HEBREWS
1:1-4 In many parts, and many ways, God of old having spoken to the fathers in the prophets, in these last days did speak to us in a Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He did make the ages; who being the brightness of the glory, and the impress of His subsistence, bearing up also the all things by the saying of his might -- through himself having made a cleansing of our sins, sat down at the right hand of the greatness in the highest, having become so much better than the messengers, as he did inherit a more excellent name than they. [ Youngs literal translation from the Greek ]The Book of Hebrews was written to Jews who were familiar with prophets and priests of Judaism. The authors purpose becomes clear very quickly because the writer contrasts the past method by which God spoke to the Hebrews --via prophets-- with the new way He speaks to us via His Son. The writer is making this case to people who had identified themselves as Christians and making the case in order to prevent them falling back into Judaism and/or falling short of true faith in Christ rather than the system of the law and the prophets.
Mormonism has sought to reestablish the Judaism system of law and prophets
which Jesus replaced by fulfilling them and has thus become our Great High Priest and speaks directly to us via His Word such that we are not now to establish different or new doctrine and covenants via prophets calling themselves messengers of God: HEBREWS 2:5 For not to messengers did He subject the coming world, concerning which we speak,
. . . 2:7 Thou didst make him some little less than messengers, with glory and honour Thou didst crown him, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands,
. . . 2:9 and him who was made some little less than messengers we see -- Jesus -- because of the suffering of the death, with glory and honour having been crowned, that by the grace of God for every one he might taste of death.
The Men In The Moon |
The Prophet Brigham Young, in a vision, saw men on the Moon. Young wrote that "...the Moon-Men dress like [winged] Quakers and must have the true gospel revealed to them by missionaries from the Earth, in the fullness of time". Documents locked up in the vaults of the Mormon church show that the Prophet, Seer and Revelator David O. McKay knew in 1969 that the time was nigh to fulfill the prophesy from a hundred years before. McKay sought out the non-Mormon space man James B. Irwin.
Irwin, aged 39, could not remember a time when he did not have a burning interest in outer space. He was chosen in 1970 to become the eighth man to walk on the Moon (Apollo 15). As Prophet, McKay, of course knew this would happen. So it came to pass that McKay sent seven missionaries to the home of Irwin in 1970 to pray with the Irwin family. The missionaries' task was to convert Irwin to Mormonism so that Irwin, the astronaut, could contact the Quaker Moon-Men in 1971, for the purpose of restoring to them the gospel of Jesus Christ of Earth. But Irwin could not understand the basics of Mormonism completely and he did not trust these young missionaries. He rejected the truth, but this episode started him thinking about spiritual matters.
Being scientifically inclined (M.S. in aeronautical and instrumentation engineering, University of Michigan, 1957) his mind pondered if it would be possible to communicate telepathically across the vast distances of space -- from the moon to the earth. Double blind experiments were set up, but the results turned out ambiguous.
Irwin died in August of 1991. But his experience with the missionaries made a lasting impression on his spirit. He never fully accepted Mormonism, but he also did not reject it.
Irwin resigned from NASA and from the Air Force in 1972 to form and lead a religious organization, High Flight Foundation, in Colorado, USA. He led several expeditions to Mt. Ararat to photograph Noah's Ark. He has even retrieved some six thousand year old timbers from it, which his wife and four children donated to the Mormon Church in 1993.
James C. Fletcher (1919-1991) was a physicist, research scientist, lecturer, writer, Mormon, University of Utah
President, and director of NASA. http://www.lib.utah.edu/spc/mss/ms202/202.html
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(Maybe your buddies thought they had it all wrapped up in this thread.)