How to Create Lasting Transformation

 

 This month, we are studying the law of sacrifice, and basically the law of sacrifice states that everything has a price, and a price must be paid for everything.

 

 Today we are going to take that a little bit deeper, and we are going to talk about what that means from God's perspective, and what he teaches us about it in the scriptures. And here's a couple of verses that will help us with that.

 

 First in Psalms 51, verse 7, it says, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart.

 

 Then in 3 Nephi 9, 19, and 20, it says this, 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.

 

 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

 

 And whoso cometh unto me, listen for the promise, 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 the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not. I love that. Having the Holy Ghost, having peace, having joy, having complete change in who you are, like the Lamanites, that's what we're after.

 

 And that's what we're going to get as we apply the Savior's Atonement by offering him a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Let's learn, you know, what is a broken heart and a contrite spirit? What does that actually mean?

 

 Bruce C. Porter in his book, A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit said this, those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit are willing to do anything and everything that God asks of them without resistance or resentment.

 

 We cease doing things our way and we learn to do them God's way instead. In such condition of submissiveness, the atonement can take effect and true repentance can occur.

 

 The penitent will then experience the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost, which will fill them with peace of consciousness and the joy of reconciliation in God. We are being promised peace and joy and true change.

 

 As we look forward, we can read from somebody else. Todd L. Budge said this.

 

 He said, anciently sacrifice meant literally to make something or someone holy. Viewed as such, sacrifice is a process of becoming holy and coming to know God, not an event or a ritualistic giving up.

 

 See, that's our worst fear about sacrifices, that we're going to have to give something up.

 

 Whereas, really, as we've learned about in our other podcast episodes, there's the more principle and God always gives us more, and we're trading up, we're getting something better. Elder Todd Budge continues.

 

 He says, sacrifice is less about giving up and more about giving to the Lord. Elder Neil A. Maxwell taught, the submission of one's will is really only the unique personal thing that we have to place on God's altar.

 

 However, when you and I finally submit ourselves by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then we are really giving something to him. This is all about following God's will.

 

 True transformation comes when we stop doing things our way, white knuckling, forcing, pushing, and instead do it God's way. It's having a complete change of heart.

 

 When we offer the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit, in return, he gives us a new heart. He changes our disposition and our desires. Do you see how that might change the need for self-discipline?

 

 And gives us the strength to withstand temptation so we can let go of something lesser so we can receive something higher. Without God, true lasting change is impossible.

 

 When our heart is changed, we are no longer white knuckling the changes in our lives. They become easier because our understanding, our desires, and our disposition has changed. So how do we know if our hearts are broken and our spirits are contrite?

 

 Elder Eric Kapischke, in his talk, Being Accepted of the Lord, explains this to us. He said, there's a couple of steps. The first is that we need to have self-reflection.

 

 We need to take a look at ourselves. We need to take a look at our hearts. This is what he says exactly.

 

 He said, the heart is the center of our feelings. As we look into our hearts, we screen ourselves. What no one around us knows, we know.

 

 We know our motives and our desires. When we engage in sincere, honest reflection, we do not rationalize or deceive ourselves. No excuses.

 

 What's the state of your hearts? You can ponder, you can pray about it. He also continues, he said, there is a way to judge if our hearts are broken.

 

 A broken heart is a soft, open, and receptive heart. And then he says, as we sincerely, I can talk, as we sincerely and prayerfully ponder to the extent which our hearts are honest and broken, we will be taught by the Holy Ghost.

 

 We will receive a sweet confirmation or a gentle correction inviting us to act. So then what is a contrite spirit?

 

 He said the word contrite in the Oxford Dictionary is defined as a feeling or expressing remorse at the recognition that one has done wrong. If we have a contrite spirit, we acknowledge our sins and shortcomings. We are teachable.

 

 So and he finishes there.

