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Could You Sacrifice Your Child ? - Page 2

Hypothetically, what if God had required Abraham to go through with the sacrifice? Would that have made him less of a true God?

While it is true that God is a being of perfect love and understanding, He also knows exactly what is best. I firmly believe the phrase, 'It is better that one man perish than an entire nation dwindle in unbelief.' If actually sacrificing Isaac was what Abraham needed to become completely submissive to the will of God, it may well have been required of him. If we look at the promises given to Abraham and his posterity, we see why it was so vital that he become the great man of God that he was. In the eternal scope, Isaac would not have had any disadvantage in his eternal progression if the sacrifice had been required by the Lord. The entire incident is shocking only because of our limited, mortal field of vision. If we could see things as God sees them, we would probably lose most of the apparent shock and horror of the situation, seeing instead a loving Heavenly Father stretching his son's soul to the limits of its obedient capacity, for his own benefit. God had to be able to trust Abraham, and when he came to that level of faith, "it was counted unto him for righteousness."

What about those who are not physically saved, like the girl mentioned by Medicvet? If we believe in a living God who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent through the power of the Holy Spirit, we must also believe that he sees all, and in so seeing, is surprised by nothing. God does not have accidents. He does not fear that something will slip to foil his plan. He also has no obligation to equivocate in order to harmonize his acts with pubic opinion. If we believe that God is our Father, we must also believe that he loves us. We must believe that no trial or temptation that befalls us is indicative of a fickle diminution of that love. He does all things for our benefit, including allowing hardship, uncertainty and death in his time, so that we may turn to him and qualify for his salvation. If we do not believe these things about God (namely, that he sees all things, that he has all power, that his Spirit is everywhere present, and that he is our loving Father), how can we worship him? A being that is uncertain, with limited knowledge, without our interest at heart is no God.

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Howe, those are excellent points, and I agree with them. I would like to make a few comments, however. You seem like an extremely spiritual person to me who strives to be obedient in every way. I also try to be obedient, but where I am right now in life I just don't know if I could do it (Hence, I voted I am not sure.) As you pointed out earlier, you are not a parent yet, but maybe if you were, you would be faithful enough and have the strength of every fiber of your being and of what it would take to rip through your child's flesh, as Abraham was called to do, with a knife.

I love God so very much, and I am trying to be obedient in every way that I can. But I feel like the kind of faith and obedience it would require to do this could really only be summoned by prophets of God and those who have been taught in a way that they could truly , in every sense of the word, put God before absolutely anything. In my opinion, the teachings that could lead to this strong of a faith could only be by taught by the power of the Holy Ghost. However the person was taught, they would need the strongest of witnesses from the Spirit, that God would never require them to do anything unnecessary. I feel it would require a very special person, preordained to have the faith required to do such an act, if they were going to follow through with the commandment, being willingly obedient. Even in these times, Heavenly Father could possibly have a reason to ask this type of thing from a person, but I believe it would be someone very carefully chosen if He wanted that person to be an obedient example.

I know that God loves the children entrusted to my care even more than I love them. I know that if He should ever require something of this nature from me, I would want to reply with faith unwavering and a determined heart to follow God through anything he leads me. I also know that God would not ask me to do something so inconceivable and unimaginable if He didn't have some wise or glorious purpose in it. That doesn't mean that I will know why He is doing it. But would my heart, mind, and soul fail me at such an hour? I really just don't know. That is why I started this poll, because I sincerely wanted other views on the subject to ponder. I have thought a lot on this topic throughout the years, and I appreciate all of the feedback given.

Edited: dawnofthenew on 18th Jan, 2005 - 7:24pm

Could You Sacrifice Your Child ? Revealed Bible The

The great thing about the gospel and its Author is that we don't have to be Prophets or Apostles to inherit all the Father has. God has also promised not to tempt us beyond the point where we are able to comply with his will. Therefore, perhaps sacrificing a child is beyond your ability, and the Lord knows that. If that is the case, he will not ask you to do it. Prophets have no more advantage in the realm of salvation than any other person; they have simply been chosen as instruments to publish peace in a very public capacity. If we are obedient to the things the Lord tells us through the Holy Ghost, all things will be possible for us.

Is sacrificing a child a requirement for salvation? Of course not. But we should be willing to sacrifice whatever it is that stands between us and God - whether it be emotional attachments to material goods, holding to some false doctrine we have not yet abandoned, physical addictions, or destructive social associations. That is the essence of consecration - at some point, each of us will have a 'child' as Abraham's that we need to place upon the Lord's altar, whether it is alcohol, television, pessimism, pornography, self-aggrandizement, money, or any other form of pride. The point is not to be miserable or to cause irreparable damage - it is to make God absolutely first in our lives. Remember, Abraham had everything else he could want, except a son by his beloved wife. When he finally was blessed with Isaac, could it be that Abraham was so proud of this miraculous boy that Isaac was in competition with the Lord on Abraham's list of priorities? His experience at that altar was one of humbling realization. His sacrifice represents the sacrifice we must give Him today - a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Edited: howe6079 on 18th Jan, 2005 - 9:15pm

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Ah, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, very good points, and I take nothing away from your statement. I do have a question, though. No, I don't think God would ever require this of me, to sacrifice my child. But I agree with Tenaheff still, that Abraham was a very special servant and Heavenly Father knew that He could count on him to obey. He was chosen as a prophet of God. I think Heavenly Father knew he would obey, or He wouldn't have asked him to do this, thus, making Abraham preordained to be obedient to this commandment from the Lord. I also believe that all of us have the capcity to inherit all that God has, but do I think I will fall within the same vicinity of a prophet? No, I really don't. I could not begin to imagine that I would attain the same glory as a prophet. Saved in the highest kingdom? Yes, if I am worthy. Within the same level? No, sadly. I do not have the same faith as a prophet. If I did, wouldn't I be used in a similar way somewhere in the gospel?

