The Fundamental Importance of Sacrifice

Adam had already fallen, had made covenants with the Lord, and had received his instructions on the proper way to worship God outside of His presence. The Lord "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" (Moses 5:5). Adam obeyed, and offered those sacrifices. The Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price provides the reason for the sacrifices offered from the beginning of man (and woman) on the earth until the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. An angel appeared to instruct Adam:
"This thing (the sacrifices) is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore" (Moses 5:7-8). The LDS Bible Dictionary, written by noted Bible scholar Robert Matthews, says this of those ancient, pre-Atonement sacrifices: "Whenever there were true believers on the earth, with priesthood authority, sacrifices were offered in that manner (the firstlings of the flock) and for that purpose (in a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Christ)."

The question that follows (and which I had often asked when we learned of this Old Testament stuff) is so what? We don't do sacrifices anymore, so what's the point of knowing this? The answer: though the ordinance of sacrifice by the shedding of blood is no longer practiced, the necessity for our sacrifices has not gone away. They have but changed form.

Any discussion on sacrifice cannot possibly be complete without mentioning and honoring that Great and Infinite Sacrifice that makes it all possible. Amulek of Book of Mormon fame said this of that Great Atonement: "For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice....There can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world" (Alma 34:10,12). That infinite sacrifice was made by a perfect being, who willingly took upon Himself not only the consequences of the sins of all humanity, but also its pains and sicknesses and sorrows in the Garden of Gethsemane; who endured scourgings and beatings and being spat upon; who was nailed to a cross with grace and forgiveness ("Forgive them [the Romans], for they know not what they do"); who willingly gave His life as a sacrifice which would allow for the children of God to come to the fold and lean upon His perfection in order to be justified, in order to return to live with the Father and the Son forever. There had never been so great a sacrifice, and there never will be another as great. There was no greater love than that, for Christ gave His life for His friends. 

Tad Callister in his doctrinal masterpiece The Infinite Atonement, said this: "In this spirit, the Savior’s sacrifice was the noblest gift of all because he who possessed all gave all. His spiritual, emotional, psychological, and life-giving powers were all laid on the altar of sacrifice without restraint. He gave until there was nothing left to give, nothing left to do—until he had fully drawn from that vast reservoir of virtues he possessed in order to work out an infinite sacrifice....Of all the acts of love, the atoning sacrifice far exceeds and transcends them all. No one has ever given so much to so many willingly.”

So what's next? Is the work finished? Are we to just sit back and let Christ's grace put us in a bubble of righteousness until He comes again?

Absolutely not. Elder Holland said, "Why would we believe--why would we think--that it would be easy for us when it was never ever easy for Him? In turn, how could we possibly bear any lasting, moving testimony of the Atonement if we've never known or felt anything of such an experience? We're proud to say we're disciples of Christ, and we are. But mark my word: that means you must be prepared to walk something of the path He walked. To feel something--something, a little--of the pain He felt. To at least occasionally, sometime during your [life], shed one of the tears of sorrow that He shed."

I don't know that any church's doctrine teaches directly that life will be easy as a result of that Atonement, but there are certainly some that teach that there is nothing left to do on our part. It is most certainly true that we are saved by grace. It is most certainly true that there is no other name by which we can be saved than that of Jesus the Christ--not by Joseph Smith or Thomas Monson or Ethan Crisp. It is by Christ, and Christ alone. But that same Christ that gave all in love for us does ask a lot of us. Not because He needs us to earn the sacrifice He gave in any way, shape, or form, but because He wants us to be prepared to inherit what He will. As the apostle Paul put it, "Then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:17). It is also true that other denominations accuse us Latter-day Saints of believing that we can and attempting to earn our way to salvation. One of the cited scriptures in this accusation (and one also misunderstood by many of us Saints) comes from the Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi. The prophet Nephi describes his discipleship--his conviction of Christ, and the purpose for his efforts:

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). And so comes the question: we is "all we can do?"

"All we can do" is repent. "All we can do" is sacrifice our will to know God, to please God. As the repentant father of King Lamoni cried, "I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom that I may receive this great joy...and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day" (Alma 22:15,18). "All we can do" is to humbly recognize that the worldly things that we cling to are preventing our ultimate, eternal progression in God's kingdom, and to then lean on the grace of Christ to be justified, and then sanctified through Him. Nothing else can help us earn anything. Acts of service and acts of worship are really only a product of our repentance, and thus earn us nothing but the satisfaction to press on. When we reach the point where we serve selflessly, we have already qualified for that salvation. 

The prescribed way in which we show our Lord that we have truly repented and are willing to sacrifice our will for His is through covenants: baptism, confirmation, and temple covenants, including endowments and sealing. By making and honoring these covenants, His grace begins to have greater place in our lives. "Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice--yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command--they are accepted of me" (D&C 97:8). This means that we sacrifice Sunday pleasure for Sabbath worship; we sacrifice foods and beverages that aren't in line with His established commandments; we sacrifice 10% of our earnings; we sacrifice our free time and pleasure to fulfill our callings and to serve His children in need. We must be willing to sacrifice anything for the greater good of the Kingdom of God and our own eternal progress. As the Lord commanded through Joseph Smith, "Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord they God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit" (D&C 59:8). That broken heart and contrite spirit drives us to be willing to give up anything, if it means that the will of God will be done in us.

