We don’t have a bishop, so I went to my stake president to confess that I violated the law of chastity. I’ve very repentant and I want to go to the temple with my boyfriend. The president asked me to tell my parents, but I don’t want them to know. I’m prepared to go through the repentance process with the president’s and God’s help, but do my parents really need to know?
2 Responses to “Do I need to confess my sins to my parents?”
Jorge Prado
2015-07-26 13:42:39
Hi sister. I'm happy you've spoken with your stake president and that you're resolving this problem. It takes courage to repent. That's very admirable.
With some few exceptions, it's not typically necessary to involve parents in the repentance process. This is doubly true when the sinner is an adult, which appears to be your case. Here are some examples of the rare occasions when getting parents involved might well be needed:
1. A sinner confesses to child abuse, suggesting that he or she may be an ongoing danger to other children in the home.
2. A sinner has done direct harm to his or her parents and so needs to ask for their forgiveness as part of the restitution/confession phase of repentance.
While confessing to parents isn't strictly required, it's not necessarily a bad idea. Parents generally love their children and are eager to help them get through hard times, including hard spiritual times. When parents know about their children's struggles, they can better help them through those challenges.
I hope this answer helps.
Anonymous
2015-08-25 17:13:27
I won't say this is official church policy (because I don't know whether it is or not), but my personal feeling is that your stake president holds the keys needed to help you repent, so if he has asked you to do something, you should. I've often had to do things that make me uncomfortable as part of repentance, but something I've found is that the things I'm most reluctant to do help me the most. I've always been scared to tell my parents about my mistakes, it is really uncomfortable for me, and I'm worried how they'll react. But when I've done it, they don't judge me and make me feel bad, they help me to overcome what I'm struggling with. If it is hard for you to do, talk to your stake president about being worried about it, and he'll be able to help you.
With some few exceptions, it's not typically necessary to involve parents in the repentance process. This is doubly true when the sinner is an adult, which appears to be your case. Here are some examples of the rare occasions when getting parents involved might well be needed:
1. A sinner confesses to child abuse, suggesting that he or she may be an ongoing danger to other children in the home.
2. A sinner has done direct harm to his or her parents and so needs to ask for their forgiveness as part of the restitution/confession phase of repentance.
While confessing to parents isn't strictly required, it's not necessarily a bad idea. Parents generally love their children and are eager to help them get through hard times, including hard spiritual times. When parents know about their children's struggles, they can better help them through those challenges.
I hope this answer helps.