Jacob 4

After Adam and Eve had been driven out of the Garden of Eden, the Lord -

"...gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord." (Pearl of Great Price Moses 5:5)

It becomes evident here that it was expected of our first parents and their posterity by the Lord that they were to be obedient and they were to sacrifice. We know that they were obedient for -

"...after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me." Pearl of Great Price Moses 5:6)

It is then that we come to understand why Adam was to sacrifice -

"...then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore." (Pearl of Great Price Moses 5:7 - 8)

The very purpose of this commandment or law of sacrifice was that all men were to sacrifice as a similitude of the Savior's Sacrifice -

"...For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice." (Book of Mormon Alma 34:10)

It is impossible for man to sacrifice as the Savior, for -

"...there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another....therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world." (Book of Mormon Alma 34:11 - 12)

But even though we cannot sacrifice as the Savior, we can sacrifice as a similitude to the extent that we are able. Sacrifice then becomes an essential component of faith and redemption. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught -

"...Those, then, who make the sacrifice, will have the testimony that their course is pleasing in the sight of God; and those who have this testimony will have faith to lay hold on eternal life, and will be enabled, through faith, to endure unto the end, and receive the crown that is laid up for them that love the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We see this -

"...even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son." (Book of Mormon Jacob 4:5)

We see this in the vision of Joseph F. Smith of the redemption of the dead in that -

"...there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality;
13 And 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.
14 All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ." (Doctrine and Covenants Section 138:12 - 14)

In his visit to those in the Americas, the resurrected Christ said -

"...ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit..." (Book of Mormon 3 Nephi 9:19 - 20)

And it were these words of Jacob with stimulated my thoughts this morning -

"...for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us.
5 Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. And for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness...which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son." (Book of Mormon Jacob 4:4 - 5)