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.
A St Paddy’s Day story...
My Catholic Irish ancestors arrived about 1720...
They were indentured servants to the Albany, NY area...
One of the sons, my 6th g grandfather finished out his time and became a Leatherstocking type...trapper...spoke the Indian languages etc..along the Mohawk River...
he brought about 26,000 acres from the Indians...
He was also a captain in the Provincial Army....the group that Yankee Doodle Dandy was written about...
They wore their buckskins and coon hats and refused to wear the bright red uniforms of the English Army...
So the English soldiers would mock them and sing songs about them...
He died fighting Indians and the French at Lake George in Sept 1755..
Think “The Last of the Mohicans”
From accounts of him he was a he was good looking charmer...
:)
Wasnt that about 1920-30 that the mo0rmons banned coffee ???
No coffee...
Thats unAmerican...
I think thats what my uncle said.
It was funny that he added, so they wouldn’t be taken as Christians.
:)
My Suffolk family arrived in Massachusetts about 1630
Hey, my Mom’s family arrived in what is now New York in the 1630’s from Holland. They went to what is now Ohio around 1750.
While being virgin born, Jesus never the less was 100% God as well as 100% man. Jesus received his part of humanity from Mary, who was as descendant of David. Joseph was also a descendant of David.
That depends on what you would accept as "proof."
I have posted here frequently, trying to explain what I believe and why. I believe that what have I written is true. Nevertheless, I do not expect anyone to accept the claims of Mormonism on my say-so.
Instead, I would urge everyone to study the Book of Mormon and apply the test given in Moroni 10:4, 5:
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
I consider personal revelation from God to be the best "proof" one can have of eternal truths.
Although I believe you are sincere, I also believe you to be deceived.
Ya wanna explain Logophile, how, if the Mormon god was once a man, how he could also be the eternal father??? (Does the word "eternal" Mormonese only run on a one-way "street" so to speak...eternal future but never eternal past???) How "eternal" is an eternality that's not very eternal???
...ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:5)
Logo, this is both a false promise and an already-covered lesson plan man should have learned long ago!
How is it a false promise? NO ONE (other than Jesus Christ Himself, the Father, and the Spirit as our one God) "know(s) the truth of ALL things"!!! And no one CAN know "the truth of all things" unless they expect to be omniscient and become like god -- which, temple Mormons, in their lack of humility, anticipate will happen to them!!!
How is this a lesson plan we don't need to repeat? This is a lure for power, for knowledge is power, and the promise that a person will be "hooked up" with ALL KNOWLEDGE is what we should have learned long ago from Adam & Eve eating from the tree of knowledge of good & evil.
Moroni 10:4 is not so much of a promise as it is a manipulative device. It promises a particular result if certain terms are met. But the terms reflect on the seeker's integrity as regards both his sincerity and resolve, and on his faith in Christ. To be willing to rely on the promise of this verse as a test for the Book of Mormon's truthfulness one must already have concluded somehow that its instruction is valid and its promise reliable. That is, one must already believe in the "truthfulness" of this verse.
If the verse is true, then the only possible explanation for failing to obtain the result promised is a failure to meet the terms. That is, one must lack a sincere heart, and/or real intent, and/or faith in Christ. If one believes the verse is true then one must obtain the answer promised, or face an embarrassing judgement of one's sincerity, intent, or faith in Christ. The seeker is forced into convincing himself he has had some kind of manifestation from God, just to vindicate his own character. Or worse, he is moved to a frame of mind where he will gladly and indiscriminately embrace any supernatural manifestation as though it were from God.
Plain reason, not to mention all the force of Scripture's revelation of the character of God, testifies that God would not, does not, use such manipulative mind/ego games against the human family to bring them to believe the truth. God does not approve, and truth does not need, such machinations.
Logo, I have studied the BoM & the specific book of Moroni...here are some of my "fave" passages from Joseph Smith's prose as really revealed in the book of Moroni:
Moroni chapter 1: "I have not as yet perished..." (Moroni 1:1)...[Well, duh!!!! I mean, I didn't really think you were a "ghost" writer as of this date, Mo!]
