Transcript

Come on, come on. Try to stay up with me. Standing before us is one of the most remarkable technological breakthroughs in the latter day. I know it doesn't look like much, but it's supposed to work. See, I want to show you and a much younger me how both sacrifice and the sacrament help bring us to Christ. OK. You ready? Let's go.

Holladay Third Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1958. Oh, I'm here. A Caddy, a classic.

Here I am. The old ward meetinghouse. Look at that. Look at that.

No kidding.

I can't believe it. There I am, crew cut and all, with my buddy Phil.

Dad?

You're-- he's me, but he's so old. Hi, Steve. Hi, Steve? Phil, can we talk for just a minute, please? Sure, I'll just leave you to talk to yourself. Thanks, Phil. Tell me, Steve, what are you doing to prepare yourself for the sacrament today? I'm filling the water trays. Do you ever wonder how the law of sacrifice prepared ancient Israel to look forward to Christ? No. I didn't think so. We can change that. Come on, I want to show you something. Hey, wait up.

This, my young self, is the latest in time travel technology. I know, I know. It doesn't look like much, but wait til you see what it does. Sinai wilderness, 1450 B.C. Holy cow.

Wow! There's-- this is swell! Well, we're here to make an offering, so why don't you select a sheep? Umm... How about this one? That's a female. So? Well, the sheep is a symbol of the Savior. So what should we be looking for, knowing what you know about Him? It needs to be male. Yes, and what else? It needs to be perfect.

How can you tell what the perfect sheep looks like? Well, it needs to be whole, without blemish or defect.

That's a good choice. Oh, could you pay him? It's your offering, Steve, you need to do it.

Where to now? To the Tabernacle.

Well, Steve, the Lord required animal sacrifice from the time of Adam up until the crucifixion of Christ. You mean they always had animal sacrifice?

First thing we need to do, Steve, is present the lamb to the priest.

Now, place your hands on the head of the lamb, Steve. Why do I do that? That's the way you dedicate it to God. Then the lamb becomes a substitute for you. Why do I need a substitute? There's certain things you can't do on your own. What did the Savior do for you that you couldn't do for yourself? He died for my sins.

The Atonement was something we couldn't do for ourselves. We needed a Savior who could act as a substitute for us.

What's this for? You have to kill the lamb, Steve. Why does the lamb have to die? He didn't do anything wrong. Neither did the Savior.

Why is it that the only perfect individual who's ever lived upon this earth had to die? Why did He have to die?

Only a perfect person, like the Savior, could offer Himself as a perfect Atonement.

Only by relying upon His offering can we be perfected. He died to satisfy the demands of justice so He could extend mercy to us. And He did it willingly.

It's through His death and the shedding of His blood that we live. I understand.

How do you feel? I don't know. I appreciate what the Savior's done more. You know, it takes personal sacrifice on our part, too, Steve.

We don't have full access to the Atonement without an offering on our part. Not only did the animal represent Christ, but it represented us also.

We need to be prepared to sacrifice everything to God. You mean, be willing to die? Yes, in a way-- willing to let our sinful life die.

Are you willing to give your whole self to God? I don't know. I hope so. It isn't easy, is it?

But you know, that's what God requires of us.

Steve, that's our personal part of sacrifice.

How come we're not involved personally like that today? We are.

I think I'm getting this. What does the bread and the water mean to you personally, Steve? The bread reminds me of the Savior's body. I can be resurrected.

He shed His blood for me so my sins can be forgiven. Good. So what is your personal offering to the Lord when you partake of the sacrament? I guess by keeping His commandments and taking His name upon me and always remembering Him. Good. That's an acceptable offering. I don't know about you, but it's pretty hard for me to always do what's right. I know what you mean. You won't be perfect. But if you offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit, the Lord will accept that offering and you'll have full access to the atoning sacrifice of the Savior.

Thanks. Time to go. Been wonderful.

Oh, by the way, don't bother to ask Michelle Brickman to the prom. Really? She married Phil.

And take good care of me.

[INAUDIBLE] Center, Old Testament Symposium, 1995.

Sacrifice and Sacrament

Description
(Leviticus 1:1-4,10-13) Steve Iba explains the correlation of sacrifice and the sacrament.
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