Why Does "Safety Lie in Repentance"?

tl;dr — I'm trying to figure out what President Hinckley meant when he said, "our safety lies in repentance." I think he is referring to safety from fear, from physical danger, from the burden of sin, and from the power of the destroyer through covenants. What do you think he means?

Scripture Study Question of the Day: Why Does 'Safety Lie in Repentance'?

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, LDS President, Gordon B. Hinckley, gave a prophetic General Conference address entitled, The Times in Which We Live, in which he taught, "Great are the promises concerning this land of America. We are told unequivocally that it 'is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ' (Ether 2:12). This is the crux of the entire matter—obedience to the commandments of God." That's an uplifting promise!

President Hinckley then taught that [in the shadow of war], "we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, 'Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord' (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God." (Italics and coloring added.) Weird wording, right?

The coupling of the word "safety" with "repentance" confused me. As a child, I was indoctrinated to believe that spiritual safety lies in our strict obedience to God's commandments i.e., heeding the prophet and staying far from sin (Keep the Commandments, Children's Hymn #303). I couldn't recall any verses that taught repentance. Why would repentance, of all things, be the thing that brings (both physical and spiritual) safety?

Where Safety Does NOT Lie

1. Shame/Hiding —Attempting to better understand what President Hinckley meant, I felt inspired to think about the opposite of repentance. In doing so, I came across John Miller's thoughts on the matter in his book, Repentance: A Daring Call to Real Surrender. Miller wrote that people "think that safety lies in concealment—in the hiding of their sins. They often compare their lives with the lives of other sinners, and on that basis pretend that all is well with their souls. Their hearts have never learned that 'he who covers his sins will not prosper, but whosoever confesses and forsakes them, shall have mercy' (Proverbs 28:13; Doctrine and Covenants 58:43)." (Italics and coloring added.) When we hide from sin, we typically just end up doing more of it. (Incidentally, I believe everything else beyond this point is an extension of shame.)
2. DRUGS, SEX, & ROCK N' ROLL — If you move past denial and recognize that you have a safety problem, you'll inevitably observe a hole or emptiness inside of you that so many talk about, including Miller. As we try to fill that hole by experimenting with all things other than religion, we learn that nothing helps.
3. PRIDE — Many Christians wish away their holes by saying, "my hole is okay because it is nothing compared to that guy's hole!" These folks are blinded by one of the adversary's favorite tricks—justification of sin through comparison. (See President Benson's definition of Pride.) The natural man wishes that safety could come through simply seeming better that our neighbor. But that is not God's design. He's like, "hey, you! Yeah, you with the hole. Eyes on me. No looking at your neighbor's paper. Seriously?! You don't even have the same tests!"
4. The Arm of Flesh — Especially in a time of war, man has the tendency to place his trust in his own strategies and weapons of war. Even in the state of our nation today, we turn to "powerful" leaders (who may be involved in secret combinations), to help us feel powerful as well. We have been disconnected from our past and have forgotten the lessons of our forefathers—those who choose God prevail.

Background: The Plan of Salvation

There's a lot I don't know about the world, but there's two things I do know for sure:

1. I am a sinner.
2. I am going to die.

And that's why I need a Savior, even Jesus Christ. His sacred mission of Christ—to overcome both these obstacles of sin and death—was central to Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation for all His children. I have accepted Christ's atoning sacrifice by covenanting with Him through baptism to follow him for the rest of my life. By repenting everyday, my heart remains close to God and empowered to turn away from sin. As I do this, Christ's expiation covers me. Through the power of Christ's resurrection over death, everyone will be resurrected and receive a free, upgraded immortal body.

Scriptural Metaphor of Safety through Repentance

I realize that repentance truly is an act of divine protection. It reminds me of the oft used simile of Christ as the hen who would gather her chickens under her wings. "O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart."

3 Nephi 10:6; 3 Nephi 10:5; 3 Nephi 10:4; Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34; Doctrine and Covenants 10:65; Doctrine and Covenants 29:2; Doctrine and Covenants 43:24

More scriptural examples of God's forgiveness to those who repent

• Adam and Eve attempting to hide their transgression from Father in Heaven in the Garden of Eden.
• When King Saul and the Israelites army failed to follow Samuel's instruction to kill every living thing. Saul didn't and thought the Lord wouldn't know or care.
• When the Nephites were in bondage to the Lamanites, turned to the Lord, and were delivered through the wine scheme.
• Jonah cried repentance to the people of Ninava. They repented for a time. Then they forgot (turned away from the Lord) and were destroyed.
• The early missionaries of the Church were called to teach nothing by repentance to the people (D&C 6, 11).
• The mission of John the Baptist was to prepare the way of the Lord by turning the Jews to Christ.

Analysis

Essentially, Hinckley and Miller are both saying that safety does not come from prideful concealment of sin, but from humble repentance.

1. Danger comes from sin (distancing ourselves from God) as a people.
2. Misery is falsely believing we are okay with the consequences of our sins or try to "hide" them from God and man.
3. Safety is protection from exposure to danger i.e., covenants, freedom from the burden of sin.
4. The way to receive said protection is through repentance. (Repentance means returning to God.)
5. The steps of repentance include:
1. feeling truly sorry, 
2. confessing our sin to God (and possibly your bishop for help with more serious sins), 
3. asking for forgiveness from all affected parties,
4. making restitution for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual damages, and
5. forsaking sin by committing to God and any appropriate earthly allies to not return to the sin—refining the repentance process if you do.

Conclusion

Repentance activates the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives and frees us from the burden of sin.
Safety lies in repentance because God knew, from before the Fall of Adam and Eve, that man would sin and make mistakes. God, valuing the agency of man over freedom from danger, knew we'd all make mistakes, thus distancing ourselves from Him. That's why He called for a Savior in the great counsel in heaven during our pre-mortal life (Abraham 3:27). Jehovah was chosen by the Father, came to earth as Jesus Christ, and prepared The pathway home. And when we fail to live Christ's teachings, the Atonement appeases the law of justice, allowing us to repent and receive mercy if we accept His terms. His terms are simply to come to Him. When we come to Him (or repent), we humbly scurry—like chickens—back to Christ and our covenants. There we receive safety 'neath his wing. As President Hinckley taught, safety through Christ's atonement does not necessarily mean avoidance of suffering. However, we can still be happy (as opposed to miserable) in our suffering.

What are your thoughts? What do we need safety from? How does repentance work? How does repentance bring safety exactly?

Re: Happiness

Remember the words of Alma the Younger, "wickedness never was happiness (Alma 41:10)." Individuals find the greatest happiness when we surrender their lives to living the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a landmark conference talk, “Swallowed Up in the Will of the Father,” given in October 1995, Elder Maxwell stated, "the submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!"

Do I love God more than that TV show that has some nasty bits, or the grudge I just can't seem to let go, or some other worldly possession/activity I spend inordinate amounts of time on? If not, I need to ask myself, what has God told me about happiness? Are my ideas about the pursuit of happiness higher than God's?