”I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end, and as the Lord liveth, ye will be saved.” (LDS Omni 1:26, NC Omni 1:10)
What does it really mean to come unto Christ? What does it take to actually do it?
Faith, repentance and being baptized in the name of Christ brings the Holy Ghost, which leads to Christ. As the verse above describes, to come unto Christ includes to “offer your whole soul as an offering unto him”. It is offering your whole soul to Jesus himself.
In poker terms, is to go “all in” and put everything on the line to come to know Christ. It is holding nothing back in allowing Jesus to do whatever needs to be done with your life. It’s being willing to endure whatever His will is for you.
This offering is made with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. It is being willing to sacrifice all earthly things. It is “for a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also, counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ” (Lectures on Faith 6:5).
All must go on the alter and continue to be put on the alter. It can mean a person loses their standing within their communitity, have their reputation tarnished, and their character questioned or denigrated. Their religious community may speak poorly of them and betray or cast them out from among them because they do not understand or agree with the sacrifice they are making. Their own family, including their mother or father, brothers or sisters, husband or wife or children, as well as their friends may belittle their motives and question their character and choose to distance themselves from them and warn others to distance themselves as well.
In short, a person who makes this offering will find themselves living and experiencing the very treatment that Jesus himself received. They’ll know what it means to be “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” as well as having signs that follow them that believe and experiencing joy and consolation, “by holding forth that which is to come and confirming our hope” (D&C 128:21, T&C 151:17).
The details of what is will take to fulfill this sacred offering are certainly particular to the life and circumstances of each person who makes this offering.
Those who make this offering in all sincerity and earnestness and continue faithful to this, will find that they are neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It allows a person to be perfected in Christ.
This a sacred offering that can only be made by an individual making this offering to Christ for himself. Anyone who is capable of repentance is able to make this offering. It is not an offering to be made to satisfy men or any other being but Christ himself. “Offer your whole soul as an offering to him”. Make that offering to him.