Moroni chapter 5: The manner of administering the wine--Behold, they took the cup... (Moroni 5:1) [Yeah, well, this got "watered" down in a hurry by drunkard Mormons in St. George!!!! See my earlier post on this]
Moroni chapter 6: ...relying ALONE upon the merits of Christ... (Moroni 6:4) [When will that start happening for Mormons, Logo?]
I have "lots" of "fave" verses in Moroni 8, but allow me to close out this post with my "fave" verse excerpts from Moroni 7:
"For behold..." (v. 6)
"For behold..." (v. 7)
"For behold..." (v. 8)
"For behold..." (v. 13)
"For behold..." (v. 15
"For behold..." (v. 16)
"For behold..." (v. 22)
"For behold..." (v. 24)
"For behold..." (v. 30)
"For behold..." (v. 37)
"For behold..." (v. 39)
"For behold..." (v. 41)
It's pretty obvious from reading Moroni 7, Logo, that Joseph needed a little "time-killing" transition word, while he was thinking of where the next verse should go as he was dictating it to the scribe. (There's just no reason for someone pressed for space to scribble notes on gold to waste it on "behold" a dozen times every third verse or so).
So you're serious??? You want people to pray about Moroni 10:4-5 when Mormons violently militate in their curricula, missionary lesson plans, articles, Web site, media content, etc. vs. adhering to Moroni 6:4 -- relying ALONE upon the merits of Christ???
My Walloons, a man and his children and his new 2nd wife were French and came from Holland...
From the Leyden Church in Amsterdam...
A man born in Holland also arrived in NY in 1623, supposedly on the same ship..
Then my English family from Suffolk to MASS in 1630..
Then I have a man who was born in Holland and arrived here before his son was born in NY in 1631
And I have a couple who were born in Germany and arrived here before their child was born in NY in 1633..
Then the French born grown children of the man who had brought that first family and ship to the New World in 1623, arrived in New York in 1637 from Holland..
Another man born in Holland came with his parents and siblings to NY that same year, 1637..
Then I have a man born in Holland who came from the Texel in Holland to NY about 1640...
And another man born in Holland arrived in NY about 1645...
and so on...
Most from Holland and then some from France
Several had trading posts or taverns and made and sold their own beer...
One had an extremely large tobacco plantation that reached into present day Central Park...
One was banned from the colony for selling liquer to Indians..
One was a crook who was whipped and imprisoned...
and one was made a slave at age seven to pay for the father’s crimes...and sold from one owner to another ...and went on to overcome that early horrible start to be rich and prosperous...
The New World...my bloodlines...
I’m proud of them all...though some I could do without...
There is not only no good reason to do as Moroni 10:4 directs, there is very good reason not to do so.
Do you agree with the author one should not pray to God to know whether the Book of Mormon is true?
Ya know, you just can’t make this stuff up! Oh. Wait....
The entire point of the Jewish law was to prepare humanity for the coming of Messiah.
Be interesting to know where you're coming from. I'm guessing neither Christian nor LDS.
I have seven ancestors on the Holland Society list...
i have DIRECT bloodlines that men would kill for...
But i cant join the Holland society...
You have to be a male...
But the ancestors can just be related to the men who came here to NY...
In other words if you are a male and the brother or uncle or cousin or nephew of your direct ancestor was the one to come here...
but your actual ancestor didnt...
you can be a member of the Holland Society...
a kick in the teeth...
The funny thing is they expanded the rules to attract morfe members but still just males...
The women ???
Oh we can join the Holland Dames ...which is set up more likme an axilary of the Holland Society than an actual genealogical society...
In other words it supports the males over in the Holland Society but doesnt really acknowledge the lineage of its members...
though the exorborant dues are the same...
I can join the Dutch Settlers of Albany which is more exclusive anfd a whole lot cheaper...
:)
**Hard to do that when you’re born of a virgin...magritte***
Not really. The linage of Mary leads back to David’s other son Nathan.
Well that was enlightening. It’s intereting to know that thanks to a bunch of wino Mormons, I cannot buy a bottle of wine at the grocery store here in Utah. It’ very annoying. Good thing I have AF base access so I can even buy wine and booze on SUNDAY, BWAAAA HA HA HA!
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