"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13)
Regardless of what the people of the world choose to believe, Jesus Christ's sacrifice --- His Atonement --- is for all mankind, not just Christians. His was an infinite sacrifice that covers everyone. He didn't just take upon Himself all the pains and temptations and sicknesses and afflictions of believers in Christ. He also took upon Himself all the pains and temptations and sickness and afflictions of everyone who didn't believe in Him and even those who outright rejected and persecuted Him too. There is no person on Earth who is beyond His love and power to save. That's why it's referred to in scripture as the "Great and Infinite Sacrifice". This was the act that was planned from before the world was and the one which all the prophets pointed to. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. And anyone vaguely familiar with the scriptures will tell you that one of the oldest laws of the gospel is the law of sacrifice. So, what is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' stance on the Law of sacrifice and the Atonement of Jesus Christ?
**NOTE: If you wish to get in contact with missionaries of the Church to learn more, you can do so at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/missionary-visit
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EASTER
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints commemorates Easter, or “Pascua” in Spanish (Pass-coo-ah), like all other Christian faiths, which commemorates Christ’s victory over death --- His resurrection. However, the manner of the holiday celebration, like everything else in life, depends on individual preference and is not mandatory. For some, the days or week preceding Easter Sunday carries equal significance including “Good Friday” commemorating the crucifixion and death of Christ. As a whole, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints does what it can to emphasize Easter as a time of gratitude, reverence, and joy because of the sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ. Among other things, the Church produces and releases a new Easter video every year. My favorite is called “Because of Him”.
In my opinion, it is simply the fact that Easter can fall on a different calendar day each year that makes it harder to remember or anticipate than the constant Christmas. For anyone keeping track, it's the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after the 21st of March.
Nonetheless, we don’t have to wait for the holiday to commemorate the greatest gift to man. As I've already said many times and will continue to emphasize, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, whether you want to think of it as His sacrifice, or His gift, is at the center of everything. The Hebrew word “kaphar” in the Old Testament Bible is translated into English as “atonement” and it means “to cover". The word “Atonement” is the combination of two words and one modifier “At-one-ment”. In what could rightly be considered Christ’s “farewell” sometimes called the “Intercessory Prayer” (John 17), Jesus pleads to Heavenly Father, “that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us”. To be one isn't meant to be taken literally, just as Jesus wasn't praying to himself; but in all other ways, we can be one in heart, and one in purpose, united and equal individuals who esteem each other as themself. (See "One")
SACRIFICE & THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT
Abraham is a prophet of no small reputation among many cultures including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Because of the promises made to Him, he is sometimes called "Father Abraham" (Gen. 17:5). In their old age, Abraham and his wife Sarah miraculously had a son whom they called Isaac, which in Hebrew means “laughter”; a play on words from the scriptures that say “God hath made [Sarah] to laugh” (Gen. 21:6) although the Hebrew root tzachak can mean both “laugh” or “to rejoice” of which they probably did both. Abraham's firstborn, Isaac's half-brother, Ishmael, was freed from his association with the family at the age of 14 as it was through Isaac whom the Lord had promised would be the seed of the covenant (Gen. 17:18-21). When the time came, Isaac was Abraham's only son, as well as Sarah's only son.
Open your mind to the similarities between Isaac and Jesus. At some point, God tested Abraham’s faith and obedience when He commanded him to, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest…and offer him there for a burnt offering…” (Gen. 22:2). Undoubtedly with a deep heaviness of heart, Abraham prepared to sacrifice his only son upon a mountain place called Moriah (Where some believe the Temple of Solomon to have been built in the book of 2 Chronicles). Abraham takes the wood and lays it upon Isaac (vs.6 possible allusion to carrying his own cross). As they prepared the altar for the sacrifice, Isaac asked his father, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” to which Abraham faithfully responded, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Vs. 7-8). There is no mention of a struggle from Isaac. If Isaac is supposed to symbolize Christ, I personally believe that Isaac was a willing sacrifice. They were willing to be obedient to the commandment of God. This occasion is sometimes referred to in religion as “The Binding of Isaac”, or “Akedah”.
