No more animal sacrifices? So, what now?

Animal sacrifices were part of the Law of Moses. When Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses, he commanded us to give a different kind of sacrifice- a broken heart and contrite spirit.

The Lord commanded the Nephites:

"And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost..."

3 Nephi 9:19-20

How do we offer a broken heart and contrite spirit to the Lord?

I believe this means we must be humble, repentant, and willing to do God's will at all times. To be broken hearted, we must not allow ourselves to set our hearts on things of the world with know eternal significance. Our spirits will be contrite when they overcome the sins of the flesh to be in perfect harmony with God's will.

We are not perfect, so this means we will slip up from time to time. To have a broken heart and contrite spirit we must recognize our shortcomings and feel sorrowful enough to fully repent to the Lord.

This is really what Christian living is all about, and this is the sacrifice that is now required of all followers of Christ.