“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee” who gave thanks to God that he was not a crook or a lecher, that he fasted twice a week, paid a full tithe, and was very strict in his religious observances. All this was perfectly true. The other man was a tax collector and rather ashamed of some of the things he had done, and instead of thanking God by way of boasting, he only asked God to be merciful to him, a sinner (see Luke 18:10–13).
Nibley makes the distinction that —
The surprise is that the sinner was the righteous one—because he was repenting; the other one who “exalteth himself shall be abased”—because he was not repenting (Luke 18:14). None but the truly penitent are saved, and that is who the righteous are (see Alma 42:22–24).
Then he asks us these two simple questions —
What do you repent of and how do you repent?
It is all a matter of seeking: when you repent you turn from seeking some things to seeking others. What you seek are the desires of your heart, as Alma says, and by them alone you will be judged (see Alma 41:3). (Nibley, Scriptural Perspectives on How to Survive the Calamities of the Last Days, pdf)
I need to think about what I am seeking — every day. When we repent, we turn from seeking some things to seeking other things. And we can fool ourselves about how well we’re doing. We can be like the pharisee and those that think all is well in Zion. Or you can be a nut-case that starts a doomsday group. I prefer to turn inward and analyze my thinking, my actions, and how well they align with God. Remember that Indiana Jone’s movie, “only a penitent man may pass”? I guess that’s right. Hugh Nibley reminds us that there are two things we should be doing — repenting and forgiving.
