“Racked means ‘tortured.’ Anciently a rack was a framework on which the victim was laid with each ankle and wrist tied to a spindle which could then be turned to cause unbearable pain.
“A harrow is a frame with spikes through it. When pulled across the ground, it rips and tears into the soil. The scriptures frequently speak of souls and minds being ‘harrowed up’ with guilt.
“Torment means ‘to twist,’ a means of torture so painful that even the innocent would confess” (Boyd K. Packer, “The Touch of the Master’s Hand,”Ensign, May 2001, 23).
“Justice requires that the unrepentant transgressor suffer for his own sins [see D&C 19:16–19]. …
“… What about repentant transgressors? Are they punished? Must they suffer? …
“… The person who repents does not need to suffer ‘even as’ the Savior suffered for that sin. Sinners who are repenting will experience some suffering, but, because of their repentance and because of the Atonement, they will not experience the full ‘exquisite’ extent of eternal torment the Savior suffered for that sin.
“President Spencer W. Kimball, who gave such comprehensive teachings on repentance and forgiveness, said that personal suffering ‘is a very important part of repentance. One has not begun to repent until he has suffered intensely for his sins’ [The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 88].
“‘If a person hasn’t suffered, he hasn’t repented. … He has got to go through a change in his system whereby he suffers and then forgiveness is a possibility’ (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 99). …
“All of our experience confirms the fact that we must endure personal suffering in the process of repentance—and for serious transgressions that suffering can be severe and prolonged. I believe that every one of us who is truly honest with himself or herself recognizes the truth of this principle. We have felt it in our own lives, and we have seen it in the lives of others.
“We should also observe that our personal suffering for sin is private, not public. Often only the sinner and the Lord and the Lord’s servant know what is happening. In contrast to the public nature of the punishment inflicted by the laws of man, the suffering that leads to mercy under the laws of God is intensely personal” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Sins, Crimes, and Atonement” [evening with a General Authority, Feb. 7, 1992], 4, 5, 6).
“Satan will try to make us believe that our sins are not forgiven because we can remember them. Satan is a liar; he tries to blur our vision and lead us away from the path of repentance and forgiveness. God did not promise that we would not remember our sins. Remembering will help us avoid making the same mistakes again. But if we stay true and faithful, the memory of our sins will be softened over time. This will be part of the needed healing and sanctification process. Alma testified that after he cried out to Jesus for mercy, he could still remember his sins, but the memory of his sins no longer distressed and tortured him, because he knew he had been forgiven (see Alma 36:17–19)” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Point of Safe Return,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 101).