 

 What we know so far is that to have a broken heart means to have an open and an honest heart, honest about where we're at and how we feel, honest and open and willing to receive whatever the Holy Ghost wants to tell us, whatever God wants us to tell

 

 us through the Holy Ghost. And a contrite spirit is a willingness to recognize what we've done wrong, and a willingness to be teachable, and a willingness to take action based on what we know, and based on what the Lord is inviting us to do.

 

 This is powerful information. Because we want to have that broken heart and a contrite spirit, because as we do, then we are, we create that lasting peace and change in our lives. And it can be really challenging to follow God's will.

 

 But as we have that open heart and that contrite spirit, we're willing, we're willing to do whatever the Lord asks. And as we do so, we receive massive, massive blessings.

 

 I want to share a story about my daughter, Amy, who is currently serving a mission in Jacksonville, Florida. Before she left, she flat did not want to go on a mission. She didn't, she knew it was hard because she'd seen her siblings serve.

 

 She didn't want to give up what she was doing in her life right then. She's an introvert. She didn't want to be around people constantly.

 

 She did not want to serve a mission. And the Lord kept nudging her and urging her to serve a mission. After a  lot of agonizing and prayer and figuring it all out, she decided to go and she went.

 

 Just recently, a couple of months ago, she passed her one-year mark and she sent me the most profound letter about the 12 things that she had learned in the 12 months that she had served.

 

 So I would like to share with you a story about her and her sacrifice that she's made to go on a mission and also to stay on a mission and serve a mission. I want to share her story with you in her words. This is what she said.

 

 She goes, I got moved to Gainesville, Florida, and I felt like my world came crashing down a little bit. I had just left the area that I loved in a companion who'd become one of my best friends and traded that for a situation that was dismal at best.

 

 I went from a cute tiny town of 3,000 to a huge college town of 145,000. It was the middle of summer and our AC was broken. So it was a consistent 90 degrees with 100 percent humidity in our apartment.

 

 Not only was my companion very different, but we simply couldn't get along. On top of all that, we were opening an area, so neither of us knew anyone and we had to start completely from scratch. It's safe to say that I was thoroughly miserable.

 

 Nearly every time I went to take a cold shower to try to stay cool, I would find a giant cockroach in my shower. Every night, I would go into my closet to pray and I would just cry.

 

 I didn't know why God put me in these circumstances and all I wanted was to get out of them. Now remember, this is a girl who didn't want to go in the first place.

 

 It got to the point where I was just about ready to call my mission president and ask for a plane ticket home, but the Lord always provides a way. One day, I was sitting at my desk and I decided that I had had enough.

 

 I was done being miserable, so I said a prayer and I asked for help. That day, I learned two very important things. I learned that the spirit cannot, will not penetrate self-pity.

 

 Every time I prayed for help, I would immediately go back to throwing myself a little pity party and not allow the Lord to help me. I hadn't been trying very hard to love the situation I was in, but as soon as I chose to love, I found joy.

 

 It is the motto I have lived by ever since. We have to choose love and we have to choose joy. Joy is our purpose, not the gift of our circumstances.

 

 She goes on to bear her testimony about how a mission has absolutely changed her life and how she has learned and grown in so many ways and she feels like this is one of the biggest blessings of her life.

 

 It is just remarkable to see how this girl has been blessed as she has chosen to do the thing that felt hard and serve the Lord. And even once she got out there, it's still challenging, still hard.

 

 You know, the AC broken in 100% humidity and 90 degrees in your house, I wouldn't have been able to manage, but that was the least of the challenges she was struggling with, and yet the Lord blessed her with joy.

 

 Always God blesses us when we do what he asks us to do. Always he has bigger and better things in store for us if we're willing to take that leap of faith and do the thing that feels hard.

 

 I invite you this week to examine your heart and to ponder and pray about if you have an open, willing heart, and if you have a contrite spirit, meaning that you're willing to recognize where you need to make changes, willing to be teachable, willing

 

 to repent, and willing to act on the prompting the Holy Ghost is inviting you to follow through on. Thank you so much for being here. If you have loved this podcast, please share it with somebody who you know will enjoy it. Thanks again.