"I saw the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritual" (15).The Nephite people were mourning for the land abounded in thieves, robbers, murderers, magic art, and witchcraft (10). Mormon was hoping that such a cry was a cry of repentance. But it ended up being the "sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin" (13).
I know of so many people who sorrow because they've realized they can't find happiness in sin. Of course, many have no idea where else to look, but the Nephite people knew where to look and rejected it. They really sorrowed they couldn't be happy sinning.
While there is the sorrowing of the damned, there is also Godly sorrow. Ezra Taft Benson said:
“Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering. Our sins caused Him to bleed at every pore. This very real mental and spiritual anguish is what the scriptures refer to as having ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit’ (D&C 20:37). Such a spirit is the absolute prerequisite for true repentance” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 72).How do you repent? First, have Godly sorrow, the very real mental and spiritual anguish of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
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