Guilt comes through willingly doing less than what you believe is best.1 If you feel guilty here and now, you will feel guilty forever.2 You can enjoy deep peace from and confidence with God through maintaining “a clear conscience before God,” as many of his servants have (see Mosiah 2:27).
Contentment comes through living the best you know how.3 If you reconcile your life to the best you know, you will feel freedom from guilt4 and enjoy peace of conscience.5 The more accurate your understanding of the ideal character, and the more fully you live up to the same, the more it will take to overcome your peace, and the more content6 and confident7 you will be.
The character of Christ is the ideal character. The fullness of the peace that is available in living as you believe the Lord would is beyond the ability of anything in this world to overcome.8 If you actively consider God’s character and will at all times,9 only doing what makes rational sense for the greatest long-term benefit, you will walk with a peace unknown by anyone who does anything less.10
Footnotes
- 1. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17) And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity. (Moroni 10:22) ↩
- 2. Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws? Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell. (Mormon 9:3-4) ↩
- 3. “And by him all that believe are justified from all things....” (Acts 13:39) Scripturally speaking, to “believe” includes living up to what you believe, and to be “justified” is to attain blamelessness, or freedom from guilt. ↩
- 4. And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath...taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son. (Alma 24:10) ↩
- 5. And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them. (Mosiah 4:3) ↩
- 6. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) ↩
- 7. The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1) ↩
- 8. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. (Isaiah 54:14) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27) Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. (3 Nephi 11:39) ↩
- 9. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. (D&C 6:36) ↩
- 10. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8) ↩