The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
(5/1/01)
"Another definition of sacrifice is that instead of endlessly doing
what we want to do, we must do what the Lord wants us to do. Knowing
that it is 'sacrifice [that] brings forth the blessings of heaven'
(Hymns, no. 147), then we should cheerfully do all things that lie in
our power to bring to pass the Lord’s work, even to 'wast[ing] and
wear[ing] out our lives' if that be necessary (D&C 123:13). Then
we may 'stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation
of God, and for his arm to be revealed' (D&C 123:17)." — Hartman
Rector Jr., "Following Christ to Victory," Ensign, May 1979, p. 30
(5/2/01)
"It is an interesting truth that the home teachers are often taught in
the course of their visits to the family. In fact, it is often a
question, even in a moment of sacrifice and service by a priesthood
home teacher, who benefits the most—the family he serves or the home
teacher." — Boyd K. Packer, "The Saints Securely Dwell," Ensign, Jan.
1973, p. 89
(5/3/01)
"I was called as a missionary to the British Isles. That represented a
very serious financial sacrifice on the part of my father, but he made
the sacrifice with willingness and love. That mission became a
marvelous experience, one for which I shall be eternally grateful, and
one which set some anchors and guideposts in my life. Among other
things that I gained during that mission was a solid and enduring
testimony of the divine origin of the Book of Mormon and of the divine
calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith." — Gordon B. Hinckley, "Keep the
Faith," Ensign, Sept. 1985, p. 3
(5/4/01)
"Opportunities to lose oneself for the good of others present
themselves daily: the mother who serves her children’s needs; the
father who gives his time for their instruction; parents who give up
worldly pleasure for quality home life; children who care for their
aged parents; home teaching service; visiting teaching; time for
compassionate service; giving comfort to those who need strength;
serving with diligence in Church callings; community and public
service in the interest of preserving our freedoms; financial
donations for tithes, fast offerings, support of missionaries,
welfare, building and temple projects. Truly, the day of sacrifice is
not past." — Ezra Taft Benson, "This Is a Day of Sacrifice," Ensign,
May 1979, p. 34
(5/5/01)
"The question that each of us has to answer for himself sometime in
his lifetime (and the sooner the better) is whether the spirituality
that can be gained is worth the required self-denial. The Savior says
it is; the scriptures say it is; and I say it is. But apparently most
people in the world do not think the sacrifice is worth it, for we
observe that human beings in general do not deny themselves of very
many things. Apparently many do not feel that a loss of spirituality
or a failure to aspire to its higher levels is a tragic thing." —
Robert J. Matthews, "A Bible! A Bible!" [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft,
1990], p. 279 - 280
(4/9/04)
"One of the best ways to be sure we are keeping the first great
commandment is to keep the second great commandment. The Master
Himself taught that 'inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least
of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me' (Matt.
25:40) and that 'when ye are in the service of your fellow
beings ye are only in the service of your God' (Mosiah
2:17). The degree of our love for the Lord and for our fellowman
can be measured by what we are willing to sacrifice for them.
Sacrifice is a demonstration of pure love." - M. Russell Ballard, "The
Law
of Sacrifice," Ensign, October 1998, pp. 10-11
(6/2/04)
"Listen to the language of the scriptures as they describe the level of
sacrifice the Lord requires of us: 'Offer your whole souls as an
offering unto [God]' (Omni
1:26; see also Mosiah
2:24). 'Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God' (Rom. 12:1).
The Lord Himself has said that we should keep our 'covenants by
sacrifice-yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command' (D&C
97:8). The sacrifice the Lord asks of us is to wholly rid
ourselves of the 'natural man' (Mosiah
3:19) and all the ungodliness associated with it. When we
completely surrender ourselves to the Lord, then He will cause a mighty
change in us and we will become a new person, justified, sanctified, and
born again with His image in our countenances (see Mosiah
5:2; Alma 5:14;
Moses 6:59-60)."
- M. Russell Ballard, "The
Law
of Sacrifice," Ensign, October 1998, p. 13
(7/10/04)
"A willingness to sacrifice all we possess in the work of the Lord is
surely a strength. In fact, it is a covenant we make in sacred places.
But even this strength can bring us down if we fail to confine our
sacrifices to those things the Lord and his leaders have asked of us at
this time. We should say with Alma, 'Why should I desire more than to
perform the work to which I have been called?' (Alma
29:6). Persons who consider it insufficient to pay their tithes
and offerings and to work in the positions to which they have been
called can easily be led astray by cults and other bizarre outlets for
their willingness to sacrifice more than is needful." - Dallin H. Oaks,
"Our
Strengths
Can Become Our Downfall," Ensign, October 1994, p. 14
(1/12/05)
"What is the seed of mother love? Is it not sacrifice? Such love is
considered to be the deepest and most tender. Is this because a mother
passes through the valley of the shadow of death to give birth to her
child and is continually sacrificing for that child's welfare?
"Is this why Christ loves the world? Because he toiled to make it?
Because he sacrificed his life for the world and its people? We are told
that 'God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son' (John
3:16) to save it from ruin, and the Son was willing to suffer for
the salvation of that for which he had toiled.
"We all love that for which we sacrifice. Giving and serving to the
point of sacrifice creates love. The term religion encompasses concern
for our brethren, as we are told in James
1:27: 'Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is
this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction....'
