Contributed by: AnnScriptures
Moses
5:5
5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should
worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an
offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
Moses 5:6
6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto
Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know
not, save the Lord commanded me.
Moses 5:7
7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a
similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and
truth.
Lev. 1:3
3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him
offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD.
Alma 34:14
14 And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every
whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be
the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.
2 Sam. 24:24
24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely
buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of
that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty
shekels of silver.
D&C 64:29
29 Wherefore, as ye are agents, ye are on the Lord's errand;
and whatever ye do according to the will of the Lord is the Lord's business.
Luke 18:29-30
29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no
man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom
of God's sake,
30 Who shall not receive
manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
Stories
Story 1
The following story tells about sacrifices made by women in
the early days of the Church when the Kirtland Temple was being built.
"Hilda Larson was
setting the table for dinner when her father came in and said to her, ‘Put the old
dishes away, Hilda. We’re having company.’
" ‘Who is coming,
John?’ asked Hilda’s mother.
" ‘Two of the men
I have been working with today on the temple,’ he replied. ‘Heber Kimball and
Brigham Young.’ …
"Hilda and her mother
went into a small room where the china dishes were kept in a tall cupboard behind heavy
glass doors. Although they were used only for company or special holidays, Hilda was
familiar with every piece. …
" ‘This set of
china,’ her mother explained, ‘belonged to your great-grandmother. She wrapped
every piece in quilts when she sailed from England in 1770. She worried every time there
was a storm on the ocean for fear her dishes would break.’ …
"During the meal Hilda
enjoyed listening to her father talk with the two men. They spoke of how the Kirtland
Temple they were building was nearly completed.
" ‘All the Saints
in Kirtland have helped,’ Brother Kimball said.
" ‘We may be few
in number,’ Brother Young agreed, ‘and poor, but we are rich in faith. While the
men labor on the building, the women spin and weave cloth for our clothes.’
"Brother Kimball picked
up the china cup that was beside his plate. ‘And now the women give their precious
dishes,’ he said, looking at her mother. …
"The next afternoon
… Mother guided [Hilda] into the room where the dish cupboard stood. A large box was
on the floor beside it.
" ‘We must pack
the china into the box, Hilda,’ her mother told her. ‘The dishes are needed to
help build the temple.’ Hilda could not imagine how china dishes … could help
build a temple. She watched her father lift the box of dishes into the back of a pony
cart. Then they rode to the bluff where the temple was being built.
"Hilda climbed off the
cart and followed her father toward a large vat where a workman was stirring something
inside.
"Bending down,
Hilda’s father said over the noise, ‘We’re making stuccoed plaster for the
outer temple walls. We have discovered that broken china helps hold the plaster together.
Also,’ he added, ‘the walls look very beautiful with the sparkling bits of china
and glass shining through.’
"A man nearby said,
‘Nearly all the Latter-day Saint women have given their best china for the
temple.’
"Hilda could hardly
believe it when she saw her mother take the lovely Dresden china from the box and hand
each piece to a man who stood beside the vat. He put them on a flat board, broke them into
bits, and scraped the shattered pieces into the vat. … All the way down the hill in
the cart, with the empty box rattling in back, Hilda was quietly crying.
"One evening after the
temple was finished, Hilda walked with her father and mother up the road toward the
beautiful building. The sun was setting and Hilda saw the temple walls. They sparkled and
shimmered in the sunlight.
" ‘Oh,
Mother!’ she exclaimed, her heart suddenly full and happy. ‘Do you see that sort
of blue brightness beside the front door? Only [our china dishes] could sparkle like
that!’ " (Iris Syndergaard, "Sparkling Walls," Friend, Mar. 1975, pp.
11-12).
Story 2
More recently, some Saints from Mexico made great sacrifices
to attend the temple:
"Recently, workers at
the Mesa Temple welcomed a busload of Church members from the interior of Mexico. They had
been traveling for five days. The bus had broken down. These humble families had been
sacrificing and saving their pesos for many months to buy the roundtrip tickets. They had
slept on the floor of the crowded bus. President Wright of the temple said their leaders
were rather embarrassed and even apologetic for their ravenous hunger, especially that of
the children. After paying for the bus, there was no money for food. But that didn’t
matter—they were going to the temple, and they made it!" (David B. Haight,
"By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them," in Speeches of the Year, 1980 [Provo:
Brigham Young University Press, 1981], p. 169).
Quotations
Quote 1
"Our present-day problems in the Church are mainly
those related to rapid growth and change. Far-reaching challenges are requiring sacrifices
of members’ time, talents, and means, possibly as great as ever before. …
"Today, as was done in
the early history of the Church, many are sacrificing friends, family, and positions when
they join the Church.
"Today many are
sacrificing for missionary work, either in supporting missionaries or by going on missions
themselves. We now have the largest missionary force in the entire history of the Church.
"Today we have a full
Church program, and whether we are called upon to be a Sunday School teacher, a bishop, or
an usher, or to pass the sacrament, to be a missionary, to work on a welfare project, to
do genealogical work, to consult on data processing problems, or to fulfill any other
Church assignment, we should recognize that ‘whatever [we] do according to the will
of the Lord is the Lord’s business.’ (D&C 64:29.)
"Sacrifices today are
in reality opportunities, the same as they have always been. Remember the promise made by
the Savior: ‘… There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or
wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake, Who shall not receive manifold more
in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting’ (Luke 18:29-30)" (Franklin D.
Richards, " ‘Sacrifice Brings Forth the Blessings of Heaven,’ " New
Era, Nov. 1974, p. 5).
Quote 2
"What we must be willing to do is to sacrifice whatever
is required of us, whether time, or talent, or riches, or the praise and honor of men, or
whatever it may be, to the extent the Lord may require it" (Loren C. Dunn, "News
of the Church," Ensign, Feb. 1980, pp. 78-79).
M2L25
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