Posted on 03/17/2010 2:50:32 PM PDT by reaganaut
I write today for my son and other young men about what an extraordinary privilege it is to be an Aaronic Priesthood holder. You have been ordained and given POWER, by someone with authority from God, to act in God’s name on the earth today.
You know all about superheroes. It’s fun to watch movies and see the powers superheroes like Spiderman, Batman and Superman have. But that’s just the movies and not real.
However, from the moment you are ordained a deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood, you are given more power than all the superheroes in the world combined -- and it is REAL power. It’s a special power, of course, and it can only be used if you are living the commandments.
It’s also a power that lets you help others, but you can’t use it for selfish reasons: to get things or do things that Heavenly Father doesn’t want done. However, when you use your priesthood power righteously, wonderful things will happen and you will see miracles, from simple to awe-inspiring, in your life.
What does it mean to be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood? First, it means God has enormous confidence in you. Imagine a powerful king who rules over millions of people telling you he trusts you so much that he is going to give you his signet ring.
When you have his ring you have the authority and power to do things in the king’s name. That king would have to love you very much and he would have to have enormous faith that you will make good decisions and do what is right.
But this is not a make believe situation; it’s real. Priesthood is the greatest power in the universe and our Heavenly king, God, will trust you with his power throughout your life as long as you remain worthy. He expects you to be sober, to keep the commandments, share the gospel and use priesthood power to help and serve others.
Second, more than the fact that you have power, being an Aaronic Priesthood holder means that you have duties and responsibilities given you. God requires you to do certain things and you will answer to him somedayabout how well you did what he asked you to do.
You can still have fun and enjoy life, but he wants you to be serious in representing him, honoring the priesthood and setting a righteous example for others.
A good way to understand what it means when you are ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood is to consider some of the responsibilities and blessings that come to you as a deacon, a teacher and a priest. All young men ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood hold the keys of the ministering of angels.
This is a literal promise and at times angels with attend and watch over you although you will not necessarily see them.
As a deacon you are to pass the sacrament, watch over the church, bear testimony of Christ, warn, expound, exhort and invite all members to come unto Christ. To do this you will need to keep the commandments, and carefully study the scriptures and the teachings of today’s prophets and apostles.
You are charged with helping the bishop by gathering fast offerings, caring for those in need, fellowshipping quorum brethren, and strengthening and uplifting the members.
When you become a teacher, under the direction of your priesthood leaders, you are to prepare the sacrament and are charged with speaking well of others and strengthening members by encouraging them to live the commandments.
You too warn, expound, exhort, teach and invite all to come unto Christ by home teaching, speaking in church, being an example of righteousness and integrity, and speaking kindly about others.
A priest adds to these duties baptizing and administering the sacrament. He is commissioned to visit members in their homes and to urge them to pray and attend to their family duties.
Isn’t it amazing how much the Lord trusts the young men in the church and how much he depends on them?
When Wilford Woodruff went on his first mission, he "went out as a priest, and my companion as an elder, and we traveled thousands of miles, and had many things manifested to us.
"I desire to impress upon you the fact that it does not make any difference whether a man is a priest or an apostle, if he magnifies his calling. A priest holds the key of the ministering of angels. Never in my life, as an apostle, as a seventy, or as an elder, have I ever had more of the protection of the Lord than while holding the office as a priest.
"The Lord revealed to me by visions, by revelations, and by the Holy Spirit, many things that lay before me.”
What a wonderful honor it is to hold the Aaronic Priesthood and how important it is to do everything in your power to always be worthy of this great privilege given you by God.
The LDS do not grasp that the Jewish Priesthood of Aaron was 1) for descendants of Aaron and 2) terminated with the Crucifixion of Jesus
Once again, the LDS keep trying to sew up the Temple veil that was rent in two by Christ.
Disclaimer: I am NOT Mormon. I was Mormon for several years and then left. I do not believe Mormon doctrine and find their teachings heretical.
I love to be served the Sacrament by these young men. They take it seriously, too.
P.S. The Church was restored.
I bet the Jewish people really HATE this perversion of their laws.
For 2000 years people have tried to sew the Temple veil that was rent in two from top to bottom. lds have rebuilt a secret temple, with non Biblical secret ceremonies.
What exactly is this supposed to mean? You can't tell me that the LDS can pssibly imagine that pimple-faced little 12-year-old boys can have power over the very messengers of God, angels.
PS. There was NO NEED for a ‘restoration’ unless Christ was a liar. Do you think Christ was a liar?
And, SD, the claim of a ‘restoration’ has nothing to do with the fact that the role of Jewish Priests was blood sacrifice and the sacrificial system is no longer needed because of Christ, so once again the LDS INSULT the sacrifice of Christ.
The Temple veil was rent in two and the LDS keep trying to put it back up.
Saundra, serious question: what exactly happens when one is “served the sacrament”?
You can’t tell me that the LDS can pssibly imagine that pimple-faced little 12-year-old boys can have power over the very messengers of God, angels.
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Yep. And their own moms too.
— - - - - - Yep. And their own moms too.
And what form does this take?
what exactly happens when one is “served the sacrament”?
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After saying rote prayers (which the LDS usually condemn for anyone else) they pass out wonderbread and water and everyone promises to keep ALL the commandments that next week.
It doesn’t.
These threads only strengthen the intended targets, and only offer you a quick fix for your addiction to antagonism. Grow up.
Oh, so it’s like communion? Literally, Wonderbread?
The Aaronic priesthood was not terminated with the Renegade Rabbi doing his thing. If you visit any Orthodox (don’t know about Conservative, Reconstructionist, or Reform) synagogue you will find that the first two people that always get called up to read the first two sections of the weekly Torah portion are the Cohens (high priests descended from Aaron) and Levis from the tribe of Levi.
Once the Temple is rebuilt the Cohenim and the Levi’im will be running the show again.
But if the Aaronic priesthood was terminated after the Renegade Rabbi did his thing then that means anyone can restart it and do whatever they want with it. No Orthodox Union seal of approval needed!
My server is blocking the picture :-(
:-) What do they THINK is accomplished by this?
The LDS Church claims to be a restoration of the original New Testament church. But when something is restored, it is put back into its original form, and any change produces a substitution, not a restoration. Since the LDS Church has a First Presidency, Patriarchs, High Priests, Stake Presidency, Ward Bishopric, Priests, and so on, it is very different from the New Testament church. Therefore, it is a substitution, not a restoration of the New Testament Church. But, LDS use Acts 3:19-21, Rev. 14:6-7, and Matt. 17:11 to support their claim of being the "restoration" of Christ's church. Yet, those texts do not support LDS claims.
What has reaganaut said that is untrue?
Why not use Jewish rye bread?
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