It is the Atonement which naturally allows us to be justified by grace. It is through our covenants and our zeal in keeping them that allow us to be sanctified by grace. Grace through Christ's sacrifice is always the means, but our own sacrifices greatly influence our receptiveness to and qualification for that grace. Of equal relevance is the infinite scope of the Atonement which allows us to continue to repent as we continue to make mistakes. Brother Callister said it like this: “As long as we have the slightest spark of repentance within us, Christ and his Atonement are standing in the wings, anxiously waiting to be summoned. The question is not whether the Savior paid the purchase price for all sins—He did—but whether we are willing to avail ourselves to his sacrifice by repenting."

Returning to Adam, though we no longer perform the same type of sacrifices that he did, the answer to its purpose given to him by the angel remains relevant in our modern types of sacrifices: "This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore."

How to Keep the Sabbath Day Holy

This is a talk from a Stake Conference given by my mother, Dana Crisp. The talk was given in Temecula, California on April 11th, 2016.

There is a story told of a rafter of turkeys. These turkeys were going about their normal turkey business of walking around and gobbling. On this particularly sunny day, and all of a sudden, there appeared a great, majestic eagle. The turkeys gathered around and the eagle smiled. "Good morning, my friends. Today I will teach you all to fly," he said.

Some of the turkeys scoffed. "Fly?! We're far too heavy. We will never do it!" Others wondered curiously. "Might it be possible?" Still others, faithfully cried, "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" They followed the eagle out to the field.

The faithful turkeys stepped up, and the eagle showed them how it was done. He taught them about wings and air and the more technical points of flying. But most importantly, he taught them by showing them. He flew and the faithful turkeys tried their best. The curious turkeys joined in, and learned a great deal. Even the skeptical ones came forward and learned their share. After hours and hours, and ups and downs, the turkeys started to fly! The first group hovered in the air. Encouraged, the curious turkeys tried. And they flew too! The skeptical turkeys took courage, and despite their initial doubt, they too flew.

After hours of enjoying their new found skill, the eagle gathered them together. "I'm proud of you!" He said. "You listened with great faith. Others were hesitant, but saw your brothers and sisters succeed, and became examples to the rest as you succeeded. It’s time for me to go, but take courage, and fly!" He then flew off dramatically into the sunset, as eagles tend to do.

The turkeys were left alone and they shared their stories of faith and the joy of their newfound skill. What once had been their weakness had become their strength. With night coming swiftly, they decided it was time to head home.

And they went home….walking.

During this conference we will hear many things…maybe some difficult things that we need to change in our lives. I pray that the Spirit will be with us now and, throughout this conference that we can find ways to do better and not go home walking, but flying.

In Isaiah 58:13-14 the prophet tells us:

13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight… and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure…

14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth… for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

I wonder how many of us, especially parents with children in the home, young or teenagers, really feel to “call the Sabbath a delight”? It takes a lot of planning and patience to keep children busy, to teach them to “not (find) their own pleasure” on Sundays.

Elder Nelson, in the April 2015 General Conference, spoke of making the Sabbath a delight. He referenced Exodus 31:13 which reads:

13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you..

Elder Nelson then said (quote):

“How do we hallow the Sabbath day? In my much younger years, I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath. It wasn’t until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. (Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 20) With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of do’s and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, “What sign do I want to give to God?” That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear.”(end quote)

I believe that the Lord recognizes that each family’s circumstance is different. For that reason, there is no official list of do’s and don’ts. But, He does expect us to do all that we can to keep His Sabbath day holy. Asking ourselves, as Elder Nelson said, “What sign do I want to give to God?” will keep us on track and help us to make our own list for our own family.

Of course, there ARE scriptural references to help up as well:

One example is in Doctrine and Covenants 59

9 And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

10 For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

12 But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

13 And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.

The Lord expects us to attend our meetings and especially, to partake of the sacrament. He expects us to repent; to fast and to pray. The blessing for obeying this commandment are clear: (continuing in Section 59)

15 And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances…with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance—

16 Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours…

Who of us would deny ourselves, our children, our family the blessing of the “fullness of the earth”? That is one of the blessings of keeping the Sabbath day holy.

Also, regarding the things we should do on the Sabbath, President Spencer W Kimball said (quote)

“The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. [Failure] to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side.” (end quote)

As to the things we should NOT do on the Sabbath, many of the prophets have shared stories and experiences that should clarify for us what the Lord expects.

One such example was given by our dear Prophet, Thomas S Monson:

"…may I share with you an example of one who determined early in life what his goals would be. I speak of Brother Clayton M. Christensen, a member of the Church who is a professor of business administration in the business school at Harvard University.

When he was 16 years old, Brother Christensen decided, among other things, that he would not play sports on Sunday. Years later, when he attended Oxford University in England, he played center on the basketball team. That year they had an undefeated season and went through to the British equivalent of what in the United States would be the NCAA basketball tournament.

