“Your not going to see the “blessing” until you have made the sacrifice”

( Ether 12:6 ; 1 Peter 1:7 )

The word “blessing” can be replaced with many other words that apply in the given situation. Such are the words as “worth”, “value”, “purpose”, “direction”, “reason”, and so forth, but the word blessing has a universal meaning that encompasses all of these. It is a statement of a spiritual truth, one of spirit and of life, that only through our trials and tribulations, until we have passed through it, have made the sacrifice, retained the faith (which is what sacrifice is about), we will not see and not receive the blessings.

This applies to everything in life.

A person will not see the worth of something until they have made the effort, the sacrifice of their time and resource. This is exactly what giving of ourselves is about and how it works. A person will not see the value of helping those in need “until” they have made the sacrifice of their time and resource to do so. They may try to sit and make arm chair judgements or interpretations of it, have their beliefs about it, but until they have committed their time, effort and resource to that thing, they will not see the actual and true value until they do.

The value of charity is not realized until a sincere and honest commitment, time and effort, is made toward it. Hence the purpose of work and faith in union. The value, worth or purpose of relationships, marriage, family, all hold the same principle. Until the sacrifice is first made, there will be no realization of any great blessings that come with it.

Apply this to worldly pursuits. A career is not realized and not valued until the sacrifice is made. The goal to achieve something, its value, worth, reason or purpose is not fully realized until that sacrifice is made.

There is nothing in life that is worth getting and having unless this principle is exercised and fulfilled.

Yet beware, anyone that tries to circumvent this principle will gain nothing of true value in their lives. The quick temporal gain will be temporary and fleeting and will end up to be at their cost with no benefit to sustain them. The emptiness of such a venture will be deeply felt. These are who seek out worldly gain at the expense or cost of others and usually by some unethical or immoral means. The quick fix, fast track wealth, the lottery ticket style of involvement and effort. These will prove to be very empty indeed.

Things that are worth seeking and having are those things of great virtue. This refers to integrity, respect, honesty, service, charity and all good things of God. This are things that are worth having and pursuing, but if we loose ourselves in the pursuits of the flesh, which are things of pride, worldly status and wealth, then we have lost our souls. If we forsake the important things of virtue in our daily pursuits, we will find ourselves suffering the costs.

Sacrifice is of ourselves, which is to expend our time, effort and if needed resources toward those virtuous things that are far greater in value than gold. To do those things of good report. Else the blessings shall not come until then.

This principle not only applies to our outward actions, but also to our personal spiritual efforts as well. How so many have gotten lost when focusing on only outward efforts, thinking that this is all that is required. I have read so many accounts of disheartened members that claim they have done all the duties asked of them, attended all functions of the Church and have not received any blessings or spiritual witness from the Holy Ghost.

Have these persons ever taken a personal inventory of their actions and state of spiritual affairs?

The personal sacrifice is not just in what we do outwardly, it is what we do personally in our lives as well. Whether we have sought out faithful things, endeavored faithfully in personal trials, repented at all times, studied the scriptures and accepted deep personal chastening from Heavenly Father.

The blessings of a witness from the Holy Ghost is just as dependent on our personal (and private) sacrifice as it is our outward public sacrifice in life. God does not divide our spiritual worth into segments, so neither shall we segment ourselves between our personal to our public life. What we are faithful in publicly, so shall this faith continue in our personal lives, at home when we are with our families or alone when in private.

When God deems that we suffer a trial or tribulation for our spiritual good, what sacrifice do we make to augment it? Do we allot the time needed to reflect and take account of ourselves in the trial? Do we ignore our feelings in these sufferings thinking we much forgo them and not learn from them? Do we forget to pray earnestly during our trials and sufferings and instead complain or bicker with the experiences?

Where is our personal sacrifice when in private?

What God asks of us in our faith. This faith comes from the heart, not just our lips. When in trials of our faith (and be assured you will not always know it is a trial of faith), where is our heart? Hard as it may be, sacrifice yourself to Heavenly Father in prayer, in fasting, in effort and when you have made the required effort and paid the right attention and listened, the blessing will be realized.

In private, alone or with family, in public or the social context, our sacrifice is always expected as part of faith, and so it is, Amen.

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