I Believe in Sacrifice

I Believe in Sacrifice

I believe that sacrifice is an essential part of “The Plan”.  When I say the plan, I am talking about God’s plan for us.  It is called by other names, the plan of salvation, the plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, the plan of deliverance, and the plan of mercy, but for me it is The Plan.  I asked my Sunday school class last week to explain in one sentence the plan of salvation.  The youth curriculum for this month is the plan of salvation.  They had a hard time coming up with a one sentence explanation of The Plan, so I helped them.  The plan given to us by our Father in Heaven that if followed will allow us to return to Him.  I believe sacrifice plays an essential role in making us prepared to live with Father in Heaven.  I define sacrifice as giving up something for something better or enduring some hardship well, without becoming bitter.  In the guide to the scriptures under sacrifice it says, “In 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." I will give you some examples of each kind of sacrifice.  We give up our time to prepare a lesson for church or our money to help the less fortunate.  Some of us have health problems and we endure pain and suffering.  The pioneers in the Willie and Martin handcarts companies endured many physical hardships and some sacrificed their lives.  I love the ancient definition of sacrifice, to make something or someone holy.  I believe that as we sacrifice we are made holy, by holy I mean clean, refined and worthy to live with our Father in Heaven.  I believe sacrifice is an essential part of the plan and without it we could not become who we need to be in order to live with our Father and Elder Brother.  We need to learn to sacrifice everything for the Lord’s kingdom in order to have the faith necessary to lay hold of eternal life.  I believe in sacrifice.