“A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit”

Brant Gardner

The Messiah effects the atonement by becoming a sacrifice for sin, thus “answer[ing] the ends of the law.” By this, Lehi means that the consequences of the eternal law may be reversed by the Messiah’s sacrifice. Lehi brought this understanding of the Messiah’s eternally redemptive mission from the Old World as part of the Mosaic law. (See 1 Nephi, Part 1: Context,Chapter 1, “The Historical Setting of 1 Nephi.”) The goats used in the Day of Atonement sacrifice and other actions of the high priest symbolized and predicted the Atoning Messiah. While the law without the Messiah’s atonement would condemn us, because of his sacrifice it can have no negative hold on us. Lehi then reminds his listeners that, to benefit from this redemption, they must qualify through having “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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