Shortly before his death, Lehi delivers a doctrine-rich message to Jacob, his "firstborn in the days of [his] affliction in the wilderness" (2 Nephi 2:1). Lehi teaches that God consecrates--or “appropriates to sacred uses”--our afflictions for our gain ("consecrate," Websters Dictionary 1828).
Jesus Christ’s grace is free; redemption comes in and through Jesus Christ, who is full of grace and truth. Eternal law requires that sin be punished. Jesus Christ offers himself a sacrifice for sin on the condition that we have a broken heart and contrite (worn or bruised) spirit ("contrite," Websters Dictionary 1828). What does it mean to be broken. The word “broken” many definitions, including “subdued completely: crushed, sorrowful” ("broken," Merriam Webster). The word broken is also used to describe taming and training (breaking) a horse. A horsemanship trainer named Mike Daniels wrote “I like to say ‘We get to play God’s role with horses so we have an idea what God is up against when he deals with us.’ Whether it be God dealing with us, or us dealing with our horses, a broken spirit essentially means we have come to the point where we are finally ready to listen. (https://houstonherald.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/horse-sense-broken-spirit/). My goal this week is to align my will to that of my Trainer—to be ready to listen to his guidance.
1 Comment
And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. What does it mean to have a "broken heart?" When I think of a broken heart, I think of someone who has lost it all, someone who's dreams are shattered, someone who can't make it on his or her own. Then I think of Jesus Christ, the Master Healer. I think of Christ taking someone's broken heart and mending it piece by piece, "one by one." (See Elder David A. Bednar and Paul Cardalls' song "One by One": https://www.lds.org/new-era/2016/07/one-by-one?lang=eng.) In the end, the heart is completely restored. No cracks, no missing pieces. Whole and perfect, as if the heart had never been broken. A broken heart is the sacrifice that Christ requires in place of the Mosaic requirement of animal sacrifices. "The shedding of blood in animal sacrifices was an outward ordinance intended to remind those involved of the future sacrifice of the Son of God and of the need for the believer to offer up at the same time an inward sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit... "The 'broken heart' spoken of in the scriptures is not the sorrow one feels because he has lost a close relative or loved one or suffered some other personal disappointment in life. Rather, the broken heart spoken of in the scriptures is the natural consequence of a person’s recognizing and admitting his own sins and imperfections (https://www.lds.org/manual/aaronic-priesthood-manual-2/lesson-19-a-broken-heart-and-a-contrite-spirit). A contrite spirit is a repentant spirit--a spirit willing to put off the natural man and become a Saint. For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. Only through the atonement of Jesus Christ can I have a "broken heart and a contrite spirit." To do so, I must yield to the Holy Ghost's promptings and run from the adversary's temptation. When I become like a little child, submitting my will, trust, faith, and hope to the Father.
|
Archives
October 2022
Categories
All
For anyone interested, I have a professional blog titled The Instructional Designer's Toolkit where I share tools and inspiration for instructional designers and e-learning developers.
|