“Let Him Offer a Male without Blemish . . . of His Own Voluntary Will”
Leviticus 1:1–9
1 And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.
4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
5 And he shall kill the bullock before the Lord: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.
7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire:
8 And the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar:
9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord.
Dr. Ellis T. Rasmussen wrote:
“Certain qualities of the sacrificial animals were symbolic, and proper attitudes of the worshippers were important. Laying hands upon the head of the animal before it was slain exemplified the transfer of suffering for sin, later done for us by the Savior. The ascending smoke and vapors from the burnt offering, as ‘a sweet savour unto the Lord’ [Leviticus 1:9], represented a communication of gratitude and supplication from earth to heaven. Other aspects of sacrificial worship are given later.
“An overview of the three basic sacrifices—the sin offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings—is given in the Bible Dictionary [see Bible Dictionary, “Sacrifices”].”
(A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament [1993], 128.)
