In Similitude of the Savior's Sacrifice

One of the themes of the vision of the redemption of the dead in Doctrine and Covenants 138 is that of sacrifice.  President Smith started by talking about the “great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world” (v2).  He said again that “redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross” (v35).  Towards the end of the revelation he similarly stated that redemption comes “through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God” (v57).  These all refer to the sacrifice that the Savior made, but he also spoke about the sacrifice that we make.  He said that the spirits of the just were those “who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer’s name” (v13).  Of course the sacrifices that righteous mortals make are nothing in a direct comparison with the infinite sacrifice that Jesus made, but still we are required to make sacrifices that mimic what He did. 

               So what does it mean for us to make sacrifices in similitude of His great sacrifice? Perhaps the most obvious way is through the service we give to be “saviors on mount Zion,” a phrase from Obadiah that again points to the work that we can do as being symbolic of the Savior.  Joseph Smith taught, “But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them.”  Just as the Savior vicariously suffered for our sins, standing in our places to take the punishment of our transgressions, so too can we vicariously stand in the place of our progenitors in the temples.  If we will make the small sacrifice to be there in the temple for them, then will surely be offering sacrifice “in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God.”

               A verse in the Pearl of Great Price tells us how Adam was commanded to offer sacrifice in his day.  He offered up animals on the altar to the Lord, and the angel explained to him the purpose: “This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth” (Moses 5:7).  Again the emphasis here was to perform sacrifice in the similitude of the Savior’s sacrifice, and just as the Savior offered up His own physical body to be killed, so did the righteous offer up the firstlings of their flocks on the altar.  We of course don’t offer animal sacrifices today, but we do seek to follow this command of the Savior: “And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:20).  If we can live with a broken heart and contrite spirit before the Lord—which is exactly how He humbly lived—then we too are offering sacrifice in the similitude of His.