THE SACRIFICE OF ALL THINGS

At the onset of the Saviour's ministry Jesus began to recruit his disciples who were converted by the ministry of John and were ready to follow the Master and learn from Him in order that they might begin to build Christ's church. As he journeyed through Galilee preaching, the Saviour came to the lake of Gennesaret where he found two empty ships that belonged to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. The ships were empty as the two brothers were washing the nets following a fruitless night of fishing. The Saviour entered Simon's ship that he might preach to the crowds that were gathered on the shore. When he had finished speaking He told Simon to launch out into the deep and let down his nets once more. Simon reminded Him that they had been out fishing all night and had caught nothing but at His will, he would let the nets down one more time. Of course when the nets were pulled up, they were brimming with fish. Obviously, the Saviour made this happen to teach Simon and Andrew that He would make them fishers of men if they would leave everything and follow Him. The brothers did just that and the rest is history. One cannot help but wonder if there was an element of sacrifice in the call issued by the Saviour to these men. At this stage they were not even called to be apostles but only disciples. The element of sacrifice lay in the timing of the Saviour's call which was not issued when the nets were empty but when the nets were full. If He had invited them to follow Him before the biggest haul of their careers they might have chosen to follow Him because there was nothing much keeping them back. The call, however, was issued when the nets were brimming with fish and the fishermen stood to make a lot of money. How difficult it must have been for Simon and Andrew to leave those nets on the shore bulging and to walk away abandoning their all. 

Later when the brothers were called to the apostleship with the rest of the Twelve, the Saviour commissioned them to go and preach the Gospel to the whole world, He told them He was sending them 'forth as sheep in the midst of wolves' (Matthew 10:16), that they will be delivered up to the councils and be scourged in synagogues (vs 17) and that they shall be hated of all men for His name's sake (v 22).  What would have gone through the brothers' minds as they heard this bleak pronouncement? Might they not have cast their minds back on the fish they abandoned on the shores of Gaililee? The Saviour in return had promised them salvation (v 22) but this salvation born out of their sacrifice would blossom into eternal life. 

Contrast this successful story of sacrifice with another not so successful one. Just prior to preaching in Galilee and following his communion with God in the desert, the Saviour came to Nazareth and attended the local synagogue on the sabbath day. The scripture that He chose to read to the congregation would open the way for Him to proclaim himself as the Messiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18,19). This scripture has a strong reference to the Year of Jubilee, being the meaning of the 'acceptable year of the Lord'. This was a year appointed by Moses for ancient Israel to observe every 50 years (Lev 25:10), a year of significant sacrifice for those who were not 'poor' for during this whole year all debts were to be cancelled, all property reverted back to its original owners and all prisoners and slaves were freed. Observance of the Jubilee Year was to keep all Israel in remembrance of the Messiah who would come to set them at liberty spiritually. By the time the Saviour made His appearance in mortality, however, Israel had long ago abandoned observation of the Jubilee Year but they understood its' meaning. As the Saviour finished reading this scripture, He sat down and said: "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21).  Not only was He is claiming He was the Messiah but He was drawing their attention to the year of significant sacrifice which they were no longer observing for obviously this is not the way to do business, to pardon all debts and to give all property back to their original owners and to free the slaves. What an inconvenient Messiah He was. No wonder they could not accept his spiritual deliverance when they couldn't observe the law of the physical one.

Joseph Smith once said that "a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation". Perhaps no one would qualify better than Joseph Smith to issue such a statement for he truly had sacrificed all things during his mortal probation; his time, family, reputation, freedom, even his life. Joseph Smith also said that the sacrifice of all things was necessary in this dispensation so that the ancients will have nothing to laud over us. In other words, our sacrifices in this day have to equal the ones made by saints of old or they will outstrip us when it comes to qualifying for the kingdom at the judgment bar of God. No doubt Joseph was thinking of outstanding examples such as Abraham, Lehi, Joseph, Peter, Paul and many others who had sacrificed so much for the cause of truth. Certainly Joseph, emulating their examples, and the early saints of this dispensation, gave their all for the purpose of building up Christ's kingdom on earth once more.

The law of sacrifice is the very first covenant we make in the temple. It goes hand in hand with the law of consecration for it asks us to consecrate our time, talents and money for the building up of the kingdom of God and for the establishment of Zion. Because we live in such affluence compared to the early saints, very often we interpret this covenant to mean we have to pay tithing and fulfill our callings. We tend to think only of the 'building up of the kingdom' and neglect to focus on 'the establishment of Zion'. It is comparatively easy to donate money for the building of chapels and temples compared to the not so obvious establishment of Zion for Zion is more than a place, it is a state of the heart. I don't know that we will ever be asked to walk away from our houses and our fine furnishings and life long achievements but I do know that we are asked to consecrate our hearts to the  Kingdom of God, being the Church. And what is the Church? The Church is us. To many of us this will be far fetched for the sacrifice of the heart means giving up judging, criticizing, back biting, resentment, jelousy and envy. It means rejoicing in each other's achievements, coming to the aid of the impoverished, wishing for our neighbour that what we want for ourselves, loving the less loveable, forgiving those who sin against us. It means a selfless existence denying worldly desires, our pride, our self importance and self focus. We live in a 'feel good' world where everybody is out to get for themselves what they can. The Roman Empire fell because they neglected their poor. We too can fall if we do not look after each other. We must be bound in love and duty for without it we cannot build Zion. We must do this because we cannot become like Christ if we don't. We must do this because we must prepare to be lifted up when He comes in all His glory to gather us home for if we don't we will not be found worthy to stand. And stand we must if we are called the saints of God.