The interpretation of the story varies from Jews to Christians to Muslims. For example, Islamic sources teach that Abraham’s son accepted to be a sacrifice, but that no binding occurred and that it was Ishmael instead of Isaac. But we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints believe that Isaac was bound.
And then came the miraculous moment that spared Isaac's life. Just as Abraham has his knife in hand and is about to slay Isaac to fulfill the commandment, an angel of the Lord called him out of heaven and stopped him saying, “Now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me” (vs. 11-12). The purpose of the test was accomplished and knowing that Abraham would be true and faithful in all things, established a covenant with Him. Just as Abraham had said, that God would provide a lamb, they find a ram nearby and offer it as a burnt sacrifice instead of Isaac.
There is a reason why this event is so significant to so many religions. It's worth reiterating that to us as Christians, we can see many lessons and symbols which remind us again of the purpose of sacrifice, and the intent behind the Law of Moses --- to point us to Jesus Christ.
Because of His faithfulness, Abraham was blessed with a covenant that applies to us, and which covenant is understood further because of modern-day revelation. The promised blessings of the covenant, what we call the "Abrahamic Covenant" include:
1) An infinitely large posterity, sometimes called "eternal increase" (Gen. 17:7; 22:17)
2) A promised land (Gen. 17:8)
3) Priesthood blessings (Abr. 2:10-11; see also "Priesthood")
You could think of the Abrahamic Covenant as a sort of "umbrella" covenant, which I mean to say is the ultimate covenant under which all other covenants fall. If we summed up the three blessings, we would have the definition of what we read so much of in the scriptures, "Eternal Life".
This ultimate covenant pertains to the "seed of Abraham" (Gen. 17:7). Are we among Abraham's seed? Well, if by blood, maybe or maybe not. But literal genetics don't matter too much in this matter. It's been clarified that those to whom the Abrahamic Covenant applies is to all those who make covenants with God, that is to say, those who are baptized and receive the other priesthood ordinances of salvation (See "Baptism by Immersion"). In short, anybody on the Earth can qualify for the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant.
The seed of Abraham are heirs of the promises and covenants made to Abraham and obtained only by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Men and women become heirs by faithfulness to covenant obligations whether they are literally of Abraham’s lineage or by "adoption" through covenant-making (Gal. 3:26–29; 4:1–7; D&C 84:34; 103:17; 132:30; Abr. 2:9–11). I reiterate that "adoption" is a metaphorical term; if Abraham is the Father, then whether we are literal blood descendants or not, we share the same family blessings. Literal seed may also lose their blessings by disobedience, as in Rom. 9:6–8. Just like it is with any covenant we make, the blessings are only contingent upon our obedience and are available to all willing to be obedient to such.
Being among Abraham’s seed, meaning that we make and keep the appropriate covenants, we too can receive an "eternal increase", which is to say that our family relations will be infinite and perpetuated throughout eternity As you would expect in terms of posterity, this has a lot to do with eternal marriage (See also "Temples: Holy Houses of the Lord"). Family is a major part of Heavenly Father's plan of salvation and happiness. Like two mirrors facing each other, we can think of our family as going back to Adam and Eve and forward through infinite generations in the future. The blessing of eternal increase is inseparable from eternal marriage and parenthood and is a key characteristic of our loving Heavenly Father whom we desire to be like as children of His.
Additionally, if we are faithful to our covenants, we too are promised we will inherit a "promised land". When all is said and done on this mortal Earth, after the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, every person who has ever lived will be awarded a place to spend the eternities (See "Return of the King -- The Final Part"). Specifically, the "promised land" which we will receive if we are faithful to our covenants is the best of places called "The Celestial Kingdom". It is there that we will dwell with Heavenly Father and enjoy the blessings of eternal increase. It is a place that can only be attained by covenant.
