Leaving Kirtland - Leaving Wealth

When the Church members were being persecuted enough that it became necessary to leave Kirtland, Ohio and their temple, it must have been hard. Obviously they couldn't sell their land for much or for anything since they were being pushed out by a mob, and they had been commanded to leave by the Lord. I'm sure that was difficult for some of them.

With that backdrop, consider this counsel from the Lord (specifically for the Bishop in the place who was also a local businessman as well as for other members)

2Let them awake, and arise, and ^acome forth, and not tarry, for I, the Lord, command it.

3Therefore, if they ^atarry it shall not be well with them.

4Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is ^aproperty unto me? saith the Lord.

5Let the properties of Kirtland be turned out for ^adebts, saith the Lord. Let them go, saith the Lord, and whatsoever remaineth, let it remain in your hands, saith the Lord.

6For have I not the fowls of heaven, and also the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the mountains? Have I not ^amade the earth? Do I not hold the ^bdestinies of all the armies of the nations of the earth?

7Therefore, will I not make ^asolitary places to bud and to^bblossom, and to bring forth in abundance? saith the Lord.

8Is there not room enough on the mountains of ^aAdam-ondi-Ahman, and on the plains of Olaha ^bShinehah, or the land where^cAdam dwelt, that you should covet that which is but the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters?

Let's review the counsel. They are told to leave the area. Also, they have covetous desires (i.e., they want to keep their wealth/property) and are told to repent. I think we can understand how difficult it would be to leave our life's work behind for almost nothing.

However, here's the Lord's response: "for what is ^aproperty unto me? saith the Lord." In verse 8, the Lord calls property the "drop" and not a "weighty matter". With the benefit of hindsight, I must say that this counsel is clearly accurate. The church members in Kirtland needed to join the rest of the church and help build up the kingdom over the next couple of decades. Without that it would be impossible for the great growth and expansion of the church to millions of people. Helping build a foundation for millions to participate in the blessings of the gospel is certainly the weight matter, not leaving behind property.

Consider the Lord's explanation of his power/ability to make life abundant as well as take care of all things:

6For have I not the fowls of heaven, and also the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the mountains? Have I not ^amade the earth? Do I not hold the ^bdestinies of all the armies of the nations of the earth?

7Therefore, will I not make ^asolitary places to bud and to^bblossom, and to bring forth in abundance? saith the Lord.

Missouri was a solitary place; Nauvoo was a more solitary place, and Utah was the most solitary place, perhaps in all of the current United States. All of those places became abundant.

I love these verses because they help me appreciate what the church members were asked to do. They also help me imagine the same request coming in my life and push me to have enough faith now that I would follow the counsel they are given. I know the Lord only asks us to do things that are good. This move was very good for those who decided to follow. I want to always be one of those people and not care too much about money, or how hard I've worked for wealth, or anything else that could impede my progression and willingness to follow God and his prophets.

Have a great day.

Sacrifice

How would you define sacrifice? Does the lord or a servant in his kingdom need to command/ask/etc. in order for something to qualify as sacrifice?

My good friend Travis sent me this question a couple days ago. I haven't thought about it long enough, but I'll comment on it over the next few days.

We're asked to sacrifice. I think the question put another way is, "who comes up with the sacrifice's that count as far as the Lord is concerned?" For example, does sacrificing something during Lent count for anything? What if I am a "swearer" and decide to sacrifice my swearing? Does that count as sacrifice? Additionally, if the Lord's servant asks, is this a sacrifice I have to do?

All I have time for right now is to paste the Bible Dictionary's definition of Sacrifice and then comment.

In all the animal sacrifices of the Mosaic law there were six important acts: (1) The presentation of the sacrifice at the sanctuary door by the sacrificer himself, as his personal act. (2) The laying on of hands (cf. Lev. 16:21; Num. 27:18, 20; Deut. 34:9) dedicated the animal to God and made it the sacrificer’s representative and substitute (Num. 8:10; Lev. 1:4). (3) The slaughtering of the animal. The sacrificer himself slew his sacrifice (at the north side of the altar), and thus carried out actually the dedication to God that he had ceremonially expressed by the laying on of hands. A later custom was for the Levites or priests to slaughter the victims. (4) The pouring out or sprinkling of the blood. The priest collected the blood of the animal in a vessel, and applied it in various ways and places to make an atonement (Ex. 30:10; Lev. 8:15; 16:18; 17:11). (5) Burning the sacrifice on the altar. After the priest had properly prepared the sacrificial victim he offered it (the whole or the fat only) upon the altar of burnt offering. This act symbolized the consecration of the worshipper to Jehovah. (6) The sacrificial meal (in the case of the peace offering only). The fat having been burnt and the priests’ pieces removed, the rest of the flesh was eaten by the sacrificer, his household, and the poorer Levites at the tabernacle.

Notice how much of this process involves the individual making the sacrifice acknowledging what he's doing. Sacrificer can't send someone in his place, he has to do it himself. He had to kill the animal himself. Also, there were a lot of symbols that connected the sacrifice to the Atonement Jesus would later perform.

It sounds like sacrifices in that time were made to help the sacrificer invest time and thought in the Atonement (it's a tool to do this).

Last comment - It sounds like sacrifices were made for man and not man to sacrifice.

More tomorrow. Thanks Travis. You think of the best practical questions.