Sacrifice

The law of Sacrifice requires that we give to the Lord "all" He requires of our time, our earthly possessions, our energies, and even our lives if necessary. It requires also that we seek to know God's will daily and to do it. As we consecrate our time, possessions, and energies daily doing the Lord's will, our obedience and they sacrifices we make enable us to build greater faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to advance in knowledge, light, and truth. As we straightway leave our nets to do His will we trod a very special and customized path -- one the Savior has designed perfectly for us with one end in mind, that we may lay hold upon sufficient faith and knowledge to see His face, enter His presence, and receive Eternal Life.


From Adam until Christ, Israel was commanded to offer up the firstlings of their flocks as sacrifices unto the Lord. These were to be the very best that Israel had to offer and were to be animals blemish or spot. Offering one's best was to remind Israel that that Jesus Christ, the Firstborn of the Father, who is perfect and without blemish and would come into the world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. (See Moses 5:5–8.)


The Savior came to minister to man and was offered up as a sacrifice for us. He overcame the bonds of death that we may all be resurrected. And, He overcame spiritual death for those who repent of their sins through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This great and last sacrifice of God's perfect Son marked the end of sacrifices by the shedding of blood. 

Sacrifices Required By the Lord Today

The physical sacrifice of animals was replaced by the ordinance of the sacrament, which was given to remind us of the Savior's perfect sacrifice for each of us. The bread and water of the sacrament remind us of the body and blood of Christ, which were sacrificed for us. Let us consider the sacrifices the Lord requires of us today more carefully:

1. Broken Heart: We are to offer a "Broken Heart" to the Lord today. This means two things. First we are to recognize our weaknesses daily and the pain He suffered for us. This recognition causes us to feel both sorrow and gratitude as we come unto the Lord and call upon His name. It enables us to offer up hearts and to recognize our utter dependence upon Him. And, like a young horse that as he becomes "broken" learns to trust and submit to the touch of his master's hand and who learns to yield to his various commands and subtle cues, we too yield our heart without reservation to do the Lord's will as we seek to become like Him. The Lord does not yank us here and there as an untrained horseman might do to a horse. Rather, He entices us as gently, affording us the agency to yield to His slightest invitations and commands. We offer a broken heart as we both trust and yield to the Lord, just as a horse that is well broken, yields to the softest touch and most subtle cues of his master. 
2. Contrite Spirit: What is a contrite spirit? Consider a child who has hurt her knee. She comes crying to mother contritely, who helps to comfort her. Now consider the same child a few years later who demands of the mother keys to the car. The mother may know that the car's condition imposes immediate and real risks to her child. Unless the child is willing to listen, hear and learn from her Mother, she will only believe her mother is ignoring her. We use our agency to tell God what He can and cannot say to us. Through agency we essentially say to God, “Don’t tell me anything except what I want to hear,” and God remains silent, according to our agency, or we come to Him in trust and love, desiring entirely to know and do His will. Thus, we control the flow of revelation from God. If our mind is “preset” or “predetermined", then our agency demands that God not counsel us in the matter. By comparison, as we yield perfectly to His gentle enticings we receive answers to our prayers as fast as we can receive them. This is an incredible discovery.
3. Sacrifice All and Come Follow Me: When the Savior called His apostles and asked them to follow Him, they left their livelihood or their nets and straightway followed Him. By comparison, the rich young ruler was asked to sell his riches and to give all to the poor. He was to thereby pick up his cross and follow the Savior. Those who trust in riches more than God do not offer their "all" to the Lord, but hold back the portion of their trust that is placed in their riches. No may can follow the custom path of the Savior to enter heaven who cannot place "all" his time, earthly possessions, life, and energy upon the alter each day. If we would enter heaven, then we must come unto the Lord daily with a broken heart and contrite spirit -- giving our all to Him -- sparing nothing.
4. Abrahamic Test: Nephi was asked to kill Laban; Abraham was asked to kill his son Isaac. Saints have been asked to leave their homes and comforts. A part of the path to redemption includes doing whatsoever the Lord asks of us. Along the path is included a significant test that is customized just for us in order to help us lay hold upon sufficient faith and knowledge to enter into the presence of God. We may even believe what we are asked to do is wrong, as Nephi believed it to be wrong to kill Laban. As we sacrifice our hearts and minds yielding entirely to the Lord's will, the test will enable us to complete our journey back to the Father. We should not seek this test, but simply yield to the Lord's will daily, whereby He orchestrates a customized plan of salvation for us.

All saints in each dispensation who have been redeemed, have gained the faith and knowledge required to enter into God's presence through daily obedience and sacrifice. Each day of their lives as they have come unto the Lord and called upon his name, they have submitted their will to Him and have obeyed His voice, kept His commandments and have sacrificed whatsoever the Lord has asked of them in order to secure their exaltation. By so yielding they gradually put off the natural man entirely and become perfected in Christ. 


We learn in Luke 12:16–34 that where our treasure is, there is our heart also. If we place our heart on riches and the things of this world, as did the Rich Young ruler, we will not walk our customized path of exaltation and will not be enabled to secure the faith and knowledge needed in order to become exalted. If our treasure is to become like God, then we will place our hearts upon His Son, knowing that His Son will lead us back to the Father.This blessing is only for those who lay their "all" on the alter to do the Lord's will daily. 


In Luke 9:57–62 we are taught that we must sacrifice to be fit for the kingdom of God. As we yield entirely to the Master, He enables us to become entirely fit for the Kingdom. He is our coach, our master, our mentor, and our friend.


And in D&C 98:13–15, we learn that those who lose their life for the Lord will find it. As we yield entirely to the Lord's will, we quickly find our best self within His custom path for us. 


And finally, let us also remember the people of Ammon who sacrificed their very lives rather than break their oath to the Lord. If all temple-going Latter-day Saints will keep their covenant to consecrate all they have for the building of the God's Kingdom and for the establishment of Zion, then all of us will find a place at the right hand of God. Today is a day of choosing and those who choose to sacrifice their "all" in order to live according to the laws of the celestial kingdom today will qualify to dwell in the Celestial Kingdom after this life.