Transcript

One of the chapters I love in this book is the one entitled "Three Beloved Friends We Meet Early on the Road to Repentance." How often does the Lord speak of a broken heart and a contrite spirit? Those are two of the friends. He's described it in a number of ways, but the ones that seem most effective to me is when He talks about us becoming more like a child. And hanging over here on the wall is the beautiful Harry Anderson painting of the children with the Savior Jesus Christ. We've all seen it since our primary days, and it's powerful. And as we look at it think of this scripture. "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." A broken heart and a contrite spirit, a feeling of faith, of belief, of submission of our will to His. The third friend is Godly sorrow. I like the little metaphor that I included in the book given by President Oaks. He said, "Why is it necessary for us to suffer on the way to repentance for serious transgressions? We tend to think of the results of repentance as simply cleansing us from sin, but that is an incomplete view [of the matter]. A person who sins is like a tree that bends easily in the wind. On a windy and rainy day, the tree bends so deeply against the ground that the leaves become soiled with mud, like sin. If we focus only on cleaning the leaves, the weakness in the tree that allowed it to bend and soil its leaves may remain. Similarly, a person who is merely sorry to be soiled by sin will sin again in the next high wind. The susceptibility to repetition continues until the tree has been strengthened. When a person has gone through the process that results in what the scriptures call 'a broken heart and a contrite spirit,' the Savior does more than cleanse that person from sin. He gives him or her new strength. That strengthening is essential for us to realize the purpose of the cleansing, which is to return to our Heavenly Father. To be admitted to His presence, we must be more than clean. We must also be changed from a morally weak person who has sinned into a strong person with the spiritual stature to dwell in the presence of God." Well, this strengthening doesn't happen in a week. It may not even happen only during this class, but I give you my promise and my assurance that as you come before the Savior with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He will not only cleanse you from sin; He will strengthen your ability to resist sin and to find it totally unappealing to you. I know this is true, and it brings joy and happiness into our lives.

A Broken Heart, Contrite Spirit, and Godly Sorrow

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(The Divine Gift of Forgiveness, Chapter 15) Having a broken heart and contrite spirit is becoming like a child. The Savior not only cleanses us from sin but strengthens us to resist that sin in the future.
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