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Are prophets more righteous than everybody else? That is a question. We see from some prophets, like Jonah, that prophets are very human. As Jeffrey R. Holland said, "The race is against sin, not each other."

No. The Lord puts very few people into the positions of leadership over his entire kingdom. That does not necessarily mean that they are the MOST perfect people the Lord has. It means that they are the ones who have been foreordained and called to come forth at the appropriate time for that specific purpose. There are many mothers, many teachers, many plain everyday people who are faithful and who qualify for the same blessings of salvation that the Prophet does. The difference is, the Prophet has a mantle of authority associated with his calling that sets him apart from the rest of the world. The only way any of us will become perfect is through the atonement of Christ. No matter how much or how little of it we need, it is more than we deserve, and more than we can repay. The Lord has set standards, and said that if we live up to them, we will inherit all he has. We can take him at his word on these things. He is not evasive or unclear. The fact that you are a mother and Abraham was a Prophet does not mean that you will not one day enjoy the same blessings he enjoys. It does mean that you have different roles, different functions in the Plan of Salvation. That is fine. The important part is not to give up hope. To hope is to actually expect that you will inherit the Kingdom of God, because He has promised it, and to fulfill your commitments to him to the best of your ability. The Savior makes up the difference. It's not fair - it's mercy.

Could You Sacrifice Your Child ?

After thinking about this topic some more, I have come up with another possible insight. God called upon Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. As pointed out earlier, we are taught in the scriptures that God will not tempt us beyond our capability to follow His will. In my own faith, there is also a scripture that says this:

I believe that God will not command me to do anything unless He provides a way for me to be obedient to that very commandment. With that being said, it occurred to me that Heavenly Father would have blessed Abraham with whatever he might have needed in order to be willingly obedient to that commandment and to His will. I don't know this for sure, but this crossed my mind as a part of how he could have been willing to be obedient and to follow through with the Lord's command. If this was the case, maybe I would find the strength to do this or something similar, if it was truly God's will. Again, I know he wouldn't command such a thing of me unless it was for some wise purpose, whether that purpose was within my view or not.

I fully agree with this sentiment. The point I'm trying to make is that I personally do not think that many of us could match the standards of faith, obedience, and companionship of the Holy Ghost that a prophet or an apostle has. I agree that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the only way a prophet, myself, or anyone can attain forgiveness of our sins, thus making it possible for us to return to our Heavenly Father. It is more than we deserve, and more than we can repay. I personally feel that I will need 'more' of the Atonement than a prophet of God would require, though I understand that that makes no difference in being forgiven or not. But, the amount of righteous living that someone strives for all of their life to attain may not be the same as someone else's. Just like in the parable of the ten virgins, the 5 virgins that were prepared to meet the Bridegroom with lanterns full of oil, along with a separate vessel of oil to ensure that there would be enough, could not possibly share their 'oil' of preparedness with the 5 virgins who were not prepared.

Just like shown in this parable, righteous living must be attained through hard work and sacrifice. A prophet, in my mind, spends so much longer than I do building up and preparing a reserve of 'oil' that I don't have. I am not in a place to judge, but it would seem logical to me that the 'drops' of oil that they earned through righteous living would far outweigh mine. This is why I say that a prophet is different than most of us, that they are 'special', and are probably much more capable of doing what Abraham was willing to do than I would be.

Could Sacrifice Child - Page 2

Well people, what can I say?. I do not think I could do it. I LOVE my son with ALL my heart, with ALL of me...I cannot even imagine what it would be like to try to sacrifice him *sigh* it would be heart breaking. The scriptures do not say this but I am pretty sure that Abraham had tears in his eyes while he was ready to sacrifice Isaac.

Offtopic but, I know Dawn what you mean about the Prophets but just always keep in mind that they are also human beings who commit transgressions, go through temptations and sin. Just because they have been called to lead it does not mean they are more righteous than any other person in my opinion, it means that God choose them for a great purpose on this Earth, after all he says "he chooses the weakest of things" to make them stronger. Also people, keep in mind that this is not the LDS board so the quotes given should not be LDS only, if you all would like to take it trough an LDS perspective, then you all can post it on the LDS board. Thanks.

Could Sacrifice Child The Bible Revealed - Page 2

I could not sacrifice my son. One already said they would not worship a god that required sacrifice. God would not have gone through with the sacrifice in any manner. We know this because the same Bible that tells this story mentions that God abhors human sacrifice. If God would have continued on and allowed it to happen, then either the Bible would have been wrong about God abhorring human sacrifice, or Abraham would not have been listening to the God of the Bible.

Personally, if God asked me to sacrifice my son, I would not believe it was God because I do not believe God would ask something so horrid. I had struggled greatly with the reason a loving god would even ask such devotion that you would be willing to sacrifice your child. I don't know the answer, nor do I think the true God would ask anyone to sacrifice their child, its an evil thing.