The Law and Spirit of Sacrifice

Volume Three—Chapter Seventeen THE LAW AND SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE

#What Is Sacrifice?

Sacrifice is a higher form of obedience. It is giving up something good or beneficial in order to attain a higher purpose. As a man sets out to obey a commandment of the Lord, he is resisted by his natural self. If he succeeds in obeying, he has usually “given up” or denied only a part of his natural tendencies. We might say he has “sacrificed” a part of his natural self. When he does so, he does not satisfy the law of sacrifice. He does not give up something that is good or beneficial. Instead he gives up aspects of himself that are “an enemy to God” (Mosiah 3:19). These “natural” characteristics have the potential to lead to his eventual spiritual destruction. In that way they are evil. While it is highly desirable that we defeat our natural selves and obey the Lord’s commands, only when we give up something righteous and wholesome do we sacrifice in the purest sense. The thing sacrificed must be appropriate, edifying, worthy, and spiritually befitting. The thing sacrificed is often cherished or badly needed.

Examples of sacrifice are legion among early members of the Church. Many sacrificed homes, comforts, and even their lives for their beliefs and for the Lord’s earthly kingdom. Stories of sacrifices made by Mormon pioneers to establish the Church in the western United States are legendary. I am aware of other actual examples of sacrifice including the financially stretched widow who pays her tithing and fast offerings and also insists on contributing regularly to the humanitarian and missionary funds as well. A couple in my home ward, over the last nine years, has served two full time missions abroad, and have spent the rest of that time serving in a central city ward. They are not spending full time as an employment resource couple in that ward. In all these missions they have been accompanied by their handicapped son.

Inevitably, pain is experienced by the individual making an appropriate sacrifice. The pain may vary quantitatively from mild to excruciating and may be emotional, mental, or physical depending upon what is being sacrificed. As we will learn, the extra pain of a proper sacrifice is spiritually desirable and productive and leads to rapid spiritual growth. Sacrifice may be said to be the purest and most effective form of “experimenting upon the words” of Christ (Alma 32:27-29).

One does not sacrifice for no reason. The individual who sacrifices does so for a specific purpose. He has a specific goal in mind. The sacrifice must be offered while the attainment of the desired purpose or goal is yet in the future. It must be still hoped for and not yet fully attained.

#Who Is Expected to Sacrifice?

Sacrifice is required of all those who wish to become the Lord’s people. The prophet Joseph Smith wrote: “It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those . . . who have offered their all in sacrifice . . . unless they, in like manner, offer unto him the same sacrifice” (Lectures on Faith, 6:8).

Since sacrifice is a greater test, this form of obedience seems particularly intended for the spiritually strong—those who are celestial bound—to allow them spiritual growth at a more rapid pace and to a greater extent. Sacrifice is especially required of the spiritually advanced.

#Just What Are We Expected by the Lord to Sacrifice?

Perhaps the most fundamental principle of the law and spirit of sacrifice is a willingness to deny oneself and suffer the pain of self denial. But deny oneself of what? Mortality offers each of us the opportunity and even requires that we seek for and obtain things of the world. These include satisfaction of our biological drives, material possessions, social acceptance, intellectual satisfactions and fulfillments, and acknowledgment and respect from others. All of the things that provide us satisfaction and comfort may be separated into two categories:

1. Things that are not essential. Possessing any worldly asset to excess is always nonessential. Things that are nonessential, or even the essential things in excessive amounts, may gratify the baser, natural aspects of man, but they do nothing to lead us to God. The pursuer of these becomes guilty of worldliness. Each individual must deny himself of all “ungodliness” (Moroni 10:32). Ungodliness is worldliness—the pursuit of the nonessential in our lives. While sacrificing these is essential, it does not fulfill the law of sacrifice.

2. Things that are essential for an acceptable level of comfort and security. Essential “worldly” things, in proper proportions and amounts, are wholesome, good, and beneficial. We must work to obtain them. They are the mechanisms for securing and enabling ourselves and those over whom we have responsibility.

To teach us real sacrifice, the Lord may, at times, require the painful sacrifice of things that seem “essential” to us. These things are often, indeed, wholesome and edifying. The Lord spoke simply and directly to the rich young ruler:

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God (Luke 18:18-24).

