This is a talk that was given by my missionary last Sunday. I just wanted to post it for those who requested a copy and give all who didn't hear it the opportunity to read it. It made me think more deeply about how I view the process of sanctification in my life. What am I willing to give up in order to do the Lord's will and in return receive the blessings he has promised me? I have to ask myself that constantly. Now is an especially poignant time for that question. I am so glad that he gave this talk. It was truly inspired.

on sacrifice

Sacrifice is an essential and eternal principle of the gospel. Although it isn’t everybody’s favorite word, it is a practice crucial to our salvation. I believe that sacrifice is one of the true tests of our discipleship in this life and the means whereby we can become refined and qualify for Eternal Life in the next.

Sacrifice can be defined as giving something to deity or the forfeit of one thing for another of greater value. From its etymology, or origin, we learn that sacrifice is a sacred doing—as in the context of priestly rituals. And with sacred meaning dedicated or consecrated, made holy, sacrifice could be considered an act concerned with dedicated or holy things, or perhaps the act whereby they become dedicated or holy. We can see this in our own experiences. Think of a parent’s sacrifice of time for their child, a missionary’s sacrifice of two years, something so great as one person sacrificing their life for another, or something so seemingly insignificant as someone sacrificing their seat on a crowded bus—it is that giving up of something of value that makes the gesture meaningful and not soon forgotten. It becomes set apart, sacred.

So what is it that we sacrifice? Seeing as how God has given us everything, there doesn’t seem to be very much that we can give back to Him that He doesn’t already have. Under the Law of Moses, the children of Israel were commanded to sacrifice the firstlings of their flocks. But then, when Christ came to the Earth and performed the Atonement, he fulfilled that commandment. In 3 Nephi 9:19-20, we learn what it is we are asked to sacrifice. So, we must give to the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit. As it was with the Israelites and their unblemished firstling of the flock—an animal of great worth—so too we are asked to give something precious and of high value to the Lord. This is the difficulty of sacrifice. If it were something easy to give, it wouldn’t really seem worthy to be called a sacrifice.

I would like to touch on three points or applications of our sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit. They are: sacrifice and faith, sacrifice as a Christ-like attribute, and sacrifice as a process of sanctification.

Sacrifice and Faith

Firstly, sacrifice and faith. Although we speak often of faith in terms of mustard seeds, I have learned over these past few years that faith is perhaps the bravest act of our lives. To trust in a Heavenly Father we can’t see (at least not directly), in a plan we can’t really remember choosing, in records written thousands of years ago, and in those noble men who lead our church today requires a great deal of courage. Thankfully, we have the Holy Ghost to witness the truth of these things, and to confirm our faith. But even this is a presence more felt than heard. To choose to follow the Lord’s commandments and align our lives with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is a sacrifice. It is sometimes difficult, uncomfortable, unpopular, and only partly understood. And so we sacrifice in faith, believing in “things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21).

Faith itself is a sacrifice—a sacrifice of our wills and our need to know everything in whole. Here I would like focus on that first offering that we sacrifice: the broken heart. I like to think of broken here in the context of training horses. As some of you may know, a “broken” horse is one who has become obedient, who’s wild and resistant will has been tamed. We need our hearts to follow that example. We give to the Lord a broken heart—a heart that is willing and obedient. That means we need to give up what we may want for ourselves and submit to the will of the Father. We bridle our hearts with the commandments and give the Master the reins. In this way our heart becomes an acceptable offering to the Lord; He does not want a wild or proud heart, for such a heart cannot accept His word.

This may seem like an unfair arrangement, but like that horse, we may just lack understanding. I’d like to mention again that definition of sacrifice: the forfeit of one thing for another of greater value. A broken heart, like a broken horse, is willing to be led. We may not understand where the Lord is leading us, but if we allow Him to direct our paths, I promise you that it is toward something more fulfilling and more beautiful than we could have ever guessed or could have come up with ourselves. I know this because I have seen it—and continue to see it—in my own life. Whatever plans we had for ourselves in our willful hearts pale in comparison to the great plan the Lord has for us. If we only knew.

And so we make the sacrifice of faith, and we sacrifice in faith, putting our trust in the Lord. In Hebrews 11, a profound chapter on faith, speaks of so many prophets—Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and others—who sought to do the Lord’s will, making great sacrifices because of their faith. In verse 13—one of my favorite scriptures—we read that, “…(read scripture). It continues on in verses 14-16 to say, “…(read scripture).” Like those prophets we believe—we must believe—that the promises of the Lord will all be fulfilled, and that we are meant for something greater than this life—that city that God has prepared for us.

Sacrifice as a Christ-like Attribute

Secondly, I would like to explore sacrifice as a Christ-like attribute. Why do we sacrifice? That question was put to Adam after he and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. The account can be found in Moses, chapter 5, beginning in verse 6. (read scripture.) There, then, is certainly one reason to sacrifice: because the Lord asked us to. Like I just said, we have to trust Him. However, the angel goes on to explain a second reason and the true purpose of sacrifice. In verses 7-8, it reads, “…(read scripture).” So, sacrifice is done in remembrance of the atoning sacrifice of the Savior.

