were individually guided and strengthened to face many trials and bring many souls to repentance. These are the fuller joys of repenting that each one of us should be seeking.