Topic: Repentance

We need Advent to remind us of these responsibilities as we wait for Christ to return. And for that reason, Andrew is the perfect saint to start the Advent season. He also (unsurprisingly) embodies the call of John the Baptist in today’s Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Advent to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

We are assaulted by many temptations in our culture of ease and wealth to not really care about issues elsewhere in the world – we aren’t moved to the point where we might actually do something about it. We justify turning a blind eye to evil. What is the solution to this problem? We should observe the disciplines to which we are called in a holy Lent.

When we give our attention to worthless things, we are robbing God of that same attention. Not that God needs our attention, but that we abandon His ways, and we allow our relationship with Him to wither. We give our attention to that which we value most at that moment in time. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Ash Wednesday begins the Christian season of Lent, a 40-day journey of reflection, penitence, and self-discipline, leading up to Holy Week and Easter. If we don’t properly examine ourselves, we will not grow spiritually during this or any season. Watch as Elder Nathan explains how we can prepare for Lent with self-examination.