When the Lord learned that the rich young ruler was not denying himself of the essential parts of his nature and possessions, he commanded the young man to live the law of sacrifice.

The Lord may even require our very lives. He taught, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:24-26). Elder Neal A. Maxwell wrote: “The real act of personal sacrifice is not now nor ever has been placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal that is in us upon the altar—then willingly watching it be consumed!” (Meek and Lowly, 94).

Ultimately, if the Lord asks, we must be willing to sacrifice all earthly things. We must be disposed to let go of all that we hold dear including our possessions, our reputation, our friends, our honor, and even our own life. We must be willing to wholly turn our attentions from ourselves to the needs of others.

#Sacrifice and Covenant

One of the first commandments received by Adam and Eve after being driven from the Garden of Eden was to observe the priesthood ordinance of animal sacrifice. They were to offer the firstlings of their flocks and herds (Moses 5:4-7). They obeyed. Their offering was a significant personal sacrifice. They left at the altar an animal they would otherwise have been able to use for food. Through the ordinance of animal sacrifice, they entered into a covenant to live the law of sacrifice. Not only did they sacrifice their animals, but they also covenanted to live the law of sacrifice in all other aspects of their personal lives.

Priesthood ordinances themselves sometimes teach important spiritual truths. The ordinance of animal sacrifice is a good example. An angel explained to Adam and Eve that the ordinance was intended in part as a similitude of the offering the Son of God would eventually make of his own life for all mankind (Moses 5:7).

The vital relationship between the law of sacrifice and the Lord’s atoning sacrifice adds richness to each righteous act of sacrifice. Each individual who sacrifices in the service of the Lord is thereby bearing their witness to the fact that the Lord came to mortal earth, lived, and ultimately sacrificed himself for the good of mankind. For Adam and Eve the Lord’s atoning sacrifice was an event yet in the future. For us it is in the past. Adam and Eve were commanded to acknowledge that a future atonement was to be made by Jesus Christ, and that only through him could fallen man be reconciled to

God. As we sacrifice today, we do the same but have the advantage of knowing it did occur as recorded in scripture. Regardless of future or past time frames, as we sacrifice for the Lord’s cause, we all acknowledge the absolute necessity of the Savior’s sacrifice in our lives and our utter dependence on him.

As we participate in the ordinances of the kingdom of God, we invariably enter into covenants with him. We may note that those commandments particularly essential to our spiritual progress and our salvation are made the objects of priesthood ordinances. We are commanded to participate in these ordinances, and, as we do so, we enter into solemn covenants to obey these most vital commandments. Such is the commandment to live the law of sacrifice.

Today, we are commanded to sacrifice, and we agree to do so by priesthood ordinance and covenant. This command to sacrifice gives all of us the opportunity to exercise our deliberate faith. We bear deliberate testimony of our Savior. This testimony serves as an important mechanism for building revealed faith—revealed

testimony of Jesus Christ. This purpose of the ordinance of animal sacrifice in the past and the ordinance of personal sacrifice today has been lost to apostasy.

We may perceive another subtle relationship between ordinances and sacrifice. All ordinances must be undertaken with the spirit of sacrifice. This translates into a determined commitment to keep our covenants at all costs, even the ultimate cost.

An example is the ordinance of the sacrament. As an individual partakes of the bread and water, he commits himself to a specific change of behavior. Each person who partakes of the sacrament ought to carry the spirit of sacrifice into that ordinance. There is no room for passivity in ordinance participation. We must be determined to keep our covenants with the Lord no matter what. The Lord said, “For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me” (D&C 98:15).

Let us each quickly acknowledge a caveat of which we are all only too aware. It is often easy to commit ourselves to major changes of behavior, particularly if that commitment is made in public. We may avow our willingness to sacrifice all that we have and all that we are—“even our very lives” for the work of the Lord. The “form” of this commitment—the avowal itself—is simple. The “substance” of fulfilling this commandment is quite another matter. It is easy to “talk the talk” but difficult, sometimes agonizingly so, to “walk the walk.” To truly “lose” one’s life in the service of others requires much of the obedient individual. It requires time (weeks, months, years, and sometimes an entire lifetime), the overcoming of inconvenience, patience, persistence, occasional discouragements, and sometimes giving up things we hold dear.

