If you have committed serious sins and are in the process of repenting or have the desire to fully repent and feel the unspeakable joy of forgiveness, please know this miracle is awaiting you. The Savior continuously calls, “Come unto me.”
Strengthening your faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, will invigorate the yearning of your soul to know Him, believe in Him, and yield your heart to Him.
Grace of Jesus Christ
Turning from sin, turning toward God, and strengthening your faith in Jesus Christ are a beautiful beginning. Forgiveness is a divine gift offered through the grace of Jesus Christ.
For you who have been so unfairly injured by the serious sins of another, I share the Savior’s love and compassion, His comfort and peace. The sadness you have felt, the heartbreak, the loss, the suffocating feeling of betrayal, the upending of your life as you imagined it to be—Reach out to Him. He is your comfort and strength; He will send His angels to bear you up. When will your pain be gone, your grief subdued, the unwanted memories forgotten? I do not know. But I do know, He has the power to bring beauty from the ashes of your suffering.
As you continue to place your trust in Him, your clouds of darkness and anguished sobbing in the night will be transformed into cascading tears of joy and peace in the morning’s light. “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy. … And your joy no [one] taketh from you.” That moment will come. The atoning love of Jesus Christ can be found in the most difficult situations, but we all constantly need the atoning grace of our Savior. President Dallin H. Oaks has taught: “Because of His atoning experience in mortality, our Savior is able to comfort, heal, and strengthen all men and women everywhere, but I believe He does so only for those who seek Him and ask for His help. The Apostle James taught, ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up’ (James 4:10 in the Bible). We qualify for that blessing when we believe in Him and pray for His help.”
Robert Wells Experience with Savior
Robert E. Wells, now 97 years old, shares his experience of more than 60 years ago:
While living in Paraguay in 1960 and employed as an international banker, Robert Wells, then 32 years old, and his wife, Meryl, were each a pilot in two different planes, flying home from Uruguay to Paraguay. Encountering thick clouds, Robert and Meryl lost visual and radio contact with each other. Robert quickly landed, where he learned his wife’s plane had crashed. Neither his wife nor the two friends flying with her had survived. His children, at home in Asunción, were ages seven, five, and two. Elder Wells spoke of his grief: “Words will forever be inadequate in expressing the pain that swelled within me, consuming my emotions and numbing my senses. Profound tears of sorrow simply wouldn’t stop flowing. To make matters worse, as my mind was attempting to deal with the devastating realization of my wife’s passing, I found myself experiencing tremendous guilt for feeling I was responsible for the crash.”
Robert blamed himself for not having had the plane inspected more thoroughly and for not giving his wife better instrument flying instructions. He felt he was guilty of neglect.
Robert said: “My mind went into a dark daze. … I simply existed [for the sake of the children,] nothing more. I … lost my desire to continue on.”
In time, Robert was blessed with a deeply spiritual experience. “One evening, about one year later, while on my knees in prayer, a miracle occurred. While praying and pleading to my Heavenly Father, I felt as though the Savior came to my side and I heard an audible voice speaking these words to my soul and to my ears: ‘Robert, my atoning sacrifice paid for your mistakes’ I will lift your burden. …’
“From that moment, the burden of guilt [and despair] was amazingly lifted from me. I had been rescued! I immediately understood the encompassing power of the Savior’s Atonement and … that it applied directly to me. I experienced light and joy like I had never before known. I had been given an unearned gift, the Lord’s gift of grace. I didn’t deserve it, I had done nothing to merit it, but He gave it to me nonetheless.”
Escaping the Bondage of Sin
The opportunity to repent of our sins is a magnificent gift from our Savior and allows us to escape from the bondage of sin. It allows the Spirit of the Lord to fill our hearts with love, hope, faith, joy, peace and happiness.
Part of the article was taken form Neil A Anderson’s remarks (General Conference, Oct. 2025)