A Broken Heart & a Contrite Spirit

Having a broken heart and a contrite spirit was a phrase I heard over and over today while listening to the General Conference sessions today. I'm just going to break each of those words down and see what happens. :)

I'll bold my favorite definitions as it may apply to spiritual matters.


Definitions of broken on the Web:

-physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split; "a broken mirror"; "a broken tooth"; "a broken leg"; "his neck is broken"
-not continuous in space, time, or sequence or varying abruptly; "broken lines of defense"; "a broken cable transmission"; "broken sleep"; "tear off the stub above the broken line"; "a broken note"; "broken sobs"
-subdued or brought low in condition or status; "brought low"; "a broken man"; "his broken spirit"
-(especially of promises or contracts) having been violated or disregarded; "broken (or unkept) promises"; "broken contracts"
-tamed or trained to obey; "a horse broken to the saddle"; "this old nag is well broken in"
-topographically very uneven; "broken terrain"; "rugged ground"
-imperfectly spoken or written; "broken English"
-thrown into a state of disarray or confusion; "troops fleeing in broken ranks"; "a confused mass of papers on the desk"; "the small disordered room"; "with everything so upset"
-weakened and infirm; "broken health resulting from alcoholism"
-destroyed financially; "the broken fortunes of the family"
-out of working order (`busted' is an informal substitute for `broken'); "a broken washing machine"; "the coke machine is broken"; "the coke machine is busted"
-discontinuous; "broken clouds"; "broken sunshine"
-lacking a part or parts; "a broken set of encyclopedia"


Very interesting. I like how broken means weak, or subdued, which can also mean humble. Oh yeah, I think we're getting somewhere now...


Definitions of heart on the Web:

-the locus of feelings and intuitions; "in your heart you know it is true"; "her story would melt your bosom"
-the hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs; its rhythmic contractions move the blood through the body; "he stood still, his heart thumping wildly"
-the courage to carry on; "he kept fighting on pure spunk"; "you haven't got the heart for baseball"
-center: an area that is approximately central within some larger region; "it is in the center of town"; "they ran forward into the heart of the struggle"; "they were in the eye of the storm"
-kernel: the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience; "the gist of the prosecutor's argument"; "the heart and soul of the Republican Party"; "the nub of the story"
-an inclination or tendency of a certain kind; "he had a change of heart"
-a plane figure with rounded sides curving inward at the top and intersecting at the bottom; conventionally used on playing cards and valentines; "he drew a heart and called it a valentine"
-a firm rather dry variety meat (usually beef or veal); "a five-pound beef heart will serve six"
-affection: a positive feeling of liking; "he had trouble expressing the affection he felt"; "the child won everyone's heart"; "the warmness of his welcome made us feel right at home" -a playing card in the major suit that has one or more red hearts on it; "he led the queen of hearts"; "hearts were trumps"


Wow, I like a LOT of those definitions. Probably my favorite though, would be the center. At the very center of us, should be humility. I like it.


Definitions of contrite on the Web:

-feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses
-feeling regret for a fault or offence


All of Google only found those two definitions, and it works for me. A basic feeling of sorrow for our sins.


Definitions of spirit on the Web:

-the vital principle or animating force within living things
-the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people; "the feel of the city excited him"; "a clergyman improved the tone of the meeting"; "it had the smell of treason"
-a fundamental emotional and activating principle determining one's character
-any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings
-emotional state: the state of a person's emotions (especially with regard to pleasure or dejection); "his emotional state depended on her opinion"; "he was in good spirits"; "his spirit rose" -intent: the intended meaning of a communication
-liveliness: animation and energy in action or expression; "it was a heavy play and the actors tried in vain to give life to it"
-heart: an inclination or tendency of a certain kind; "he had a change of heart"
-infuse with spirit; "The company spirited him up"


So, a contrite spirit, would be a basic emotional state of sorrow for our sin.

Very interesting. I don't know if you all learned anything, but I did. I've heard that saying over and over ALL. MY. LIFE. It has been taught and re-taught to us, but I guess I never really bothered to find out what exactly it was. I always figured that a broken heart was similar to the feelings you get when you get dumped. Not so.

I'd like to encourage and challenge us all to have an emotional state of humility and sorrow for our sins, that goes to our very core of who we are (and more importantly, who the Lord knows we are).