An Uncomfortable Offering
by Autumn Dickson
This week, we learn about some of the men and women who supported Joseph in the early days of the restoration. He was supported through friendship as well as monetarily as he worked to complete the translation of The Book of Mormon. We also learn about the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. John the Baptist came to Joseph and Oliver and conferred that authority upon them.
Plenty could be written about the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, but there was actually another part of this event that I wanted to speak about. Though I am far from qualified in historical perspectives and details (especially pertaining to ancient Israel), I do believe that there is insight that I can give.
Here is the one verse that describes the restoration of this preparatory priesthood.
Doctrine and Covenants 13:1 Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
The portion that I would like to try and give insight on is the last phrase, “until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.” This verse, accompanied by many quotes in the Doctrine and Covenants institute manual, teach that there will be a literal animal sacrifice at some point in our dispensation. It will be performed when the sons of Levi can do so in righteousness. The sons of Levi were priesthood holders in ancient Israel, and so we can understand that this is talking about modern day priesthood holders. Will they be specifically from the tribe of Levi? Maybe. The manual simply states that they will be priesthood holders.
There will be some who cry that the Law of Moses was done away, and they are absolutely correct. It was done away. However, animal sacrifice existed before the Law of Moses and so there’s no reason to assume that it was permanently done away with the rest of the rights and rituals included in the Law of Moses. One quote from President Joseph Fielding Smith stated that this sacrifice would be done in the beginning of the Millennium when Christ is already on the earth.
Even when we take into consideration the logical arguments for the restoration of all things, this is simply not one of our friendlier doctrines. It’s not necessarily one of the things that we like to expound upon and focus on. It’s uncomfortable.
And therein lies my exact insight. Let’s explore.
Uncomfortable
As I was reading about this sacrifice from the sons of Levi, I remember trying to think of how I would explain something like that to a friend or even to my children. I don’t know how to describe the necessity of animal sacrifice when I’m not even sure why it’s totally necessary.
I tried picturing what that sacrifice might look like, and once again, all I could feel was extreme discomfort. Society has definitely evolved away from this kind of death. People used to raise their own meat and personally slaughter their dinners. If they didn’t personally raise the meat, they hunted wild game and still personally slaughtered their dinners.
We have begun to feel that we’re more sophisticated because we get to eat the meat without watching the animal die. It offends our more sensitive natures because we’re just not used to it anymore. I’m not saying this is necessarily a bad thing. I don’t think there is anything wrong with sensitivity towards death. However, I wonder what we have lost when we’re so far separated from the process that we don’t appreciate what occurred to put that meat on our table.
I promise this isn’t a discourse on being vegetarian, and I do have a point. This is an uncomfortable doctrine for us, in a different way than it was uncomfortable to ancient Israelites.
The point of animal sacrifice was to teach the Israelites about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But why does an innocent animal need to suffer so we can learn a lesson?
And then it hit me. How much more poignant could we get?
An innocent, perfect Man sacrificed Himself so that we could come to earth to learn the lessons we needed to learn in order to live an eternal life. We rejoice in this doctrine. We’re grateful for it. It is our central doctrine that the Savior offered Himself up so that we could be saved.
It’s easy to reflect on the gratitude; it’s much more difficult to grasp the sacrifice.
The ancient Israelites were probably not as sensitized to animal death as we are, and so the lessons probably felt a little different. They understood that meat on their table meant death. We’re far removed and so we don’t often think about it, but perhaps that just drives the lesson home even more.
Animal sacrifice feels uncomfortable, even wrong. Isn’t there some other way we can learn about the atonement of Jesus Christ? Now take these direct feelings and apply them to the sacrifice of the Savior. Expand this poignant lesson to exactly where it’s supposed to be: our Redeemer. I wonder what kind of emotions would be evoked if we could see a vision of the Garden of Gethsemane and the cross before our eyes. It would certainly be uncomfortable since most of our modern societies have moved away from brutal torture methods. I wonder if it would also evoke emotions such as, “This is wrong. He is good. Why are we letting this happen? Surely there is another way!”
It is not enough to logically understand the atonement of Jesus Christ. If we want to feel the depth of the love He holds for us, if we want to experience gratitude to the level it deserves, if we want His sacrifice to change us, we have to experience the atonement emotionally. I’m not saying we go out and sacrifice an animal to let the lesson hit home. I’m just going to leave those particulars to the Lord when He gets here.
But as much as we love the atonement of Jesus Christ and all that it brought us, do we also understand the depth of darkness that accompanied it? Do we feel gratitude because we understand on some kind of level, just what He had to innocently go through in order to save us and give us an opportunity to come here and learn? In some ways, you might argue that the atonement of Jesus Christ isn’t even one of our friendlier doctrines. There was so much love associated with it, and I believe it is absolutely right to celebrate that love and the victory. I believe it’s also important to recognize what that victory cost.
Abraham and Isaac
It makes me think of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham was commanded by the Lord to offer up Isaac, his only son, as a sacrifice. I always hated this story in the Old Testament. What kind of God would command His child to sacrifice their posterity? It seemed so jarring and so incongruous with who I believed God to be.
It wasn’t until I studied this story during Come Follow Me that I noted something I had never seen before. Abraham was commanded by the Lord to offer up his son as a sacrifice, but the Lord never intended on actually accepting the sacrifice. It was never part of the plan for Isaac to actually be sacrificed.
Some would argue that it was cruel of God to put Abraham through such an ordeal. I can’t imagine the agony. I think about one of my kids dying, and I can’t breathe. I don’t know if I would have had the strength to follow that commandment even if it did directly come from God (and that’s just plain honesty on my part). I would probably assume I had gone completely mental and checked myself into a hospital.
But once again, Isaac wasn’t ever actually going to be sacrificed. I wonder if Abraham just kept repeating to himself that Isaac would be resurrected one day, and they would be reunited. I wonder if that brought him any comfort because I don’t think it would have brought me any comfort. Though it was harrowing, absolutely excruciating to have experienced the trek up that mountain, understanding what was at the end of it, I wonder if anyone understands the atonement on the level that Abraham understands.
When the angel came and stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, I picture Abraham falling over himself to hug Isaac, sobbing into his neck. I picture the tears of joy that his son was mercifully spared. And later, when things got quieter and Abraham had some time to ponder, I picture more tears as Abraham finally understood just what it meant that Heavenly Father had sent His innocent Son to be sacrificed for the sins of the world. I picture the depth of gratitude Abraham must have felt that while he didn’t have to sacrifice his own son, Heavenly Father had chosen to send Jesus for our sake.
Maybe Heavenly Father kept reminding Himself that Jesus would be resurrected and returned to Him. I wonder if that helped, or I wonder if the nature of a parental relationship denies the ability to skip the pain in favor of the ending. Heavenly Father didn’t turn away from the brutality that was necessary in order to save us. The least we can do is appreciate that on some level.
I testify that rejoicing and gratitude and worship are all wonderful things that the Lord encourages. I testify that our salvation was worth it to the Savior. I also testify of uncomfortable doctrines that were necessary. I testify that saving us required a sacrifice, a sacrifice that we are hard-pressed to comprehend because of the elevated and sanitized societies in which we now live. That’s not to knock the progress we’ve made as humanity away from public executions by crosses, but it is to help us understand that the atonement of Jesus Christ carries a depth of pain that matches the depth of joy that has been offered to us. Appreciating that on some level (because heaven knows we can’t yet fully understand and appreciate it) goes a long way in pushing us towards the Savior for what He did, and that is a worthwhile endeavor to find that appreciation.
Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.
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