And lastly, the priesthood blessings associated with the Abrahamic Covenant are all those associated with the sacred ordinances performed in the temple (See "Temples: Holy Houses of the Lord"); all of which are necessary to prepare us for Eternal Life (See "Eternal Life: "As He Is"). This is what the scriptures refer to when they speak of Children of the Covenant (Acts 3:25; 3 Nephi 20:25-26). All those who enter into Priesthood Covenants, the first being baptism by immersion, are Children of the Covenant and are part of the Abrahamic Covenant.
I again reiterate that by being baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and making and keeping the covenants we thereafter make in the temple, we will receive all the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant which is the greatest gift of all which we call "Eternal Life".
SACRIFICE IN SIMILITUDE OF CHRIST
Sacrifice is a major theme of the book of Exodus and Leviticus. Even as the Israelites ready to depart Egypt, before leaving, Moses says to the bitter Pharaoh to add insult to injury, “Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.” (Exo. 10:25)
In the beginning, God created the first couple to be patriarch and matriarch of the human race --- Adam and Eve. Their physical state, even the state of the Earth, was changed following what has come to be known as "The Fall" (See "The Plan of Salvation and Happiness"). After Adam and Eve left the garden of Eden, God commanded them to sacrifice "the firstlings of their flock". Anciently, this was known as "The Law of Sacrifice".
After many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying:
"This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore." (Moses 5:6-8)
From that time, animal sacrifices were burnt and offered on an altar. But the requirements were more purposeful and specific than randomly slaughtering any creature. If it wasn’t as God commanded it, no matter the intention, it was not acceptable and this was because it was both symbolic and purposeful in how it was to be performed.
It is for this reason, that Cain's fruit of the ground offering is rejected while his brother Abel's is accepted. Cain and Abel were children of Adam and Eve. Abel, as a keeper of sheep, follows suit and offers the firstlings of the flocks and loves God. Meanwhile, Cain loved Satan more and obeyed his command to instead offer "fruit of the ground", as a tiller of the ground. And we know the rest. Cain's offering is rejected and he becomes even more vengeful and kills Abel and is cursed. As we consider what happened, let us remember why God commanded the offering of the flock to be as such --- to symbolize the coming Jesus Christ. By obeying Satan, Cain willfully rejected God and heeded the enemy, made a mockery of the sacred, and committed premeditated murder and that is why he was cursed. And the curse was two-fold, "When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth" (Moses 5:36-37). "And Cain was shut out from the presence of the Lord" (Moses 5:41). And so it is that anyone who harkens unto Satan and does not repent will be cursed as well in that they will be shut out from the presence off the Lord.
When the Children of Israel escaped bondage and wandered in the wilderness for forty years, they had to spiritually prepare to enter "the promised land" before they could see it. It was precisely because of disobedience to the commandments that they wandered for so long. And so, as part of the "repentance process" for them, they were instructed on how to offer animal sacrifices. Just as Jesus Christ would one day come to "atone" for, or "cover" the price of sin, the animal sacrifices served the same purpose and were to be offered routinely by the high priest as temporary substitutes.
Even the people of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, who lived the Law of Moses while it applied, knew that it was in similitude of and in preparation for Christ who was to come (2 Nephi 11:4). The prophet Jacob recognized the symbolism of Abraham's test was comparable to Jesus Christ (Jacob 4:5). Early on in the Book of Mormon, we read an instance of Lehi and his family, after traveling for three days in the wilderness stopped and "built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God" (1 Nephi 2:7) and again in 1 Nephi 5:9 they "did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord". Amulek teaches the true symbolism of the offerings with piercing clarity:
"And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal." (Alma 34:14)
Of the last plagues, all of which were brought upon by the cruelty and stubborn unrepentant Egyptians, the Lord warned Moses that the firstborn in the land of Egypt should die (Exo. 12:12). So that the firstborn of the Hebrews would be protected, the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron to tell the congregation to each take “a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year” (Exo. 12:5), kill it, and take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it” (vs. 7). “And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleaven bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it” (vs. 8). By doing this, the Lord taught:
“The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial…” (Exo. 12:13-14).
