The Saints were in serious trouble in Far West, Missouri in 1838. The mob violence, instigated in part by the state government, had reached a fever pitch. The first of November found the Prophet Joseph, his brother, Hyrum, and others under arrest and sentenced to be executed. Brigadier General Alexander W. Doniphan had been ordered by his superior officer, Major General Samuel D. Lucas to execute the prisoners the following morning in the town square. General Doniphan responded:
"It is cold-blooded murder. I will not obey your order. My brigade shall march for Liberty tomorrow morning, at 8 o'clock; and if you execute these men, I will hold you responsible before an earthly tribunal, so help me God."[1]
After reading the response of General Doniphan, General Lucas thought better of his order and took the prisoners to Richmond, Missouri and later to the infamous Liberty Jail where they were confined. Why is it that the prophets and the Saints of God seem to be required to offer sacrifice here in mortality?
We often sing the words, “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.” What kind of sacrifice? What kind of blessings? To set the stage for consideration of these questions, let me tell you about a remarkable man and his life of sacrifice.
Just over a week after the prisoners were arrested, Joseph F. Smith, son of Hyrum and Mary Fielding Smith was born. When he was about three months old, his mother struggled to escape Missouri because of the extermination order of Governor Boggs. Besides her three-month old baby, she took with her five other children who had been born to Hyrum and his wife, Jerusha, who had died. She eventually reached Nauvoo, Illinois.
Mary's trials can hardly be imagined without having experienced her sacrifices. Hyrum, who of course was in prison, said: “Our enemies carried off nearly everything of value, until my family were left destitute.”[2] Mary might well have said, as did Abigail Adams during the establishment of this nation: “Posterity who are to reap the blessings will scarcely be able to conceive the hardships and sufferings of their ancestors.”[3]
About five months later the brethren imprisoned in the Liberty Jail escaped and made their way to Nauvoo, their families, and the body of the Church. For the next five years, Joseph F. Smith and his parents enjoyed a period of relative peace. During this time, Mary Fielding Smith wrote the following to her brother who was living in England.
"The situation is very pleasant and you would be much pleased to see it. How long we will be permitted to enjoy it I know not; but the Lord knows what is best for us. I feel but little concerned about where I am, if I can but keep my mind staid upon God; for you know, in this, there is perfect peace."[4]
Joseph F. Smith was younger than six years old when word came that his father, Hyrum, and his uncle, the Prophet Joseph, had been martyred in Carthage Jail. Age nine saw him crossing the plains filling the assignment of an adult teamster driving an ox team for his widowed mother. Two months short of his fourteenth birthday, his beloved mother, Mary Fielding Smith, passed away. When he was fifteen years old, President Brigham Young called him to serve a mission to the Hawaiian Islands. That mission lasted four years, and his service left an indelible impression on the people there. The Hawaiian Saints still remember him and hold his name in reverence and honor.
In time he was called to be a General Authority where he served for fifty-two years. Seventeen of those years he presided over the Church. Let us look in on him at age eighty. He has worn out his life in sacrifice to the Lord and for His fellow men. He is the President and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord will, in seven weeks, release him from mortality and call him home to service on the other side of the veil. Now his own words:
"I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures; And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world."[5]
As he did so he read from the writings of Peter:
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"
"By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison. . . ."
"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."[6]
President Smith continues:
"As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great."[7]
Through the power of the Holy Spirit he saw the spirits of all of the dead.
And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;
"And who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's name.”[8]
Among that vast flood of people, he saw a small, but significant, assemblage of people. These were to be those called to carry the message of the Lord Jesus Christ “to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men.”
Did you note that there were three attributes or accomplishments that distinctly set the smaller group apart from the hosts of the dead?
They had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in this life.
They had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God.
And they had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer’s name.
We can understand what it means, in some measure, to be faithful in the testimony of Jesus. We can also comprehend what one experiences who has suffered tribulation in the Redeemer’s name. Most of us have had tribulation at some time in our lives because of our faith in the Master. Let us this afternoon concentrate on the sacrifice they offered.
How could anyone offer sacrifice that would be in similitude of His great sacrifice? Could they have survived Gethsemane as He did? They could not! Were they crucified? Certainly not. Then how could they offer a sacrifice that would be in similitude of His great sacrifice?
The Book of Mormon prophet, Abinidi, shares the answer by prophecy.
"And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth."
"Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father."[9]
There, in my judgment, is the key, “the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father.” We can strive—we can labor all of our days seeking to have our will swallowed up in the will of the Father. What would one do who truly seeks to have his or her will swallowed up in the will of the Father? May I suggest that we would honor and abide by and sincerely labor to keep the covenants we have made with the Lord. What is expected of us because we have made a baptismal covenant? Brethren, what is expected of us because we have made covenants at the time of our ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood? What of our temple covenants? Obedience to these covenants will assure us of exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. Note I did not say we must live lives of perfection in mortality. Covenant keeping will bring that day—in the distant future.
In July 1833, the Saints of Jackson County, Missouri were suffering a great deal. The Prophet Joseph received a revelation dealing with their situation. But the lessons taught are as up-to-date for Latter-day Saints in February 2004 as they were then.
"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."[10]
Is it clear how we become accepted of Him? “Observe their covenants by sacrifice.” Note: “every sacrifice which, I, the Lord, shall command.” Ponder in the solitude of your own closet. “What are my covenants and what sacrifice do they require?”
