An ancient prophet once wrote: "O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people. Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth." (Alma 29: 1-2, emphasis added.)

What is it about the word repent that is such a turn-off to most of us?  Is it because it implies a judgment by the one saying it upon the one hearing it?  Is it because it asks us to give away our favorite little sins, the ones we have rationalized so completely that they don't appear to us to be sins?  Is it because it creates in our minds visions of punishments we don't want to think about?  For whatever the reason, when we hear that word, our first impulse seems to be to run the other way - and fast!

But slow down!  I like to look at the prophet's expressed reason for wishing he could preach repentance in a voice to shake the earth: that his people would come unto God "that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth."

Wouldn't you like to live in a world with no more sorrow?  I would! Of course, there would be some sorrow, such as bidding a loved one good-bye at death, but such natural sorrows are a part of life and can be borne.  I believe the greatest sorrows on earth are those brought about when people stray from God's plan for His children.  I suffer for the sins of other people as well as for my own sins, as do we all.  But I can do nothing about the sins of others, other than to pray for them, and for the grace to forgive, then give the burdens to God.  I can, however, take responsibility for my own sins and shortcomings - including the way I choose to respond to the shortcomings of others.

In the Old Testament, the ancient prophets talked about repentance as turning: turning aside and moving away from temptation and sin; turning back to the Great Creator who made us; turning toward the Light which is Jesus Christ, whose love and grace alone can save.

I want less sorrow in my world, beginning with me, in my home and wherever I may be.  I can do that if I take care of my own issues and not wait for an angel to trumpet them at me.  If I do that and you do that, we can change the world.  Marianne Williamson said: "Personal transformation can and does have global effects.  As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us.  The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one."