The Lord has said, “[W]hom I love I also chasten.”1 Being corrected is uncomfortable, but there are great blessings available to us if we are willing to receive the Lord’s correction and make changes accordingly.
In my recent study of the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, I found a major theme running throughout the book: “despise not the chastening of the Lord.”2 That wisdom is said in many ways and in many forms throughout Proverbs, but the message is clear: if we want to gain knowledge, if we want to find safety, if we want to be wise, we need to be willing to accept correction.
Why is correction so valuable? Because it facilitates learning. In order to learn, we must be willing to accept correction. This same principle is applicable to repentance. True repentance is learning and change, so in the gospel of Jesus Christ, correction is a catalyst to repentance and forgiveness of sins.
Proverbs teaches us to gain wisdom through correction
The book of Proverbs is a “collection of wisdom materials (mostly short sayings) from a wide variety of periods.”3 It contains many “maxims or sayings,” and “connected poems.”4 Proverbs teaches that wisdom is the application of knowledge:
One was not wise, regardless of his vast learning, if his actions did not comply with his righteous beliefs: “Like all Hebrew intellectual virtues, wisdom … is intensely practical, not theoretical. Basically, wisdom is the art of being successful, of forming the correct plan to gain the desired results. Its seat is the heart, the centre of moral and intellectual decision.5
The Book of Mormon teaches us to apply knowledge as Nephi taught his brothers to “liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.”6 The book of Proverbs shows us how to “liken” the scriptures to us, as it shows us how to use knowledge in practical applications. Its main theme is learning,7 and Proverbs teaches that in order to learn, we must receive correction.
Although this is not a comprehensive list, the following verses in Proverbs teach that we should accept and appreciate correction:
- 3:11-12, “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
- 6:23, “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.”
- 9:8, “Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.”
- 11:14, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
- 12:1, “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.”
- 12:15, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”
- 15:10, “Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.”
- 15:12, “A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.”
- 15:32, “He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.”
- 24:6, “For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.”
- 25:12, “As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear.”
- 27:5, “Open rebuke is better than secret love.”
- 28:5, “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.”
- 29:1, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
- 29:19, “A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.”
These passages, and many others, show that the true wisdom taught in Proverbs comes as a result of being willing to accept correction. We learn when we are willing to change, and we only change when we recognize when we’ve done something wrong or made a mistake.
Correction, whether it’s called chastisement or rebuke, is a blessing. When we accept correction, we learn. And correction is vital to learning.
Learning and repentance naturally flow out of accepting correction
There is a relationship between correction, learning, and repentance. Understanding that relationship can help us accept correction, and it can help us see the blessings of repentance.
Learning comes as we accept correction
If we want to learn, we need to “receive instruction,”8 and in order to receive instruction, we need to be willing to receive correction:
Personal growth involves success, errors, and the process of correction, for the direct purpose of understanding where and how the mistake occurred, and, at the same time, knowing and understanding how the truth is made known, which leads to learning, skills, knowledge, competence, and merit being achieved.9
The process of learning requires that we recognize when we’ve done something wrong. Think about learning a subject in school. If a child continually wrote the wrong answer in assignments (such as 2+2=3), and the teacher never corrected them, that child would never learn. If we want to learn and grow, we need to be willing to receive and accept correction:
The ability to stand corrected, to apologize, and learn swiftly with your identity intact requires a different sense of your identity, a sense of yourself as a work forever in progress, a living and learning intuition-tuning being. Critical feedback on your behavior is never a threat to that identity; in fact, it’s the guidance upon which that identity thrives.10
Correction is a blessing that helps us learn. If we want to be lifelong learners, we need to be willing to accept correction throughout our lives.
Repentance is a continual process of learning
The scriptures teach that the Lord corrects us to help us repent: “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation, and I have loved you.” (D&C 95:1).
Repentance and learning are not separate activities. Rather, repentance is change, which necessarily requires that we accept correction and learn. Two passages that are similar, but worded differently, help connect repentance with learning:
In the Americas, Jesus Christ taught His gospel, and emphasized this commandment:
Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.11
Repentance is “the” commandment, not just “a” commandment. This emphasis demonstrates the all-encompassing importance of repentance, and as we study the doctrine of repentance, we learn that it is a continual process of being corrected and learning. President Russell M. Nelson taught, “When we choose to repent, we choose to change! We allow the Savior to transform us into the best version of ourselves. We choose to grow spiritually and receive joy—the joy of redemption in Him. When we choose to repent, we choose to become more like Jesus Christ!”12
The second teaching of the Savior ties repentance to learning:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.13
Those two passages contain similar invitations. First, they both invite us to come unto Christ, either through repentance or by learning of Him. Second, He invites us to either be baptized or take upon ourselves His yoke. As I have pondered these two passages, I believe that repentance and learning of Him is a singular activity, and baptism in His name and taking upon ourselves His yoke is a singular activity.
The invitation to repent and the invitation to learn of Him both lead to the same place: we seek to make Jesus Christ the center of our lives, we bind ourselves to Him, and we begin a lifelong process of learning and changing that helps us progress. As we are baptized, we make covenants with Him and take His yoke upon us. Learning and repentance are integral, and correction helps us accomplish both.
In the gospel of Jesus Christ, lifelong discipleship is a life of daily repentance. If we truly want to repent daily, we need to be willing to accept the Lord’s correction.
We find joy in correction
Proverbs teaches us the great blessings found when we accept correction. We learn, grow, develop, and gain wisdom. As we ponder what it means to learn, we will recognize that we can’t learn without accepting correction.
There is an integral relationship between learning and repentance. To repent is to change our minds and hearts. It is a process of growth and development. And just like when we learn, being corrected helps us to repent.
We should be grateful for correction. Through that process, we learn and progress, and when we accept correction in conjunction with the process of repentance, we are “delivered out of temptation.”14 Correction, then, is the Lord’s way of delivering us. If we will accept His correction, we will see that He continually blesses us to learn, repent, and helps us find His rest.
References
- Doctrine and Covenants 95:1. ↩︎
- Proverbs 3:11. ↩︎
- Britannica Editors. “The Proverbs.” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 14, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Proverbs. ↩︎
- Bible Dictionary, “Proverbs,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bd/proverbs-book-of?lang=eng&id=p1#p1. ↩︎
- Old Testament Institute Student Manual Kings-Malachi, “Wisdom Is the Principal Thing; Therefore Get Wisdom,” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/chapter-2?lang=eng&id=p1#p1. ↩︎
- 1 Nephi 19:23. ↩︎
- Proverbs 1:1-2. ↩︎
- Proverbs 1:3. ↩︎
- Ragnar Purje Ph.D., “Correction Is a Gift That Strengthens Competence Potential,” Psychology Today Website, May 19, 2026, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/recovery-from-brain-injury/202605/correction-is-a-gift-that-strengthens-competence-potential. ↩︎
- Jeremy E. Sherman Ph.D., “Why Some People Will Never Learn,” May 10, 2014, Psychology Today Website, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ambigamy/201405/why-some-people-will-never-learn. ↩︎
- 3 Nephi 27:20. ↩︎
- Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” April 2019, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/36nelson?lang=eng&id=p8#p8. ↩︎
- Matthew 11:28-30. ↩︎
- Doctrine and Covenants 95:1. ↩︎