Sacrifice is a more difficult form of obedience. It requires that more be laid on the figurative altar. The Lord acknowledges the greater offering with greater blessings of spiritual gifts. He who includes sacrifice in his obedience grows more rapidly toward Godhood.

In a life of selfless service, one must be willing to brook ingratitude and lonely anonymity. There is, or should be, nothing of accolades, glamour, and self concern in true service. Dostoevsky wrote, with some cynicism, that some of us are willing to sacrifice for mankind if “the ordeal does not last long but is soon over, with all looking on and applauding” (cited by Elder Neal A. Maxwell in A More Excellent Way: Essays for Leadership for Latter-day Saints, 22-23).

It is also easier to agree to acts of sacrifice that are more generalized and less specific. In public a man may readily state that he is willing to sacrifice all he has and is to the kingdom of God. Yet, in private he may struggle with several specific commandments. As one partakes of the Lord’s sacrament, it is easy to covenant to obey “all of the Lord’s commands.” It is more difficult to “be kind to Leonard even though he has been unkind to me” or to “write a check today after sacrament meeting for $416.17 for last month’s tithing.”

#Has the Law of Sacrifice Been Superseded or Fulfilled?

Obviously, today, the law of sacrifice is still fully applicable, and the principle of sacrifice still has pertinent application in our lives. The Lord still employs this “technique” to allow the spiritually strong to be tested and grow more rapidly. We are still bound by covenant to live the law of sacrifice. In our dispensation the Savior has spoken:

For he [the Father] will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and I [the Son] will try you and prove you herewith. And whoso layeth down his life in my cause, for my name’s sake, shall find it again, even life eternal. Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy. For if ye will not abide in my covenant ye are not worthy of me (D&C 98:12-15).

#Is the Honest Willingness to Sacrifice the Same as Actually Making a Sacrifice?

The Spirit of God and the Lord himself know our hearts perfectly. If we declare a heart-felt willingness to sacrifice, it is as though we had sacrificed.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks wrote of his father-in-law:

When someone genuinely wanted to do something for my father-in-

law but was prevented by circumstances, he would say: “Thank you. I will take the good will for the deed.” Similarly, I believe that our Father in heaven will receive the true desires of our hearts as a substitute for actions that are genuinely impossible.

Here we see contrast between the laws of God and the laws of men. It is entirely impractical to grant a legal advantage on the basis of an intent not translated into action. “I intended to sign that contract” or “we intended to get married” cannot stand as the equivalent of the act required by law. If the law were to give effect to intentions in lieu of specific acts, it would open the door for too much abuse, since the laws of man have no reliable means of determining our innermost thoughts.

In contrast, the law of God can reward a righteous desire because an omniscient God can discern it. As revealed through the prophet of this dispensation, God “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (D&C 33:1). If a person refrains from a particular act because he is genuinely unable to perform it, but truly would if he could, our Heavenly Father will know this and can reward that person accordingly (“The Desires of Our Hearts,” in Brigham Young University 1985-86 Devotional and Fireside Speeches, 30).

#The Spirit of Sacrifice

We are commanded to sacrifice. That is the law. But what is the “spirit” of sacrifice? It is a gift of the Spirit that may be acquired through living the law of sacrifice—by deliberately giving up those things we cherish and need in the service of the Lord. As with all spiritual gifts, it is acquired incrementally and added to each time we succeed in making a real sacrifice for others or for the Lord’s kingdom. Eventually, as the revealed gift grows in our heart, the Lord cannot ask anything of us we would not happily and gratefully surrender to him.

As we obtain the spirit of sacrifice, we begin to grow spiritually at an accelerated rate. We begin to rapidly acquire other spiritual gifts, including the perquisite gifts of the Spirit. We grow in our spiritual character (the strength of our deliberate faith) and in our revealed faith.2 The spirit of sacrifice is essential if one desires the ultimate degree of revealed faith—faith unto salvation. Joseph Smith taught:

Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life (Lectures on Faith, 6:7).