Now let us listen to the blessings of those who are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice. I continue with the word of the Lord- “For I, the Lord, will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit.”[11]
Let me give you two examples of a fulfillment of this promise. One day while serving as the Executive Director of the Missionary Department, I received a phone call pertaining to a man who had received a call to serve as a mission president accompanied, of course, by his wife. His business partners, who could not understand the willingness of this man and his wife to leave their business, offered the church $100,000 if the call would be rescinded. I knew, of course, the answer but took it, nevertheless, to the member of the Quorum of the Twelve who was serving as the Chairman of the Missionary Executive Committee. His response was predictable. “Tell them we need the brother, his wife, and would appreciate the $100,000 as well.”
How much pressure do you think his partners applied on him before the money was offered to the Church? What risk was he taking after investing so much of his life in the business world? How difficult might it be when they returned to the business after their mission? Would there be anything there? I have watched that couple carefully since that day and can testify to you that the impact of their devotion and sacrifice has righteously influenced a multitude of people. Their sacrifices during and after that mission have “yielded much precious fruit.”
Another example: One’s life can be swallowed up in the will of the Father at any time. One need not be middle aged. Sometimes the sacrifice is keener when one is young.
While presiding in the mission field I interviewed a missionary who was somewhat shy and very homesick. He had been in the mission field for less than two months. I asked how things were going, and he began to weep. He said, “I don’t like the people here, I don’t like the heat and the humidity, and most of all, I don’t like my companion or his cooking.”
I said, “What are you going to do?”
He looked up at me through tears and with surprise, and responded, “I am going to complete this mission. I have been called by a prophet of God, and I will serve, but I don’t want to.” The will of the son swallowed up in the will of the Father. I am certain that he did not think that he had made a life-changing decision during those days of difficulty. Time will pass and eternity will unfold before the blessings of that decision are fully received. Twenty-two months later, a powerful teacher of righteousness returned to his home and, I am sure, to a lifetime of service. He kept his covenants by sacrifice, and, as a result, the Lord blessed him with “much precious fruit.”
It would be well for us to remember that the Lord does not talk about a law of convenience. So many of us are willing to observe our covenants if it is convenient. The sacrifice that brings joy in mortality and exaltation in eternity requires a surrendering of our will to the Father and obedience to the covenants we have made with Him. President Hinckley has said “it is only a sacrifice if you give more than you receive.” By that definition most who serve the Lord faithfully will say that they have received more than they ever sacrificed.
Have we fallen prey to the idea that keeping our covenants and offering sacrifice in the process is too often inconvenient and, therefore, much too difficult? Do we rationalize by thinking that surely the Lord would not expect that much of us?
President Brigham Young spoke on this subject a few years after the Saints arrived in the West.
"You that have not passed through the trials, and persecutions, and drivings, with this people, from the beginning, but have only read of them, or heard some of them related, may think how awful they were to endure, and wonder that the Saints survived them at all. The thought of it makes your hearts sink within you, your brains reel, and your bodies tremble, and you are ready to exclaim, ‘I could not have endured it.’ I have been in the heat of it, and I never felt better in all my life; I never felt the peace and power of the Almighty more copiously poured upon me than in the keenest part of our trails. They appeared {as} nothing to me."[12]
I do not know what lies ahead for any of us—except that there will be trials and tribulations along the way. We live at a time when peace has been taken from the earth, and it will not return until the Prince of Peace brings it. The trials you will face as a generation will be unique and will require faith and diligence and sacrifice. There will be wars and rumors of wars and other major dislocations on a continuing basis. But to those who keep their covenants by sacrifice, President John Taylor’s comments will surely be applicable. He said:
"So far as I am concerned, I say, let everything come as God has ordained it. I do not desire trials; I do not desire affliction . . . but if . . . the powers of darkness are let loose, and the spirit of evil is permitted to rage, and an evil influence is brought to bear on the Saints, and my life, with theirs, is put to the test; let it come, for we are the Saints of the Most High God, and all is well, all is peace, all is right, and will be, both in time and in eternity."[13]
Joseph Fielding Smith’s life was one of sacrifice almost from his birth. Yet through severe challenges, he personified the statement of his mother: “I feel but little concerned about where I am, if I can but keep my mind staid upon God; for you know, in this, there is perfect peace.”[14]
I can testify that there is unbounded joy in sacrificing for the Kingdom of God on earth. Let us not be among that number who when they see an opportunity in the distance to sacrifice for the Kingdom immediately drop to their knees and pray it away, never realizing the joy they might have felt—the unbounded joy that comes as a result of pure sacrifice.
The Lord has made clear to me through His Holy Spirit that there is a God in Heaven. He is our Father and desires our happiness. Sacrifice for the Kingdom of God here on the earth is a requirement of the supernal happiness He would have us receive. I bear witness that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and your personal Redeemer. It is my joy to stand as a witness that there are prophets in the land today, and he who stands at the forefront of that body of men is our prophet, seer, and revelator, President Gordon B. Hinckley.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Jack M. Lyon, Linda Ririe Gundry, and Jay A. Parry, eds., Best-Loved Stories of the LDS People, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 189
[2] History of the Church, Vol. 3, 373
[3] David McCullough, John Adams, [Simon & Schuster], 169
[4] Preston Nibley, The Presidents of the Church, 13th ed., rev. and enl. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 180-181
[5] D&C 138:1-2
[6] D&C 138:7-10; 1 Peter 4:6
[7] D&C 138:11
[8] D&C 138:12-14
[9] Mosiah 15:6-7
[10] D&C 97:8
[11] D&C 97:9
[12] Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 1:313-14, 2/20/1853
[13] John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, Vol. 5, 115-116
[14] Preston Nibley, The Presidents of the Church, 13th ed., rev. and enl. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 180-181