Sacrifice: In Similitude of the Savior

The various sacrifices taught many important gospel principles. For example, the burnt offering was primarily offered as a symbol of the forgiveness of sins and a reminder of the coming of Christ (see Leviticus 1). The offerer humbly approached God with a “willing heart” (Exodus 35:5), in the spirit of repentance and obedience, giving their very best from their flocks, “a male without blemish” (Leviticus 1:3), manifesting faith in the power of forgiveness and adherence to their covenantal obligation. The offering was symbolic of the complete and total offering of the Savior in our behalf. The death of the offering symbolized the death of the sinful man or woman and the rebirth through God of the new man or woman. The blood that was poured out on the altar pointed to the blood of the Atonement of Jesus Christ offered for all of us. The sacrifice was burned completely on the altar.

The other offerings also taught important principles:

• The meal offerings were given to show devotion and commitment to the Lord (see Leviticus 2).

• The peace offerings were animals sacrificed on the altar and then eaten by the offerer, the priests, and the Lord (symbolized by burning part of the animal on the altar and the smoke ascending to heaven), representing a covenantal meal of peace and communion between the three parties (see Leviticus 3).

• The sin and trespass offerings were offered to make atonement for ritual impurity and sin (see Leviticus 4–5).

• Thanksgiving offerings were expressions of gratitude or rejoicing and may also accompany a release from vows (see Leviticus 7:12–16).

Ancient Israel also practiced sacrifice through the law of the tithe, giving one-tenth of their annual income to the Lord at the temple. This law taught the ancient Israelites gratitude to God for His bounty and blessings and also taught them compassion and care for the poor. Some of this tithe—especially the three-year tithe—was used to help support the Levites and the disenfranchised in society: the poor, the strangers, the widows, and the orphans (see Deuteronomy 14:27–29).

Blood in the ancient and modern world is a symbol of life—both mortal life and spiritually redeemed life. It was a symbol of God’s saving power extended to people through covenant. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). The use of blood and the symbolic nature of blood were everywhere in Israelite ritual and bound the other elements of their sacrificial activities together. For example, at Mount Sinai during the covenant ceremony between the Israelites and Jehovah, “Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you” (Exodus 24:8).

Following repentance and fasting by the Israelites, on the Day of Atonement the high priest took the blood of the substitutionary offering and entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the mercy seat on behalf of all Israel to “cover” their sins and bring them back into harmony with God (see Leviticus 16:15).

Blood was also a prominent element of the Passover, where obedience to God’s commandment to kill the Passover lamb was witnessed by daubing the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, symbolizing God’s protection of the firstborn from death during the final plague. While celebrating the Passover at the Last Supper, Jesus transferred the symbol of blood from animal sacrifice under the law of Moses to the new covenant. He hearkened back to Exodus 24:8—“behold the blood of the covenant”—when He took the wine and instituted the sacrament, saying, “This is my blood of the new testament [covenant]” (Matthew 26:28). Thus, in partaking the sacrament, we partake of the life of the Savior offered to us through the sacrifice of His flesh and blood symbolized in the bread and the water.

In the law of Moses, sacrifice was closely connected to repentance. A powerful lesson is illustrated in Psalm 51, where King David, seeking forgiveness for his sins, said to the Lord:

“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart. …

“Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering” (Psalm 51:16–17, 19).

David acknowledged that the key to repentance is “a broken and a contrite heart,” and after the internal humility had been demonstrated, then the outward symbol of blood sacrifice would be efficacious.

The gospel will continue to require this spiritual offering to the Lord from each of us as we repent. When Jesus appeared in the New World, He taught that through His Atonement He had fulfilled the law of blood sacrifice, and thus in the future the Lord required “a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:20).

Some of the most powerful manifestations of sacrifice are found in the scriptural stories of many individuals who demonstrated their love and faith in the Lord by sacrificing. Sacrifice is a living likeness of the Savior.

• In Genesis 22 we read of Abraham, who in “similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son” (Jacob 4:5) was willing to sacrifice his son, and of Isaac, who was willing to submit his will to his father’s.

• We acknowledge Sarah, who offered Abraham her handmaid Hagar in order to provide him a child (see Genesis 16), and we acknowledge Hannah, who was willing to give her firstborn son, Samuel, to serve the Lord in the temple (see 1 Samuel 1).

• We think of the prophets answering the Lord’s call, exemplified by Isaiah, who said, “Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8), just as the Savior said in the premortal council (see Abraham 3:27). The prophets willingly devoted their lives in selfless service to the Lord, becoming His mouthpieces and servants.

• We think of mothers, exemplified by Mary, who said, “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38) when the angel Gabriel told her she would be the mother of the Son of God. We remember the mothers of Helaman’s stripling warriors and how they taught their sons “that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47) and sent them forth to battle.

• We think of Jesus’s Twelve Apostles, who sacrificed their lives in teaching the gospel just as they had seen Him do.

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people using shovels and other tools

This willingness to sacrifice continues in our day. We are surrounded by many who have taught us by example the principles of faith, obedience, and sacrifice. Lectures on Faith states, “A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.”¹ All of us have witnessed those around us who in the spirit of loving the Lord are faithfully living the law of sacrifice. We see women and men sacrificing their time, talents, and resources to serve in Church callings, in community and humanitarian service, and in ministering compassionately to their fellow Saints and neighbors. We see husbands and wives sacrificing their lives for their families. We see many quiet acts of service, love, and sacrifice.

The power of the law of sacrifice is often manifested in the willingness of the Latter-day Saints to serve missions to bring others to Christ. One day a student sat in our office and talked about her desire to serve a mission. She was a reserved person. We talked about how going on a mission would involve talking to lots of people. She looked up and said, “Yes, when one agrees to serve the Lord, it will involve sacrifice.”

Our children’s great-grandfather J. Leo Seely received a mission call in 1914 to the British Mission and served the Lord in Ireland. He left his wife and little children for two years. The depth of his sacrifice has become clear to us as we read their letters. Because of the power of this man’s example and that of his noble wife, his son served a mission, and over 50 of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren have gone forth to serve the Lord in missions that cover the world.

Great-grandmother Kathryn Greta Calder was called to serve a mission in California in 1920. Following her example, her daughter, granddaughters, and now great-granddaughters have also served missions. As we watch our children open mission calls, and as you watch your friends and families open theirs, we see the image of God in a person who is willing to follow in the footsteps of the Savior, to sacrifice for the salvation of His children. They have the faith and the courage to go wherever the Lord calls them.

While blood sacrifice is a dramatic visual reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, all acts of sacrifice are a reminder of His sacrifice. President Russell M. Nelson has taught:

“We are still commanded to sacrifice, but not by shedding blood of animals. Our highest sense of sacrifice is achieved as we make ourselves more sacred or holy.

“This we do by our obedience to the commandments of God. Thus, the laws of obedience and sacrifice are indelibly intertwined. … As we comply with these and other commandments, something wonderful happens to us. … We become more sacred and holy—[more] like our Lord!”²

Anciently, altars were the place where the elements of sacrifice came together to symbolically teach us about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Those who brought offerings were giving of their very best to the Lord, just as our Savior ministered and suffered, giving His all for us. Lectures on Faith teaches that those who are willing to sacrifice, offering their all, “will have the testimony that their course is pleasing in the sight of God; and those who have this testimony will have faith to lay hold on eternal life.”³

Today, the practice of sacrifice is a principle of the gospel that—if we observe it correctly, giving our all with a broken heart and contrite spirit—will bring us closer to the Savior than almost anything else we can do, for it is in similitude of Christ Himself.