They won their games fairly easily in the tournament, making it to the final four. It was then that Brother Christensen looked at the schedule and, to his absolute horror, saw that the final basketball game was scheduled to be played on a Sunday. He and the team had worked so hard to get where they were, and he was the starting center. He went to his coach with his dilemma. His coach was unsympathetic and told Brother Christensen he expected him to play in the game.

He went to his hotel room. He knelt down. He asked his Heavenly Father if it would be all right, just this once, if he played that game on Sunday. He said that before he had finished praying, he received the answer: “Clayton, what are you even asking me for? You know the answer.”

He went to his coach, telling him how sorry he was that he wouldn’t be playing in the final game. Then he went to the Sunday meetings in the local ward while his team played without him. He prayed mightily for their success. They did win.

That fateful, difficult decision was made more than 30 years ago. Brother Christensen has said that as time has passed, he considers it one of the most important decisions he ever made. It would have been very easy to have said, “You know, in general, keeping the Sabbath day holy is the right commandment, but in my particular extenuating circumstance, it’s okay if I don’t do it.” However, he says his entire life has turned out to be an unending stream of extenuating circumstances, and had he crossed the line just that once, then the next time something came up that was so demanding and critical, it would have been so much easier to cross the line again."

How often do we us our own “extenuating circumstances” as an excuse to break this or any other of the commandments? Again, I ask the question, “What sign do we want to give to God?”

I think that this quote from President Monson’s latest general conference address is another way to clarify our choices: “May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.”

I pray that one of the things that we can fly home with today is a desire to be better at keeping the Sabbath Day Holy, to make it a Delight so that the Lord may bless us with the fullness of the earth.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Turn to the Lord

I love this time of year: springtime is coming and the baseball season has already begun. I've always loved baseball. As a player, I prided myself on hustle and always giving my all. But my sophomore year of high school was not my best year for baseball. I sprained my wrist prior to the season, halting my preseason preparation; I pulled more than one muscle, hampering my potential consistency throughout the season; and when I did play, it wasn't exactly my best.

On one particular game against one of our rivals, I just wasn't feeling right physically, but didn't want to tell my coach I wouldn't be able to start. So I played. My coach always pushed what is known as "small ball," which consists of making sure you always have a good chance to score by bunting runners on base over to the next base. I reached base and the sign came in that the next batter would try to bunt me over. Unfortunately, it didn't go as planned.

I had a knack and a reputation for stealing bases, and so as I stood on first base, the pitcher tried to pick me off. The pitcher threw over five or six times while I was at first. My initial feeling of fatigue was only added upon by having to dive back and get up over and over. The play was still on, however, and my teammate got the bunt down. I turned and ran toward second, thinking that they wouldn't even try to throw to get me out. I didn't even look over to see where they were throwing, and I slowed as I came to the base. To my great disappointment, and to that of my coach and my teammates, the throw did go to second base, and I didn't slide and I hadn't run hard. I was out. The realization came over me harshly: I hadn't hustled, and it cost my team. I was taken out of the game and I promptly exiled myself to the end of the bench. I can't remember if we won or lost; I can only remember my guilt, which only compounded when my coach announced we would do extra sprints as a team the next day at practice as a result of my lack of hustle.

The game had been a road game, and I was surprised after to see that my dad had gone out of his way to come pick me up after work to take me home. But a feeling came over me that I didn't want to go with him. I didn't want to face him and tell him I hadn't hustled and it had potentially cost us the game. I didn't want him to lecture or even the comfort. So I told him I'd just ride the bus and see him when we got to the school.

Since that day, which contributed to my later decision to quit the team at the end of the year, effectively ending my dreams of continuing my baseball career in college, I have pondered the significance not only of my mistake, but my reaction to my father. I have remembered the sad silence that accompanied me on the bus ride home as my teammates talked of other things and my coach "taught me" by ignoring me. I have remembered the pain that lingered because of my unfortunate reluctance to go to my father and tell him what happened, he being the only person at that time who could give me the words of comfort I needed. I have regretted not going to him when he reached out to me.

The Lord told Joseph Smith: "I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts, with this commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I am near—draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (D&C 88:62-63)

We all make mistakes. We are like little children in the ways of spiritual things, and we stumble and sometimes we fall. The great plan of salvation that our Heavenly Father has prepared, however, is to help us to stop stumbling so we can't even fall. What we must realize, though, is that this process is designed to occur throughout a lifetime, and beyond. Perfection is an eternal process, and we needn't fuss too much over our shortcomings. Genuine humility and recognition of them and our dependence on and faith in our Father in heaven will be the base of a continued repentance that will lead us to perfection.

But we have to go to Him!

We can't say, "I'll just go on, and I'll see you when I feel ready," as I said to my dad, and expect to receive comfort and begin to move on. Though it might be the hardest thing to do when we mess up, the first thing we need to do is go to Him in prayer and tell Him that we failed to hustle, and it may have cost us. If we do that, the answer that we will get is, "Fear not."

"He who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I the Lord remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sin--behold, he will confess them, and forsake them" (D&C 58:42-43). It just takes a little bit of hustle, and a lot of humility, but we must turn to the Lord.