It isn't working though ;)
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.
Ah, but just look at the screen name ... word play is the objective don’tchaknow!
It’s interesting too that the LDS describe our pre-earthly existance as “intelligences”. It’s sort of flattering, if one believes that “Heavenly Father” and (one of many?)Heavenly Mother had some sort of heavenly union and bore all us spirit children, and we’re described as “intelligences”.
Why do you think they are moving it;-)
They are MOVING the Hill? Why? And to where?
Deacon
Worthy brethren may be ordained deacons when they are at least 12 years old. A deacon follows counsel, sets a good example, and may
(1) pass the sacrament,
(2) collect fast offerings,
(3) care for the poor and needy,
(4) be a standing minister appointed to “watch over the church” (D&C 84:111),
(5) assist the bishopric,
(6) serve as a messenger,
(7) participate in quorum instruction,
(8) serve in quorum leadership positions,
(9) fellowship quorum members and other young men,
(10) be baptized and confirmed for the dead,
(11) speak in meetings,
(12) share the gospel,
(13) bear testimony, and
(14) care for the meetinghouse and grounds.
Well, it's good to keep kids busy I guess.
I think by saying “It is finished”, Jesus was referring to the fact that his sacrifice was complete.
He certainly continued to teach beyond that moment, as did His apostles.
It isn't working though ;)
Of course given the LDS...
"I don’t expect that I, or any Latter-day Saint could prove any of the claims our Church makes."
Why then, do Mormons go around claiming they are the "only true church" if you can't prove any of the claims the church or its members make?
Yet, many mormons don't even know the doctrines of their own church.
Like what happens to apostates?
All have placed their faith in a man, Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith is the sandy foundation upon which mormonism is built. He was not a man of virtue, morals or values. Everything he claimed is in question because of those and his false prophecies.
It is the humble but bold testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that God has restored His church, given additional scriptures, and continued to guide His church once again through modern revelation to a modern prophet and a modern twelve apostles. Just as the first coming of Christ was not an unprophesied event, so this greatly prophesied preparatory era prior to Christ’s second coming should also not surprise the serious student of scripture.
- - - - - - -
Excuse me while I go throw up...
ziˈæstɪkəl/ 
Show Spelled[ih-klee-zee-as-ti-kuhl] Show IPA Deacon
Worthy brethren may be ordained deacons when they are at least 12 years old. A deacon follows counsel, sets a good example, and may
(1) pass the sacrament,
(2) collect fast offerings,
(3) care for the poor and needy,
(4) be a standing minister appointed to “watch over the church” (D&C 84:111),
(5) assist the bishopric,
(6) serve as a messenger,
(7) participate in quorum instruction,
(8) serve in quorum leadership positions,
(9) fellowship quorum members and other young men,
(10) be baptized and confirmed for the dead,
(11) speak in meetings,
(12) share the gospel,
(13) bear testimony, and
(14) care for the meetinghouse and grounds.
It sure appears that there are quite a few secular duties that come under this "ecclesiastical" office. Half the duties could be described as "churchly"
(1) pass the sacrament,
(3) care for the poor and needy
(10) be baptized and confirmed for the dead,
(11) speak in meetings,
(12) share the gospel,
(13) bear testimony
(4) be a standing minister appointed to “watch over the church” (D&C 84:111),
D&C Section 84 is quite interesting: When we are accused of not comporting ourselves in a "Christian" manner, perhaps we should use this section as an example, brought to us by Joseph Smith.
103 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, it is expedient that every man who goes forth to proclaim mine everlasting gospel, that inasmuch as they have families, and receive money by gift, that they should send it unto them or make use of it for their benefit, as the Lord shall direct them, for thus it seemeth me good.
104 And let all those who have not families, who receive money, send it up unto the bishop in Zion, or unto the bishop in Ohio, that it may be consecrated for the bringing forth of the revelations and the printing thereof, and for establishing Zion.
105 And if any man shall give unto any of you a coat, or a suit, take the old and cast it unto the poor, and go on your way rejoicing.
Spoken like a non academic.
Thanks for proving my point.
God according to mormomism, could never have been the eternal father, for he once was a man, just like his god was once a man and as that god was once a man ad infinitum.
Care to explain that.
crickets...
YET ANOTHER angel of light supposedly acting in the name of a god, but you notice they never say who their ‘god’ is?
1. There is no place in the Bible that tells us to do so.
2. As the revelation of God, the Bible consistantly disproves and refutes mormon doctrine
3. The bible warns of false prophets and teachers bearing the witness of 'ANOTHER GOSPEL' and those sects like mormonism require a more detailed biblical comparison to see if they are bearing the truth.
4. The essence of the bom is founded on a false premise that a group of israelites came to the Americas and resulted in the todays Amerindians (and I can even refute that Lehi et al were even in Jerusalem at the start of it all). I've encounted as many as 9 different mormon based theories as to where the bom lands were. The book then, lies about history.
5. This bom 'translated by the power of God' has over 4000 changes to it from the origional ms - without any documentary support (ie no golden plates to refer too).
bitttt
How about some support from NON-Mormon archaeologists???
“Book of Mormon archaeology” falls under the category that real archaeologist call “pseudo-Archaeology”, like Area 51 and Atlantis.
Oh really? So where is all this archaeological evidences - what museums can I go to see verified Nephite artifacts with hebraic / egyptian script? Where is a chariot display, the advanced metals working, etc. Which area was this found? Baja California? Indonesia/Malaysia? Africa? N. America? Central America? South America?
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