THE DAY OF THE HUNTER

The prophet Jeremiah preached to the Kingdom of Judah for 40 years attempting to avert the impending captivity that eventually left Judah's land desolate. So seeped in sin and idolatry, Judah, like Ephraim and the 10 tribes, lost sight of the God they once promised to worship and serve. It would seem they needed the experience of captivity to discover them that this is indeed the god they wanted and not the dumb idols of heathen nations that they came to bow down to. The 10 tribes came to their senses quickly and were led by the hand of Jehovah into obscurity until such time that He would bring them back. Judah on the other hand became a very zealous nation for its God whilst in captivity to Babylon. They realised as their homes were left desolate that the prophets were right all along and that they needed to abandon image worship and return to the one true and living God. So zealous were they in their devotion to Jehovah's law that they became slaves to the numerous rules of conduct that went beyond the law itself. Out of this zeal different religious factions were born such as Pharisses and Sadducees which ensured strict observance to the overwhelming number of laws and rules that were invented. Up until the Babylonian captivity, scriptures were only read on special occasions and on the sabbath. Once Judah was taken into captivity this changed and scriptures began to be taught to the general public on regular basis by another factious group called scribes. Over time the Jews in Babylon began to adopt the language and culture of the Chaldeans forgetting the Hebrew language. This necessitated the assistance of scribes who read and interpreted the scriptures to them. "Through the years, each religious group - scribes, Pharisses, Sadducees and others referred to the written word, quoted it, enlarged upon it, interpreted it, and in other ways continued to add to what their fathers had established. The commentaries, explanations, interpretations, and inferences became known as oral tradition. In time, these traditions, written and oral, took on so much importance that they often overshadowed the law and became a stumbling block for the Jews" (Old Testament Student Manual, 1 Kings - Malachi, p. 262). This is the condition in which the Saviour found them when He made His appearance as the awaited and promised Messiah.

"....A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not." (Jeremiah 31:15)

Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, the mother of Israel, is here depicted lamenting over the loss of her children which she longed for and which were given an inheritance in the household of God; once a chosen people, now lost in captivity (Old Testament Student Manual, p. 255). And they would be lost forever if not for one thing: the everlasting love of a God who never forsakes and abandons and never breaks the covenants which He has made; a god of mercy, a god of love, a god who fulfills his promises. As the Jews entered exile, the Saviour made a promise that He would bring them home to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity (Jeremiah 29:10). True to His word, 70 years later to the day, King Cyrus of Persia, raised by the Lord for this purpose, ended the Babylonian rule and released Jews from their captivity giving them a charge to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. And herein lies another testament of Jesus' endless love - after the time of Christ Judah endured another exile that would last for centuries but once again the Saviour of all mankind does everything in His power to reclaim that which is lost.

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord that I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel, and with the house of Judah....this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel...I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God and they shall be my people.....for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Preceding the Saviour's second coming, a latter-day gathering of the scattered Israel will take place in three phases: the gathering of Israel to the land of Zion, the American hemisphere; the return of the Ten Tribes from the countries of the north; and the reestablishment of the Jews in Palestine as God's chosen people (Old Testament Student Manual, p. 254). The Lord will accomplish this work through the restoration of His Church. Israel will be gathered and return to the land of their fathers 'with weeping' (Jeremiah 31:9) 'because they will realise that the sufferings they have endured throughout the centuries came about because they rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall lead them in the last days' (Old Testament Student Manual, p. 255). The Saviour, with everlasting love and willingness to always forgive will lead them as they come out of obscurity to once again possess their blessings: "I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn" (Jeremiah 31:9)

 "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." (Jeremiah 16:14-16)

In Jeremiah's day, most fishing was done with nets and so was in Peter's but Peter was no ordinary fisherman, he was called to be a fisher of men. Peter fished with his nets and brought in 3,000 converts on the day of Pentecost. In like manner the early converts of the Church used nets to fish and bring in multitudes of converts: Wilford Woodruff converted more than 2,000 people in eastern states of America and British Isles; The Twelve under the direction of Brigham Young converted over 6,000 people in Britain between 1839 and 1841 and Parley P. Pratt who repeatedly baptised in excess of 100 people wherever he stopped to preach. But after the fishers, the Lord promised that He would send many hunters. Hunting, unlike fishing with nets, is more precise work. It is not usual practice to hunt a heard but individual animals, 'from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks' (Jeremiah 16:14-16).... Is not the day of the hunter here as we seek for the honest in heart who want to become the pure in heart? Are not our missionaries searching with precision individuals who desire to know the Lord? Are we not labouring endlessly seeking out our ancestors and those who have gone before us to bless them with saving ordinances necessary for salvation? We are hunting in His name by day and by night so that not one is overlooked who seeks to know Him and come unto Him for He will go to any length and any depth and any measure to find that which is lost.