If you refer back to the layout of the tabernacle of
Moses, you will notice that the first “station” when you enter the outer
courtyard is the altar of sacrifice, and that it represents obedience and
sacrifice. This is the first step in our real-life journey from being born into
this fallen world back to God’s presence. Obedience and sacrifice are
essentially the same as faith and repentance, especially at this early stage of
spiritual progression. These two pairs of principles describe different
viewpoints of this initial phase of The Way.
Anciently, such as when the tabernacle of Moses was in
operation, sacrificial animals (sheep, goats, and cattle) were offered as burnt
sacrifices on the altar of sacrifice. After Christ was crucified, he told the
Nephites and Lamanites the following about the new sacrifice:
19) And ye shall offer up unto
me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings
shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt
offerings [but he will explain the sacrifice that he will accept].
20) And ye shall offer for a
sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit [this is the acceptable
offering]. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit,
him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites,
because of their faith [pistis covenant] in me at the time of their conversion
[conversion = repentance], were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and
they knew it not. (3 Nephi 9:19-20)
The sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit
replaced the temple ordinance of a burnt animal sacrifice. But what does it
mean to sacrifice a broken heart and a contrite spirit?
One clue to what it means to offer a broken heart and
contrite is spirit is that it replaced animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice
represents the subdual of our “animal” nature, or carnal nature. King Benjamin
called this part of us the “natural man”, which is an “enemy to God”. He
advised us to put this part of us off in exchange for a saintly, or holy,
nature. This is part of what it means to offer a broken heart and a contrite
spirit – to put off, or slay, the natural man and become a saint with the
child-like qualities of humility, love, and meekness. The apostle Paul described
putting off the natural man this way – “that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve
sin” (Romans 6:6) – and becoming a saint through the atonement of Christ as
“put[ting] on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).
However, there is more to the meaning of offering a
broken heart and a contrite spirit. In my own words, to offer a broken heart
includes the following aspects of understanding yourself and your relationship
to God:
§ To
see and understand the paradoxical extremes of your own self – your own carnal
nature and your own innate divinity
§ To
detach from the cares and distractions of the world, to not be overly concerned
or anxious about wealth, fame, and pleasure (whether sinful or not); I call
this “unplugging from Babylon”
§ To
understand the loving, good, merciful, and just nature of God enough to believe
in him and his work with you to make you fit for his kingdom
§ To
be willing to learn and to change and develop in whatever way God desires for
you
To offer a contrite spirit includes the following aspects
of understanding your relationship with others and God’s relationship with
others:
§ To
see others the way God sees them, as precious souls of great worth, and to see
the godly potential in others
§ When
others hurt you in any way, to return good for evil, love for hate, to pray for
your enemies, even if they are your enemies only temporarily, which may
occasionally be the case with family members
The phrase “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” can
refer to a state of being. We may go in and out of this state of being,
depending on our mental and emotional frame of heart and mind. Other words and
phrases that are essentially synonymous with a broken heart and a contrite
spirit include meekness, meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29), lowliness of
heart (1 Nephi 2:19), humility, to see your weakness (Ether 12:37), to view yourself
in your own carnal state (Mosiah 4:2), and to become as a child (Mosiah 3:19).
Elder Enzio Busche said this about being in a state of
meekness and lowliness of heart:
Initiated by the hearing of the
word of truth, a disciple of Christ is therefore constantly, even in the midst
of all regular activities, striving all
day long through silent prayer and contemplation to be in the depth of
self-awareness to keep him in the state of meekness and lowliness of heart.
