Like Lamoni’s father, we must be willing to sacrifice all things to be born of God. In the Lectures on Faith we learn the importance of sacrifice in our eternal progression: “Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth’s sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life” ([1985], 69).
While serving in the Seventy, Elder Alexander B. Morrison taught concerning the sacrifices we must make to come unto Christ:
“To take His name upon us means a willingness to do whatever He requires of us.
“Someone has said that the price of a Christian life is the same today as always: it is simply to give all that we have, holding back nothing, to ‘give away all [our] sins to know [Him]’ (Alma 22:18). When we fall short of that standard by reason of sloth, indifference, or wickedness; when we are evil or envious, selfish, sensual, or shallow; we, in a sense at least, crucify Him afresh. And when we try consistently to be our very best, when we care for and serve others, when we overcome selfishness with love, when we place the welfare of others above our own, when we bear each other’s burdens and ‘mourn with those that mourn,’ when we ‘comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and … stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places’ (Mosiah 18:8–9), then we honor Him and draw from His power and become more and more like Him, growing ‘brighter and brighter,’ if we persist, ‘until the perfect day’ (D&C 50:24)” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1999, 33; or Ensign, Nov. 1999, 27).