Elder Hartman Rector Jr. said in a talk titled “‘Sacrifice Brings Forth Blessings’: “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.
On the other hand, Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his “only” son Isaac as a burnt offering to the Lord. I presume Abraham could not have received a more disagreeable commandment from his Heavenly Father. Still he arose immediately, took his son and the necessary firewood, and started for the designated place. He could not be diverted from his course until an angel of the Lord intervened to stay his hand. And what was the reward for such action? Hear the Lord’s statement to Abraham: “… because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore. … “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Gen. 22:16–18.)
Jesus, our Lord and Master, was the greatest example of all in following in obedience to his Father’s commandments. His great agony in the Garden I presume has never been approached and cannot be matched by human man. He in Gethsemane prayed, saying, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matt. 26:39.) The Master did not want to endure what was before him even though he knew this was the major purpose of his coming to earth—but he did what his Father had asked, and because he did, he holds “all power … in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18) and has, as Paul records, become “the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), and as many as receive him become his sons and daughters.
And how was it done? It was possible only through sacrifice. Truly sacrifice does “bring forth the blessings of heaven.” But how and why it happens seems to be difficult to understand, and perhaps few people really do understand it. Maybe this is the reason so few persons are willing to make the required sacrifice to allow the work of the Lord to fully succeed.”
The Prophet Joseph in his sixth lecture on faith gives probably the greatest statement extant on this vital subject. The Prophet said, “An actual knowledge to any person, that the course of life which he pursues is according to the will of God, is essentially necessary to enable him to have that confidence in God without which no person can obtain eternal life … and unless they have an actual knowledge that the course they are pursuing is according to the will of God they will grow weary in their minds and faint … It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. …” This talk by Elder Rector, “Sacrifice Brings Forth Blessings” was given General Conference October of 1971.
