What is a contrast of holding onto sin and repentance?
Alma 36:21
“Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.”
The contrast in Alma 36:21 is the contrast between holding onto sin and repentance — between a life that stays closed to God and a life that finally opens to Him.
The Contrast of Holding Onto Sin vs. Repentance
Alma 36:21 — “Nothing so bitter… nothing so sweet.”
Alma gives us one of the sharpest contrasts in all scripture. He places two experiences side‑by‑side so we cannot miss the difference:
“There could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains…
and… nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.”
This is not poetic exaggeration — it is a doctrinal map of the soul.
Holding Onto Sin — Why the pain is “exquisite and bitter”
When we cling to sin, we cling to something that cannot sustain us. Alma’s “exquisite bitterness” teaches us what happens inside our souls when we refuse to yield:
- We carry our own guilt — Sin becomes a weight we cannot set down.
- We lose spiritual clarity — We cannot see God, ourselves, or our path.
- We feel distance from God — Not because He withdraws, but because we turn away.
- We experience inner conflict — Our spirit knows we are made for more, but our choices resist it.
- We taste bitterness — Alma’s word “exquisite” means the pain is sharp, precise, unavoidable.
Holding onto sin is not neutral. It is not passive. It is a form of self‑inflicted spiritual suffocation.
Repentance — Why the joy is “exquisite and sweet”
When we finally yield our hearts, the contrast is immediate and overwhelming. Alma’s “exquisite sweetness” reveals what repentance actually does for us:
- We are released from guilt — Not by effort, but by Christ’s merits.
- We regain spiritual clarity — Light returns where darkness once lived.
- We feel God’s nearness again — Because repentance turns us toward Him.
- We experience inner harmony — Our desires, choices, and identity align with Christ.
- We taste joy — Not shallow happiness, but soul‑deep sweetness.
Repentance is not punishment. It is restoration. It is the moment we stop fighting God and let Him heal us.
The Core Contrast in One Line
Holding onto sin = exquisite bitterness.
Repentance = exquisite sweetness.
Alma is teaching us that the difference is not subtle — it is total. It is the difference between spiritual death and spiritual rebirth.
Why this matters for us
Alma’s testimony becomes our roadmap:
- When we feel bitterness, heaviness, or inner conflict, we are tasting the fruit of holding onto sin.
- When we feel sweetness, relief, and joy, we are tasting the fruit of repentance.
- The shift from one to the other happens the moment we soften our hearts and turn to Christ.
This is why repentance is always described as good news. It is the doorway from bitterness to sweetness, from burden to freedom, from darkness to light.
Recommended Talks for this Dissection
-
"Remember Lot's Wife"
Faith Is For the Future | BYU Speeches
Jeffrey R. Holland
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
BYU Devotional, January 2009 -
The Gift of Grace
By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
General Conference, April 2015 -
Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually
By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
General Conference, October 2017
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