Sacrifice

Mormons frequently refer to sacrfice. For members of the Mormon Church, sacrifice is an essential aspect of living a godly life and following the example of the Savior, Jesus Christ. He set the perfect example and sacrificed everything, including His own life, to bring about the salvation of every person. When Mormons discuss sacrifice, they can be refering either to this matchless, eternal Sacrifice by Jesus which brought the atonement, or they can be refering to the smaller sacrifices each of us must make in life to follow Jesus.

The Guide to the Scriptures, published by the Mormon Church, gives some good insight:

[I]n ancient days, sacrifice meant to make something or someone holy. It has now come to mean to give up or suffer the loss of worldly things for the Lord and his kingdom. Members of the Lord’s Church should be willing to sacrifice all things for the Lord. Joseph Smith taught that ‘a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.’ In the eternal perspective, the blessings obtained by sacrifice are greater than anything that is given up.

After Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord gave them the law of sacrifice. This law included offering the firstborn of their flocks. This sacrifice symbolized the sacrifice that would be made by the Only Begotten Son of God (Moses 5: 4-8). This practice continued until the death of Jesus Christ, which ended animal sacrifice as a gospel ordinance (Alma 34: 13-14). In the Church today members partake of the sacrament of the bread and the water in remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Members of Christ’s Church today are also asked to offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit (3 Ne. 9: 19-22). This means that they are humble, repentant, and willing to obey God’s commandments.

Members also refer to sacrifices they make in devoting time, energy and talents to the Church. Those who are not members of the Mormon Church may feel like members sacrifice much more than that to adhere to the guidelines of the Church. However, while it is difficult at times to balance work, family, and church, Mormons believe that God will sustain them with His grace to do what is right. Mormons often pray that they can be an instrument in God's hand to do good and lead others to Christ.

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said this about sacrifice:

The law of sacrifice provides an opportunity for us to prove to the Lord that we love Him more than any other thing. As a result, the course sometimes becomes difficult since this is the process of perfection that prepares us for the celestial kingdom to “dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever” (D&C 76:62).

~"The Law of Sacrifice," Ensign, October, 1998

How does sacrifice help us come unto Christ? No one will ever accept the Savior without having faith in Him first. Hence, the first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, the Prophet Joseph Smith explained an important relationship between the principle of faith and the principle of sacrifice: “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; … 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 [1985], 69).

To summarize: we must know what we do is pleasing before God and understand that this knowledge comes to us through sacrifice and obedience. Those who come unto Christ in this way receive a confidence that whispers peace to their souls and that will eventually enable them to lay hold upon eternal life.

~"The Law of Sacrifice," Ensign, October, 1998