3 Nephi 9:19-20 –
“And ye shall offer up onto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your
sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, and ye shall offer for
a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. 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 in me at the time of their
conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it
not.”
Let me mention one other thing. In ancient times when people
wanted to worship the
Lord and seek His blessings, they often brought a gift. For
example, when they went to the temple, they brought a sacrifice to place on the
altar. After His Atonement and Resurrection, the Savior said He would no longer
accept burnt offerings of animals. The gift or sacrifice He will accept now is
“a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” As
you seek the blessing of conversion, you can offer the Lord the gift of your
broken, or repentant, heart and your contrite, or obedient, spirit. In
reality, it is the gift of yourself—what you are and what you are becoming.
Is there something in you or in your life that is impure or
unworthy? When you get rid of it, that is a gift to the Savior. Is there a good
habit or quality that is lacking in your life? When you adopt it and make it
part of your character, you are giving a gift to the Lord. Sometimes this is
hard to do, but would your gifts of repentance and obedience be worthy gifts if
they cost you nothing? Don’t be afraid of the effort required. And remember,
you don’t have to do it alone. Jesus Christ will help you make of yourself a
worthy gift. His grace will make you clean, even holy. Eventually, you will
become like Him, “perfect in Christ.”
Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep
realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the
sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no
sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering. Our sins caused
Him to bleed at every pore.
This very real mental and spiritual anguish is what the
scriptures refer to as having “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (See 3
Ne. 9:20; Moro. 6:2; D&C 20:37; 59:8; Ps. 34:18; Ps. 51:17; Isa. 57:15.)
Such a spirit is the absolute prerequisite for true repentance.
