LDS Quotes on Sacrifice
“My brothers and sisters, temples are more than stone and mortar. They are filled with faith and fasting. They are built of trials and testimonies. They are sanctified by sacrifice and service.
| The Holy Temple—a Beacon to the World
“The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart.
Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.”
“If you are willing to pay the price for success, good things, even great things, can happen to you, even beyond your fondest dreams and expectations! Often we do not have even a glimpse of our potential for happiness and accomplishment in this life and in eternity because, as the Apostle Paul said, “Now we see through a glass, darkly.” But the lens can be lightened and become crystal clear through the influence of the Holy Ghost. The Savior promised us that the comforter will “teach you in all things and bring all things to your remembrance,” and “guide you into all truth.”
“I am grateful for the marvelous examples of Christian love, service, and sacrifice I have seen among the Latter-day Saints. I see you performing your Church callings, often at great sacrifice of time and means. I see you serving missions at your own expense. I see you cheerfully donating your professional skills in service to your fellowmen. I see you caring for the poor through personal efforts and through supporting Church welfare and humanitarian contributions.10 All of this is affirmed in a nationwide study which concluded that active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints “volunteer and donate significantly more than the average American and are even more generous in time and money than the upper [20 percent] of religious people in America.”
| “Sacrifice”
“At Christmas when we ponder the birth of Jesus and his example of near-constant service, we are prone to draw from our own resources that which would bless and liberate others. The stories of people helping and blessing one another at Christmastime are legion. And that is certainly one of the main reasons we rejoice so much in this holiday. …
“And so at Christmas, the stories of sacrifice and ministering multiply across the world. Our gifts and service gladden hearts; the kindness of others pours healing balm into our own wounds. It is living the Savior’s way of life. And since, as he, we came down from heaven to do the will of the Father, it must not be only an annual event, but rather the pattern of our lives. In all that serves to deepen our empathy, broaden our understanding, and purify our souls, his declaration reassures us: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
| "The Condescension of God and of Man"
“We are frequently asked, “How do you persuade your young people and your older members to leave their schooling or their retirement to sacrifice in this way?” I have heard many give this explanation: “Knowing what my Savior did for me—His grace in suffering for my sins and in overcoming death so I can live again—I feel privileged to make the small sacrifice I am asked to make in His service. I want to share the understanding He has given me.” How do we persuade such followers of Christ to serve? As a prophet explained, “We [just] ask them.”
| "Sacrifice"
“When we begin to understand the magnitude of [the Messiah’s] sacrifice and service to us individually and collectively, we then cannot consider anything else to be of more importance or to approach His significance in our lives. “For most of us, this understanding does not come all at once and likely will not be fully complete during our mortal sojourn. We do know, however, that as we learn line upon line, our appreciation for the Savior’s contributions will increase and our knowledge and assurance of their truthfulness will grow.”
| "Perilous Times," Ensign, Nov. 2004, 50-51
“As we consider his incomprehensible suffering for us, surely among the saddest five words our Savior ever uttered were these: ‘Will ye also go away?’ When times are difficult, we can make the choice to turn away from him and struggle through our afflictions alone, or we can make the choice to turn to him and the Father’s plan, finding that we will ‘suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.’ My prayer for each of us is to accept the invitation of the sacred Christmas hymn to ‘come, let us adore him’ and our Heavenly Father for his glorious and perfect plan!”
| "Oh, Come, Let Us Adore Him—the Plan!"
“The plan of salvation could not be brought about without an atonement… The atoning sacrifice had to be carried out by the sinless Son of God, for fallen man could not atone for his own sins. The Atonement had to be infinite and eternal to cover all men throughout all eternity. Through His suffering and death, the Savior atoned for the sins of all men. His Atonement began in Gethsemane and continued on the cross and culminated with the Resurrection.”
| "The Miracle of the Atonement", April 2011 General Conference
“For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also – counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ – requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when these sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.”
| Lectures on Faith, 68-70