Sunday, February 6, 2011
Broken Heart & Contrite Spirit
3 Nephi 9:19&20
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...
20: And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit."
Back in the day, sacrifice by the shedding of blood was a means of worship and was a type or a symbol of the sacrifice of 'The Lamb of God'. In this scripture, the Savior is speaking to his people in the Americas, the Nephites, and teaching them this important aspect of His gospel. He had just atoned for the sins of the world. Literally. He had just spent 3 hours in Gethsemane, half way around the world, suffering the pains and sicknesses and sins of everybody who had ever lived or would ever live, only to be arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary's cross. After suffering incomprehensibly in Gethsemane, he was beaten, humiliated, spit upon, whipped, ridiculed, and made to carry His own cross on the long road to Golgotha. He was then nailed to a cross and hung between two criminals. The perfect Son of the Living God. While on the cross, he suffered AGAIN for the pains and sins of the whole world (you and me and all the stupid things we have ever done or will do), pleaded with the Father to forgive His condemners, and then finished His mortal work.
In America, a thick darkness filled the land and the earth shook and trembled. The whole face of the land was changed, mountains arising out of the ground, cities being completely destroyed, fire consuming the land... for the space of 3 full days. Complete darkness. No light. Listen with your spiritual ears... no LIGHT! The third day, he rose from the grave to become the first fruits of them that slept. He not only conquered sin (offering us the ability to repent and be clean), but also death (allowing each and all of us to be resurrected and reunited with our perfect bodies). And so he teaches us that we do not need to offer sacrifices by the shedding of blood anymore; the ultimate sacrifice by the shedding of blood had been accomplished! Instead, he instituted a new, higher law; 'Ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.' It is easy to sacrifice an animal in the name of the Lord... but much more difficult to sacrifice the animal within each of us unto the Lord! To offer Him a broken heart and a contrite spirit means that we offer Him our will, our obedience, our humility. It means that we cast off our pride, repent of our mistakes, and recognize our dependence on Him. It means we are teachable and moldable. Much more difficult. And it truly means much more to Him. If we love Him, we will want to make this offering. He wants your heart. The deep part. Not the superficial part that occasionally thinks of Him when you need something. The deep part that strives daily to be a better you; a happier, cleaner, more loving you. He wants to know that you mean it when you say you believe in Him and love Him. We have to mean it. And thus this change in our offering.
I know He lives. I know He was slain for our sins, because He loves us. I know I am a happier, better man because of His gospel than I would ever be on my own. I know His suffering for me was not in vain, because I repent. I have tasted the sweet fruit of forgiveness. I have felt the peace that comes when His great atoning sacrifice in my behalf has been properly applied. We need Him. All He asks is for us to offer for a sacrifice unto Him our broken hearts and our contrite spirits. Note the word OFFER. He requires it of everybody, but will force it on nobody. It is a true offering.
Love you all.
Gunnar
Conversion to the Gospel by Studying the Scriptures
"Further, for the gospel to be written in your heart, you need to know what it is and grow to understand it more fully. That means you will study it. 5 When I say “study,” I mean something more than reading. It is a good thing sometimes to read a book of scripture within a set period of time to get an overall sense of its message, but for conversion, you should care more about the amount of time you spend in the scriptures than about the amount you read in that time. I see you sometimes reading a few verses, stopping to ponder them, carefully reading the verses again, and as you think about what they mean, praying for understanding, asking questions in your mind, waiting for spiritual impressions, and writing down the impressions and insights that come so you can remember and learn more. Studying in this way, you may not read a lot of chapters or verses in a half hour, but you will be giving place in your heart for the word of God, and He will be speaking to you. Remember Alma’s description of what it feels like: “It beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” 6 You will know that the gospel is being written in your heart, that your conversion is happening, as the word of the Lord from His prophets, past and present, feels more and more delicious to your soul." --Elder D. Todd Christofferson (When Thou Art Converted)
I love this part in his talk about truly studying! It doesn't get anymore plain than this. I know this is how we should study and I can testify that when I study like this my testimony does grow and I feel the spirit so much stronger.
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