The Law of Sacrifice | Covenants in the LDS Temple Endowment

In the temple endowment, Latter-day Saints covenant to live the Law of Sacrifice. This may seem odd because Christians, including Latter-day Saints, do not perform animal sacrifices like the ancient Israelites performed in the Bible. In the Book of Mormon, Jesus specifically commanded the Nephites to do away with animal sacrifice, and instead to offer up a “broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 9:19–20).

However, the Law of Sacrifice is an eternal principle that is still alive and relevant today. According to the Church’s handbook, the Law of Sacrifice as outlined in the temple, “means sacrificing to support the Lord’s work and repenting with a broken heart and contrite spirit.”

So in today’s video, we’ll be exploring ways that we can fulfill the Law of Sacrifice, namely offering a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and supporting the Lord’s work. We’ll also cover the most important purposes of the Law of Sacrifice: to build saving faith and to help us come to know Jesus Christ.

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Contents
00:00 – Intro
00:55 – Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit
03:35 – Sustain & Defend the Kingdom of God
07:01 – Sacrifice Builds Saving Faith
09:14 – Come to Know Jesus Christ
11:24 – Conclusion

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Blog Post/Transcript
https://templeendowment.wordpress.com...

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Further Reading/Sources

M. Russell Ballard, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign October 1998.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...

Book of Mormon Central, “Was the Requirement of a "Broken Heart" Known Before the Time of Christ? (2 Nephi 2:7),” KnoWhy 27 (February 5, 2016).
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.or...

Monte J. Brough, “Living the Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign April 2000.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...

Bruce R. McConkie, “Obedience, Consecration, and Sacrifice,” General Conference April 1975.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...

Stephen D. Ricks, “The Law of Sacrifice,” Ensign June 1998.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...

Gloria Jenn Thomas, “Sacrifice,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism (Macmillan, 1992).
https://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Sacrifice

Benson, Ezra Taft. "This Is a Day of Sacrifice." Ensign 9 (May 1979):32–34.
https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/s...

Robert J. Matthews, “Great Faith Obtained Only through Personal Sacrifice,” in The Lectures on Faith in Historical Perspective, ed. Larry E. Dahl and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1990), 241–62.
https://rsc.byu.edu/lectures-faith-hi...

John Gee, “The Great and Last Sacrifice,” in Behold the Lamb of God: An Easter Celebration, ed. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Frank F. Judd Jr., and Thomas A. Wayment (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2008), 139–54.
https://rsc.byu.edu/behold-lamb-god/g...

D. Mick Smith, “Sacrifice and Condescension: Types and Shadows for Latter-day Living,” in The Things Which My Father Saw: Approaches to Lehi’s Dream and Nephi’s Vision (2011 Sperry Symposium), ed. Daniel L. Belnap, Gaye Strathearn, and Stanley A. Johnson (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2011), 330–46.
https://rsc.byu.edu/things-which-my-f...

Matthew L. Bowen, “’In the Mount of the Lord It Shall Be Seen’ and ‘Provided’: Theophany and Sacrifice as the Etiological Foundation of the Temple in Israelite and Latter-day Saint Tradition,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 5 (2013): 201–223.
https://journal.interpreterfoundation...

Blair G. Van Dyke, “Elements of Sacrifice in Abraham’s Time and Our Own,” Religious Educator 10, no. 1 (2009): 51–69.
https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-10-no-1-2009/...