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| "Enos Praying" by Robert T. Barrett |
The definitions for the word "sin" are boring on their face: An offense against God. Being truly guilty. Wrongdoing. Exactly what we would expect.
Yet, when we look at the Greek and Hebrew words that are translated as "sin," we find something else: Hamartia and Chatta'ah, respectively, both refer to missing the mark, like missing a target in archery, or failing to reach a divine standard or goal.
Missing the mark is not a trivial thing, particularly for those who have been baptized. Elder Bednar has reminded us on many occasions that the gift of agency was not given so we could do whatever we want, but so that we could choose to follow Christ. He is the mark-- our deliverer and jealous God who commands our loyalty (Exodus 20:1-6). Those who have been baptized have covenanted to "always remember him" (D&C 20:77)-- and sin is evidence of a breach of that contract. The Lord is clear that he "cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance" (D&C 1:31) and Jacob wrote that the Jews were destroyed, "because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark" (Jacob 4:14).
But imagine yourself learning to shoot arrows at a target. You want to hit the target so it's easy to promise your instructor that you will aim there. You're pretty novice, but if you keep practicing you have hope that you could compete locally, nationally, or beyond-- maybe even at the Olympics.
You start out simple. As you get better, you start to get farther from the target and use more sophisticated equipment. And then, for some reason, you miss one. You get distracted or nervous or slip or whatever else happens... and you miss.
Do you quit trying? Do you walk away from your instructor and the support of your team? Or do you reset your aim, remind yourself of what you have learned from your instructor, maybe ask for a little coaching, and try again?
Professional archers are incredibly accurate because they have practiced so much they can be very consistent with their form, aim, and release. Hitting the bullseye does not get easier, but the effort to do so becomes second nature because they have practiced it so often. Yet, even the most elite make errors, misjudge the wind, have a slight break in form, or just miss. They have missed thousands of times over decades of improving in their sport. None of them got good by deciding a particular miss was too bad or that they had missed too many times. When they miss, they are quick to grab another arrow and try again. In other words, they are quick to repent.
The primary Greek word in the New Testament for repentance is Metanoia, which signifies a profound shift in heart and mind away from sin and towards God. If sin is missing the mark, repentance is refocusing our lives on Christ and trying again. Guilt and punishment enter the definition through translations to Latin, French, and English, and Paul taught that "godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation" (2 Corinthians 7:10), but the act of repentance is more about striving to improve, no matter how often or how terribly we've missed the target, than it is about feeling bad that we missed.
King Benjamin taught, "I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them. But this much I can tell you, that [ye must] watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives" (Mosiah 4:29-30). There are an infinite number of ways to miss; but as we use our agency to practice consistently hitting the target, even as the level of difficulty increases, and keep trying when we miss, following Christ will become a second nature for us in our actions, our thoughts, and our words.