It is the prophet Moroni who points out that “because of meekness and lowliness
of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with
hope and perfect love”
Enlightened by the Spirit of
truth, we will then be able to pray for the increased ability to endure truth
and not to be made angry by it (see 2 Ne. 28:28). In the depth of such a
prayer, we may finally be led to that
lonesome place where we suddenly see ourselves naked in all soberness. Gone
are all the little lies of self-defense. We see ourselves in our vanities and
false hopes for carnal security. We are
shocked to see our many deficiencies, our lack of gratitude for the
smallest things. We are now at that
sacred place that seemingly only a few have courage to enter, because this is
that horrible place of unquenchable pain in fire and burning. This is that
place where true repentance is born. This is that place where the conversion
and the rebirth of the soul are happening. This is the place where the prophets
were before they were called to serve. This is the place where converts find
themselves before they can have the desire to be baptized for the remission of
their sins. This is the place where sanctifications and rededications and
renewal of covenants are happening. This is the place where suddenly the
atonement of Christ is understood and embraced. This is the place where
suddenly, when commitments have solemnly been established, the soul begins to
“sing the song of redeeming love” and indestructible faith in Christ is born
(Alma 5:26). This is the place where we suddenly see the heavens open as we
feel the full impact of the love of our Heavenly Father, which fills us with
indescribable joy. With this fulfillment of love in our hearts, we will never
be happy anymore just by being ourselves or living our own lives. We will not
be satisfied until we have surrendered our lives into the arms of the loving
Christ, and until He has become the doer of all our deeds and He has become the
speaker of all our words. As He has said,
“I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). (Truth is the Issue, https://www.lds.org/ensign/1993/11/truth-is-the-issue?lang=eng)
I have also come to understand that there are progressive
levels of offering a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Alternatively, the
offering of a broken heart and a contrite spirit can be understood as a nearly
life-long process. Either way you look at it, the initial offering happens at
the beginning of The Way to Eternal Life. The ultimate offering of a broken
heart and a contrite spirit comes after entering into the presence of God.
One scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants tells us that
we may know whether or not we have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. It
also tells us that may know whether or not we accepted by God – “Verily I say
unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their
spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea,
every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me.”
(D&C 97:8). Elder Erich Kopischke of the Seventy said the following about
these concepts:
First, we need to know that our
hearts are honest and broken. How do we know that? We begin by engaging in
sincere self-reflection. The heart is the center of our feelings. As we look
into our hearts, we screen ourselves. What no one around us knows, we surely
know. We know our motives and desires. When we engage in sincere, honest
reflection, we do not rationalize or deceive ourselves.
There is also a way to judge if
our hearts are broken. A broken heart is a soft, an open, and a receptive
heart. When I hear the Savior say, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock,” I
hear Him knocking at the door of my heart. If I open this door to Him, I am
more responsive to the invitations of the Spirit, and I am more accepting of
God’s will.
As we sincerely and prayerfully
ponder the extent to which our hearts are honest and broken, we will be taught
by the Holy Ghost. We will receive a sweet confirmation or gentle correction,
inviting us to act.
A contrite spirit is manifest by
our willingness and determination to act. We are willing to humble ourselves
before God, willing to repent, willing to learn, and willing to change. We are
willing to pray, “Not my will, but thine, be done.”
Having the Holy Ghost as our
constant companion is the ultimate indicator of being accepted of God.
Seeking and receiving the
acceptance of the Lord will lead to the knowledge that we are chosen and
blessed by Him. We will gain increased confidence that He will lead us and
direct us for good. His tender mercies will become evident in our hearts, in
our lives, and in our families. (Being
Accepted of the Lord, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/05/being-accepted-of-the-lord?lang=eng)
LeGrand Baker describes one who offers a broken heart and
a contrite spirit this way:
[One with a broken heart is one]
whose mind is still open to new ideas and who has cleansed his emotions from
the debility of prejudice. It is one who can see the world—and more especially
the people in it—as God sees them, as they really are in sacred time. Thus the
clay pot is broken, but its little pieces might be put together and
restructured into something different. A broken heart is like that—subject to
becoming different from what it was before.
For one’s spirit to be contrite,
it must be hurt by others. For one’s sacrifice to be a contrite spirit, one
must willingly take upon oneself the pain and sorrow of other people.
In short, what the Savior
requires of us is the same sacrifice that he made—but a sacrifice that is
within the limits of our ability. To sacrifice one’s Self is to set one’s Self
apart from the world and make one sacred. The sacrifice is accomplished when
our preconceptions and prejudices are opened to the Savior’s light so we see
that others have real value and we extend our Selves to try to take away some
of the hurt this world imposes upon them. To make that sacrifice is to open
one’s Self to the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise:
26) A new heart also will I
give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27) And I will put my spirit
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
Then will the prayer of the
psalms be made reality:
10) Create in me a clean heart,
O God;
and renew a right spirit within
me.
11) Cast me not away from thy
presence;
and take not thy holy spirit
from me.
12) Restore unto me the joy of
thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free
spirit. (Psalm 51:10-12)
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