We acknowledge that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," but we also declare with firmness that repentance and forgiveness can be as real as sin. The Atonement of Jesus Christ causes each person to be accountable for his or her individual sins. We will overcome the consequences of individual sin by claiming the blessings and benefits of the Atonement. President David O. McKay said, "Every principle and ordinance of the gospel of Jesus Christ is significant and important ..., but there is none more essential to the salvation of the human family than the divine and eternally operative principle [of] repentance." "For salvation cometh to none ... except it be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ." It is not repentance per se that saves man. It is the blood of Jesus Christ that saves us. It is not by our sincere and honest change of behavior alone that we are saved, but "by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." True repentance, however, is the condition required so that God's forgiveness can come into our lives. True repentance makes "a brilliant day [out] of the darkest night."