It is maybe easier to see the connection between animal sacrifice under the Law of Moses and Christ’s atonement because of the similarities of physical death, being the firstborn, unblemished, etc. But in a very real way, our sacrifice under the new law, also speaks of the Atonement. Christ certainly had to offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit in addition to his life and his body. Submitting to the will of the Father, he showed us a perfect example of sacrifice.

So, since we aspire to become like Christ and follow the example of His life here on the Earth, we too must sacrifice. It is an attribute that we should emulate, as much His other attributes of love, service, and righteousness (which all seem like synonyms of sacrifice, when you think about it). Now I’d like to give some attention to our second offering, that of a contrite sprit.

A contrite spirit means a spirit that is penitent or repentant. Like the broken heart, the contrite spirit is submissive. It is indicative of a desire to be righteous, to turn from wickedness and walk in true paths. When contrite, we might ask, like David in Psalms 51:10, “…(read scripture).” A contrite spirit means we are willing to change—to alter our natures, our choices, our behaviors, and our habits in order to become more like Christ. Now, I know that this process doesn’t happen overnight. The Lord is not asking for a spirit that has repented of everything, and is therefore perfect. We are always in need of repentance, and if we were perfect, we wouldn’t need a Savior. What He asks of us, then, is a spirit that is willing to repent, one who is repenting. And no matter where you may be, a contrite spirit is possible to cultivate. The moment you decide that you want to change—to shake off those “sins which do so easily beset [you]” (2 Nephi 4:18)—is the moment that you experience a contrite spirit. Although the long road of repentance may stretch out before you, you have turned away from whatever detour you were following, and you face the Lord’s path.

As people who have strayed, we usually get the broken heart thing, but we can easily forget the contrite spirit. A broken heart is insufficient by itself—it is simply a state of lowliness and sorrow, which is a good start, but not enough to become like Christ. We need too the contrite spirit, a willingness to sacrifice the natural man, give up our sins, in order to be cleansed from our impurities. As Elder Bruce D. Porter said this last month in General Conference, “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 learn to do them God’s way instead. In such a condition of submissiveness, the Atonement can take effect and true repentance can occur.” And it is only through the sacrifice that true repentance asks of us that we can become like that pure, obedient Son of God, who is full of grace and truth.

Sacrifice as a Process of Sanctification

Lastly I would like to address sacrifice as a process of sanctification. As I said at the beginning of this talk, the origin of the word sacrifice refers to its sacred nature—a consecrated act. And since it is our hearts and spirits that we sacrifice, it is those things which are consecrated. The very act of giving our heart to the Lord, sets it apart. In Helaman 3:35, it describes this process beautifully. It reads, “…(read scripture).” I think the key word here is yielding—yielding our unruly and willful hearts unto God.

In our effort to become like Christ—to attain a Christ-like nature—our spirit must be contrite, and in that spirit we give our broken hearts over to Christ through faith on His name, obedience to His commandments, and repentance to access the power of the Atonement. It is then that Christ can actually change our hearts, cleanse our hearts, heal our hearts. We are, all of us, heart-broken, and it is simply a matter of whether we will give those pieces to the Lord or stubbornly keep the shards to ourselves. For Christ—who’s other name is Love—is our only hope for mending.

Like the Brother of Jared, we are commanded to make a journey toward the promised land. We have all kinds of modern-day seas to cross and have been given these bodies as ships to carry us through this life toward exaltation. The Lord may even provide the wind to move us along the path, as He did for the Jaredites. However, we need a light within our ships. Like the Brother of Jared, we must go to the Lord, and put before Him our hearts, as the Brother of Jared did his 16 stones. As we yield our hearts to His touch, they have the potential to transform, to give light, to be incandescent, burning away all impurities. In a word, our hearts become sanctified. And these new hearts can be a light for us as we make our private and personal journeys to our own promised lands.

When we sacrifice a broken heart and a contrite spirit, we are blessed with that clean heart and right spirit David spoke of, and in that state we are able (and willing) to be led by the Holy Spirit of the Lord as we walk along the path that leads us back to our Father’s presence. We become obedient, repentant, and learn to trust in the Lord. For sacrifice really is a practice of trust for us in this life. We don’t always know what the Lord has in store for us, but sacrifice in faith, believing that what we give up is really of lesser value when compared to what we will receive.

In fact, if you think about it. if we fully understood all of the blessings that come with sacrifice, we would be anxious to do it. Sacrifice is often the Lord’s way to bless our lives, and with such great things “that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10). Now, we don’t sacrifice simply because we want blessings. We sacrifice because the Lord asked us to, and it is in similitude of His own sacrifice in our behalf. However, the sanctification that comes through sacrifice is so important for each and every one of us, and such a blessings, that it too can be a motivation for us to give the Lord our broken hearts and contrite spirits. If we understand that sacrifice makes us holy, it is not so terrible a task after all, is it?