Near the end of his life, old father Jacob who was Israel said to his son Joseph:
“… O my son, the God of my fathers hath blessed me in raising thee up to be a servant unto me, in saving my house from death;
In delivering my people, thy brethren, from famine; wherefore the God of thy fathers shall bless thee, and the fruit of thy loins, that they shall be blessed above thy brethren, and above thy father’s house;
For thou hast prevailed, and thy father’s house hath bowed down unto thee, even as it was shown unto thee; wherefore thy brethren shall bow down unto thee, from generation to generation, unto the fruit of thy loins forever;
For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin.
And now, of thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, behold, they are mine, and the God of my fathers shall bless them;
In thee shall Israel bless…”
JST, Genesis 48:7-11, 5, & 20 (shortened)
Abraham’s family was given a role to bless all the families of the earth, by bringing them access to the blessings of Jesus Christ’s Atoning sacrifice.
Joseph’s role was to be a light to his brethren, and to help them when they were bowed down under sin, to deliver them from famine’s destruction, and help bring them out of bondage.
We have opportunities to embrace this heritage, by teaching how to access the freeing power of Jesus Christ’s Atonement.
We are to teach that repentance is the way to lay hold on the promised blessings of Jesus.
We teach best by example, by daily trying to repent. Then we can speak from experience, from squarely trying to be in the path ourselves.
Repenting makes life so much better!
It is not self-perfection; it is a combination of effort and surrender that admits the need for His help. It is doing what we can and giving up all that we can’t, into the hands of the Master.
It is re-avowing our desire to get back on track, and letting Him give us His fresh starts.
Repenting healing how we feel towards God, and others, which enables Him to heal how we feel towards ourselves.
It is a first-order business, because everything goes better afterwards if we do.
Daily Repentance is joy and relief!
Repenting out of a belief in Jesus Christ, leads on to the promise of baptism, and then fullness of the blessings of Abraham, available in the Lord’s house His Temple.
What a blessing to receive and offer these, the richest gifts and promises our Father has!
On the Path of Life... 