This was the start of the Jewish tradition known as the “Passover” or “Pesach” that is still recognized today, namely the Passover meal (or seder) which carries with it much symbolism meant to remind them of God’s mercy and commemorates liberation and freedom from captivity. As Christians, we find double-meaning in "freedom from captivity" to have a spiritual connotation just as the Jews were literally freed from slavery. Passover commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan (1st month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar, and the first month on the Assyrian calendar) and lasts for either seven days or eight days.
It’s easy to see some similarities between the Christian Easter and the Jewish Passover. Easter is also called Pascha from Greek and Latin roots (or Pascua in Spanish), with relation to the aforementioned Pesach Passover. It might come as no surprise to learn that Passover and Easter often overlap on the calendar. Indeed, what Christians have come to call “the Last Supper” or “the Lord’s Supper” that Jesus ate with His disciples in His last mortal night, was the same Passover meal, with unleavened bread (Matzo), and bitter herbs. (vs. 8)
It was this night that the Only Begotten of the Father gave himself to be the great and last sacrifice. He was both the firstborn of the Father --- the firstling of the flock --- and the only one without blemish --- sin. He was the only one capable of performing an infinite atoning sacrifice for all mankind (See "Repentance" and "Christ's Ministry"). No more blood was to be shed for atonement because Christ's blood satisfied the demand of justice. It was from here on out that the Passover Seder became the sacrament for us in remembrance of His sacrifice to liberate us from the captivity of death and sin.
The pinnacle of Christendom for Latter-Day Saints is Jesus’s victory. The Atonement which began in the garden of Gethsemane to undo what happened in the garden of Eden, was accomplished when Christ rose on the third day, undoing the physical effect of "the Fall". And beyond that, He opened the way for mankind to return to the physical presence of Heavenly Father again. Always humbled and grateful for His indescribable suffering, we rejoice over the purpose for which He suffered and died—so that we would not have to suffer if we repent (D&C 19:16-19). From there on out, the Law of Moses which required animal sacrifices was fulfilled in Him because they were meant to prepare for and point to Him. In undeniable clarity, the Lord himself declared this truth to the people of the Book of Mormon:
"...Redemption cometh, and in me is the law of Moses fulfilled...And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings. And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit." (3 Nephi 9:17-20)
Today, we don't offer animal offerings, nor do we coat our doorposts with lamb blood. Instead, we offer our lives and our hearts and hands to serve God and our fellow man, even "a broken heart and a contrite spirit" (3 Nephi 12:19). Even though we don't make blood sacrifices, in other ways, the Law of Sacrifice is still in effect and applicable to us today. In much the same way, we are to look to Christ and sacrifice whatever is necessary in our personal lives to follow Him.
Easter is a special day but we don’t have to wait once a year to commemorate Jesus’s atonement which allows us to be one (At-one-ment) with the Father and return to His presence. Every week, we go to church and participate in the symbolic Sacrament of bread and water as a sort of weekly Easter or Passover. It is an ordinance to renew our baptismal covenant. Again, that is one of the great purposes why we go to church on Sunday. The Sabbath Day was designated as a sign between God and man “that [we] may know that [He] is the Lord that sanctify them” (Ezek. 20:12). It is principally for that reason that we observe Sunday as the new Sabbath, which is the Lord’s Day, and not the seventh day as it was anciently (See "Sabbath Day Observance"). The painting above, or one very similar to it, is on the wall of almost every home in Mexico and depicts Jesus Christ instituting the sacrament, which anciently was the Passover meal.
We believe that Jesus Christ is that same Jehovah of the Old Testament. He brings life, even eternal life. As we see other symbols of Easter whether it be the Easter bunny, or Easter eggs among others, may we ultimately remember what Easter means and what it means to each of us personally. There is nothing wrong with any of these fun traditions or practices. During my mission in Mexico, one tradition that I saw was the careful removal of egg yolk from its shell, refilling it with confetti, capping it with tape, and decorating it like an Easter egg, and then smashing them on people’s heads; these were called "Cascarones" (Cahs-cah-roh-nehs). We did this too and it was fun. But let’s do our best to remember that Christ is at the center of all Easter is, and ultimately the center of everything.
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