"When people say, 'Religion is all right for some, but I am not
religious, and it means nothing to me,' is it because they have not
experienced the uplift that comes from sacrificing for and serving their
fellowmen?" - John H. Vandenberg, "My
Brother's
Keeper," Ensign, June 1971, p. 63
(2/10/05)
"In the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord sets
forth the qualifications for the labors of the ministry. He says that
they are 'faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the
glory of God.' The faith, hope, charity, and love we know something
about. They are very important. But the eye single to the glory of God
is probably the most important of those qualifications. Generally
speaking, 'an eye single to the glory of God' means sacrifice. It means
that instead of endlessly doing what we want to do, we have to do what
the Lord wants us to do, but we have to do it in his way when he wants
us to do it. This, of course, is not the natural inclination of man.
"We hear much in the world today about 'doing our own thing.' I doubt
that this is really new. I think it has been going on since the
beginning of time. Perhaps this is just a little different way of saying
it. Certainly Lucifer did his own thing, contrary to the will of the
Lord. Cain did his own thing, directly contrary to the counsel of his
Heavenly Father. They were not concerned with what the Lord wanted them
to do but rather only with what they wanted to do. Of course this kind
of action has never been very profitable measured in terms of happiness,
and happiness is the whole purpose for the existence of man. The prophet
Lehi's statement that 'men are, that they might have joy' (2
Ne. 2:25) is all-inclusive." - Hartman Rector Jr., "Sacrifice
Still
Brings Forth Blessings," Ensign, Dec. 1971, p. 64
(7/16/05)
"So it is that real, personal sacrifice
never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness
to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed!
Such is the 'sacrifice unto the Lord... of a broken heart and a
contrite spirit,' (D&C
59:8), a prerequisite to taking up the cross, while giving 'away
all [our] sins' in order to 'know God' (Alma
22:18) for the denial of self precedes the full acceptance of
Him." - Neal A. Maxwell, "Deny
Yourselves of All Ungodliness," Ensign, May 1995, 68
2/8/07
"Occasionally there is a time gap between the sacrifice and the
blessing. The sacrifice may come according to our time schedule, but the
blessing may not come by our, but by the Lord's, calendar. Because of
this, the Lord comforts us by saying, 'Wherefore, be not weary in
well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work' (D&C
64:33)." - Won Yong Ko, "Sacrifice
Is a Joy and a Blessing," Ensign (CR), November 2005
5/25/08
"You have the potential to
become anything to which you set your mind. You have a mind and a body
and a spirit. With these three working together, you can walk the high
road that leads to achievement and happiness. But this will require
effort and sacrifice and faith." - Gordon
B. Hinckley, "Stay
on the High Road," Ensign (CR), May 2004, p.112
12/1/08
"Opportunities to lose
oneself for the good of others present themselves daily: the mother who
serves her children’s needs; the father who gives his time for their
instruction; parents who give up worldly pleasure for quality home life;
children who care for their aged parents; home teaching service;
visiting teaching; time for compassionate service; giving comfort to
those who need strength; serving with diligence in Church callings;
community and public service in the interest of preserving our freedoms;
financial donations for tithes, fast offerings, support of missionaries,
welfare, building and temple projects. Truly, the day of sacrifice is
not past." - Ezra Taft Benson, "This Is a Day of Sacrifice," Ensign
(CR), May 1979, p.32
10/1/09
“May
tithing be regarded as a sacrifice? Yes, particularly if we understand
the meaning of the two Latin words from which the English word sacrifice
is derived. These two words, sacer and facere, taken
together mean ‘to make sacred.’ That which we return to the Lord as
tithing is indeed made sacred, and the obedient are edified.” - Ronald
E. Poelman, “Tithing: A Privilege,” Ensign (CR), May 1998, p. 78
4/8/12
Just as the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus Christ is at the center of the plan of salvation, we
followers of Christ must make our own sacrifices to prepare for the
destiny that plan provides for us. - Dallin
H. Oaks, "Sacrifice,"
Ensign (CR) May 2012
7/22/12
Sacrifice is ultimately a matter
of the heart—the heart. “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and
a willing mind.” If we are caring, if we are charitable, if
we are obedient to God and follow His prophets, our sacrifices
will bring forth the blessings of heaven. “And ye shall offer for
a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” - Robert
K. Dellenbach, "Sacrifice
Brings Forth the Blessings of Heaven," Ensign (CR)
November 2002
7/18/13
I
couldn’t help but think of the words of that great hymn, “Sacrifice
brings forth the blessings of heaven” (“Praise
to the Man,” Hymns, 1985, no. 25).
I have always felt, however, that, really, it is impossible for us
to sacrifice in building the kingdom of God. I would much rather
consider it, instead of a sacrifice, a great opportunity to serve
God. - Franklin D. Richards, "Opportunities
to Serve," Ensign (CR) November 1987
11/14/14
Why
have these great missionaries and others like them been willing
to sacrifice the comforts of home, family, loved ones, and
sweethearts to answer the call to serve? It's because they have
a testimony of Jesus Christ. And when they know Him there is no
bed too short or too hard, no climate too hot or too cold, no
food too different or language so strange that they are
unwilling to serve Him. No sacrifice is too great to serve the
Master, who sacrificed His all to provide the way for His
brothers and sisters to return home to their Heavenly Father.
And because they are faithful to their callings, thousands will
revere their names throughout the eternities. - Harold
G. Hillam, "Sacrifice
in the Service," Ensign (CR), November 1995, p.41