I was skimming over my scripture journal a few days ago, reviewing some of the things the Lord has taught me in the last few months, and I came to a topic that I felt like I still didn’t understand.  The Spirit told me to stop, and to take time to study and learn some more about the topic.  The topic was: “Having a Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit.”

I thought about what having a broken heart and contrite spirit means.  To me, up to this point, having a broken heart meant that someone you deeply loved had done something to hurt you and then your heart was broken or shattered.  I was picturing someone being in the depths of despair over the loss of someone they loved, but that doesn’t sound like the type of broken heart that was expected before people could be baptized in Moroni 6:2 when it says: “Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.”  We know that children as young as 8 years old can be baptized so having someone break your heart and leave your heart shattered in pieces doesn’t seem consistent with a requirement to be baptized, nor does it seem to go hand in hand with repentance.

I decided to look up the words broken and contrite in the dictionary, because that’s almost always where I start. Ha! .  I thought I knew what the word broken meant, and I knew I didn’t have a clear understanding of the word contrite.  We’ll start with the word broken  because it is listed first. I found, as I had expected, definitions like: reduced to fragments; fragmented, ruptured; torn, not functioning properly, out of working order, fragmentary or incomplete.   These definitions still didn’t sound right.  While I know that we can bring our weakened, fragmented, not working parts to Christ and He will heal us, it didn’t seem right that a heart that is out of order and not working properly would be a requirement of baptism.  And then I got to the definition that made everything clear!

Broken: “Tamed, trained, or reduced to submission:  The horse was broken to the saddle.”

With that one definition it all made sense!  God doesn’t expect us to come to him with a broken, out of order heart.  He expects us to come with a submissive, tamed heart!  Yes!   A heart that is trained or broken like we train or break a horse.  A horse can finally fulfill its purpose once it is controlled and doing the bidding of his master, and only when we are submissive to our Savior can we do His will and fulfill the purposes He has for us.  Wow!

Next, the meaning of the word contrite.

Contrite: 1. caused by or showing sincere remorse  2. Filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement; penitent.

So, to me, contrite means being remorseful when we have done somethings wrong, we feel truly sorry and we have a desire to repent. This fit perfectly with having a broken heart.  If we have a submissive, tamed, trained heart then we also should have a repentant, penitent spirit.  We have a desire to repent quickly when we have done something wrong.

Both of these definitions seemed to fit so well with the scripture I quoted above from Moroni.  Now substitute the new found meanings in the scripture for the original words.

Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken submissive, trained heart and a contrite  repentant, penitent spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.

It all makes sense now!  This new definition also made clear the things I had been studying in a talk entitled “Broken Heart and A Contrite Spirit by Bruce D. Porter.  He said that having a broken heart and a contrite spirit:

• Is Perfect submission to our Heavenly Father
• Is being completely open to the Spirit of God and recognizing our dependence on God for all that we have and are
• Preconditions repentance
• Means your are willing to do anything and everything that God asks, without resistance or resentment
• Serves as a divine shield against temptation
• Is deep gratitude for Christ’s suffering on our behalf

Here are a few more quotes and scriptures I found on having a broken heart and a contrite spirit:

3 Nephi 12:19 “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. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled.”

“In this lifetime curriculum of repentance, the sacrament is the Lord’s designated way of providing continual access to His forgiveness. If we partake with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, He proffers us weekly pardon as we progress from failure to failure along the covenant path. For “notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them.” –Elder Lynn G. Robbins, (Until Seventy Times Seven, April 2018)

“What is the value of even a beloved gold bracelet compared to the sacrifice of the very Son of God? How can we honor that infinite sacrifice? Each day we can remember that we have one more day to live and be faithful. Amulek taught, “Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you” (Alma 34:31). In other words, if we will offer to the Lord the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, immediately the blessings of the great plan of happiness are manifest in our lives.” –Taylor G. Godoy (One More Day, April 2018)

“The ordinance of the sacrament is a holy and repeated invitation to repent sincerely and to be renewed spiritually. The act of partaking of the sacrament, in and of itself, does not remit sins. But as we prepare conscientiously and participate in this holy ordinance with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then the promise is that we may always have the Spirit of the Lord to be with us. And by the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost as our constant companion, we can always retain a remission of our sins.”  –Elder David A Bednar (Always Retain a Remission of Your Sins, April 2016)

If you are interested in reading more scriptures on having a broken heart and a contrite spirit you can find some here:

2 Nephi 2:7, Ether 4:15, 3 Nephi 9:20, D&C 59:8

I hope this has increased your understanding of what it means to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit, it sure increased mine!  I would love to hear your thoughts.  Leave me a comment!