The prophet Joseph Smith provided further counsel for those who desire to obtain faith sufficient for exaltation. He taught that to obtain this degree of faith, an individual must acquire a “knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to [God’s] will” (Lectures on Faith, 3:2-5). And how does a man acquire this knowledge? He must be willing to sacrifice whatever the Lord asks of him. Joseph taught:

An actual knowledge to any person, that the course of life which he pursues is according to the will of God, is essentially necessary to enable him to have that confidence in God without which no person can obtain eternal life. It was this that enabled the ancient saints to endure all their afflictions and persecutions, and to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing (not believing merely) that they had a more enduring substance. . . For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also— counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ—requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God (Lectures on Faith, 6:25).

#Sacrifice for the Sake of Sacrifice?

The Lord does not command any man to sacrifice and suffer its attendant hardships only for the sake of the suffering. The Lord’s commandments to sacrifice were distorted in times past and led to the practice of asceticism. For many Christians in medieval times, their religion became a hair shirt worn next to their bare skin. They needed to suffer for the sake of suffering. We are commanded by the Lord to sacrifice but always for good, worthy and selfless purposes. He desires that we sacrifice by losing ourselves in the service of others and in the service of him and his kingdom.

#Reluctance to Sacrifice

A reluctance to sacrifice lessens our ability to acquire faith in God. Joseph taught that those who decide not to sacrifice often lack the perquisite gift of spiritual confidence. They cannot be certain that God is there and is the Giver of all commandments. They become plagued with doubt:

But those who have not made this sacrifice to God do not know that the course which they pursue is well pleasing in his sight; for whatever may be their belief or their opinion, it is a matter of doubt and uncertainty in their mind; and where doubt and uncertainty are, there faith is not, nor can it be. For doubt and faith do not exist in the same person at the same time; so that persons whose minds are under doubts and fears cannot have unshaken confidence; and where unshaken confidence is not, there faith is weak; and where faith is weak, there persons will not be able to contend against all the opposition, tribulations, and afflictions which they will have to encounter in order to be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus; and they will grow weary in their minds, and the adversary will have power over them and destroy them (Ibid., 6:12).

#Conclusion

Our mortal experiences on this earth will surely bring to each of us opportunities to be tried and tested. Some of these trials may even come at the Lord’s bidding. The Lord spoke through Joseph Smith at a time when the saints were suffering severe persecution. Referring to the saints, he said, “Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son. For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified” (D&C 101:4- 5).

One may well ask why an individual must be tested and chastened before he can be fully sanctified. Why is a person not completely worthy lest he is willing to abide in his covenants even unto death? Suppose for a moment that a person were to become a God, yet not be sufficiently tested and tried. How might a universe fare if it were governed by a God with insufficient strength, who could not withstand intense pressures?

President Harold B. Lee said, “I am persuaded of one great truth: Whenever the Lord has a great blessing for one of his children, he puts that son or daughter in the way to make a great sacrifice” (CR, April 1947, 50). Elder Neal A. Maxwell wrote: “If we will submit, we will mirror the Master more faithfully. The self is given to us that we may sacrifice it: it is ours, that we, like Christ, may have somewhat to offer” (Not My Will, But Thine, 80).

Obviously, the sacrifice made by the Savior to atone for all mankind is the most important, most selfless, most comprehensive, and most excruciatingly-painful sacrifice ever offered. He sacrificed all forms of comfort—spiritual, emotional, and physical— which were replaced by agonizing pain in all of these areas. He sacrificed life itself. It is a profound truth that for this unselfish act we shall all be ever in his debt—a debt we can never repay. When we make sacrifices, we make small contributions to that debt.

1 See “Testimony Bearing. Is It a Demonstration of Deliberate Faith or Revealed

Faith?” in volume 1, chapter 10, Deliberate Faith and Revealed Faith

For a more thorough discussion of the principles of faith, see volume 1, chapters 9, Revealed Faith, 10, Deliberate Faith and Revealed Faith, and 11, Other Notes on Faith.