The Last Full Measure of Devotion

In early July of 1863, the peace of southern Pennsylvania’s green rolling hills was obliterated by the thundering sound of war. The Civil War had come north, and in a fierce battle, the South attacked the North just outside a small village called Gettysburg. In three days of fighting, the Confederates charged the Union lines repeatedly but were unable to break through. On July 4, after suffering severe losses, the Confederate Army retreated.

But the Union casualties were nearly as great as the Confederate. More than 3,000 boys in blue died in that battle, and some 20,000 more were wounded, captured, or recorded missing. By the end of the war, more than 600,000 Americans would lose their lives.

From the hills of Pennsylvania in 1863 to the farmlands of Massachusetts in 1775 to the forests of eastern France in 1944 to the deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2003, millions upon millions have given their last breaths for our liberty, for us.

Sacrifices in our behalf are not confined to men and women in uniform. In addition to Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, each summer in Utah we celebrate Pioneer Day, remembering those who left homes and comforts and lost lives and family members for the faith we share with them. And on June 27 we honor another martyr for our faith, Joseph Smith.

Many are the courageous, faithful, selfless individuals who have given “the last full measure of devotion,” as Abraham Lincoln called it, to causes of faith and liberty. Our debt of gratitude is, indeed, great. How can we, today, even begin repay that debt?

In November 1863, four months after the battle at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln visited the site of the conflict, where he praised those fallen soldiers and expressed the duty that is incumbent on all who benefit from such sacrifices--whether made by soldiers in the 1860s, by pioneers in the 1850s, or by Joseph Smith in 1844.

“It is for us the living, rather,” said Lincoln, “to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”

Increased devotion to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that’s how we can pay our debt of gratitude. We can carry on the work they began. We can advance the cause to which they consecrated such unswerving faith. By so doing, we can ensure that their gift to us, the ultimate gift, was not given in vain.

A short distance from the beaches in Normandy, France, ranks upon ranks of small white crosses cover a green field. Spaced carefully in perfect rows and columns, nearly 10,000 crosses honor American soldiers who gave their lives to secure the freedom of the French people. It is fitting that these brave dead are memorialized by crosses, which represent another cross, a cross upon which One died to secure the liberty of many.

In the Book of Mormon, yet another martyr, Abinadi, spoke of the Savior’s sacrifice and of our duty to honor that gift. “When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,” Abinadi said, quoting Isaiah, “. . . he shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Mosiah 14:10–11).

When we make the Savior’s soul an offering for sin, when we apply His sacrifice to our lives, when we continue the work He started--the work of our own salvation--then do we ensure that His sacrifice was not in vain. And as we live lives of faith, courage, and repentance, we honor His gift to us as well as the millions of similar gifts passed down through the centuries to us today.