As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are taught that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ ended the practice of blood sacrifice for sin. The Law of Moses required that the sinner (and all are sinners) offer up a blood sacrifice of some creature to expiate those sins.
In fulfilling the Law of Moses, the Savior literally offered up His own perfect life as a blood sacrifice, and then required that each sinner or person offer his own personal sacrifice: “And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (3 Nephi 9:20) “Behold he (the Savior) offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.” (2 Nephi 2:7) “Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (D&C Sec. 59:8).
The Church News , 24 Dec.1960, p. 15 discusses this sacrifice: “Under the new covenant that came in with Christ, the sinner must offer the sacrifice out of his own life, not by offering the blood of some other creature; . . . and that sacrifice was calculated to reach out into the life of the sinner in the future so that he would become a better and changed man. . .”
The commandment for men and women to offer their own personal sacrifice in order to partake of the Savior's atoning sacrifice extends throughout the life of an individual. Offering a broken heart and a contrite spirit, or humility and a willingness to follow wherever and whatever we are asked to do by Heavenly Father is all important in “enduring to the end.”
One of those challenging things that we may be asked to do is to accept a couple mission call. Some of us are fearful, worrying about our abilities to handle assignments, worrying about our financial affairs, and that we will not be able to cope with change. Some of us worry that our health may not be maintained throughout our call and that we cannot survive outside the safety net and comfort of family, grandchildren and friends.
Yet, the maturity and wisdom that come with many years of experience teaches us that older couples above all, have the faith, confidence, and ability to deal with all these concerns. The physical peak of life may be on the downward incline, but repeated life experiences teach that “sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.” What use is all the hard-won knowledge of the fruits of faith and sacrifice if that knowledge lies dormant, if there is an unwillingness to share it and a fear of continuing to test and try it?
We hear of intimidating experiences concerning health, danger or other problems that some have faced, but these are the exception to the hundreds of positive and miraculous experiences that missionaries regularly experience.
Missionaries delight in relating experiences of enhanced abilities, and of being able to accomplish tasks and overcome hardships and challenges that would not likely have occurred at home. Sometimes these experiences occur in small simple ways.
One such experience, occurring during our African mission, illustrates this:
One very full day, my husband and I had been asked to attend a ceremony in a remote Nigerian village. We got up extra early to accomplish as much as we could in the mission office before traveling to the village. It was a typically heat-drenched day with temperatures of about 85 degrees F and 85 degrees humidity. Even with umbrellas to shade the sun, the several-hour ceremony drained all energy. While never having perspired at home, I always found it fascinating during our mission to watch the perspiration drip from my fingertips!
We arrived back at the mission office at about 4 p.m. and I, feeling very ill from the heat and the long day, went up to our apartment above the mission office to rest. As I sat there, I felt physically unable to move, totally nauseated, but knew that several hours of work still lay ahead.
Our mission was very scattered and missionaries would individually send in requests for the things that they needed: bedding, report forms, books and distribution needs, to apartment needs i.e., machetes, utensils, rakes, etc. Because of the many miles involved, these things were delivered only occasionally and tomorrow was the day scheduled for delivery. I would need to run back and forth from the storehouse to our mini distribution area, to various cupboards to fill these individual orders which would soon fill the mission office.
How was I going to accomplish this very physical work when I felt so ill? But–what a comfort to know that I had such a great spiritual resource to tap into! From many life experiences I knew that when a person was on the Lord's errand, prayers were immediately attended to.
I prayed that somehow the nausea would pass and that the energy to work would be given. Feeling terrible, I slowly stood up to put that request to the test. By the time I had walked through the apartment and descended the stairs, the nausea had disappeared and a total revitalization of energy had taken its place. I was able to work for four more hours, gathering all the items, organizing the individual names with their requests into zones that would be ready to send out early the next morning. I cannot even take credit for having accomplished this work while being ill and devoid of energy because through the blessings of our Heavenly Father, I felt wonderful and the task was easy.
The Savior tells us, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)
Having the courage to accept a mission call from the Lord requires a willingness to sacrifice, a willingness to step from our familiar, comfortable life into the unknown, relying on faith in our Heavenly Father and in our Savior, Jesus Christ. But we are assured that in that unknown, our Heavenly Father waits to guide, help, and use us and that what we thought was sacrifice becomes joy with abundant blessings showered upon us.
