Impart It Freely

 “Impart it freely"

The phrase keeps running through my head.  

Martin Harris is told to "impart a portion of thy property" (D&C 19:34) and "impart it freely" (26) for the printing of the Book of Mormon. 

Mortgage his farm! What a HUGE sacrifice. From the outside looking in, it seems absolutely crazy.

The scriptures & church history is ridden with stories of sacrifice, of “crazy.”

"Amulek having forsaken all his gold, and silver, and his precious things... for the word of God, he being rejected by those who were once his friends and also by his father and his kindred" (Alma 15:16)

Lamoni's father: "What shall I do that I may be born of God... Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy." (Alma 22:15)

Anti-Nephi-Lehis: “They took their swords... and they did bury them up deep in the earth. And this they did, it being in their view a testimony to God” (Alma 24:17-18)

Paul: "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13)

Christ to Peter and Andrew: "Follow me" (Matt. 4:19) "And they straightway left their nets, and followed him." (20)

And countless others, including the early Saints to this day. 

What can I impart more freely? What can I forsake? 

What can I bury? What am I ready to do? What should I leave straightway?

What can I give He whom I love, who loved and gave ALL?

"For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all... which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (D&C 19:16, 18)

Impart it freely.

Thank you, Martin Harris.

“It is not a sacrifice to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is never a sacrifice when you get back more than you give. It is an investment, … a greater investment than any. … Its dividends are eternal and everlasting” (Gordon B. Hinckley)