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.
Actually, I find that gospel Latter-day Saints teach and believe in harmony with the one that Jesus and His Apostles taught in the New Testament.
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Then you haven’t looked closely enough, N.
Even more 'official' apologists like Michael Ash are spreading word gently - the bom land don't exist (except in the mind of smith).
LOL!
According to the 'unofficial' lds archaeology apologists there are as many as two. Of the leading proponents - ldsr sorenson claims the bom lands are a small, small area in central america and that there was a hill cumorah there and SOMEHOW the plates were transferred to ANOTHER hill cumorah in NY. This particular issue is the only one of recent that the lds presidency has spoken towards and basically invalidating sorenson - there is only ONE cumorah - the one in NY.
Holding my breath until a mormon posts Ash as a source.
In the original Greek of the New testament, the word is “tetelestai” which was used on documents at the time, meaning “paid in full”.
That would be true is translated correctly. /s/
God has communicated with mankind, and He still does, He communicates through His Son, His Spirit, and through His Word (the Bible).
The idea of the need for modern revelation makes no sense, because it takes away the work of the Word and the Spirit.
I don’t need someone in SLC telling me what God wants me to do, I have the Bible.
And, how do you know WHEN the LDS prophet is speaking for God or speaking as a man? They contradict each other and even themselves. Later prophets will say the older ones were speaking as men, when the earlier ones explicitly stated they were speaking for God.
I understand that, as a convert, a person can be enamored with all the pat answers and seeimingly comfortable control the LDS church exercises as well as the feeling of being part of something important.
The LDS church feeds these very human feelings, but the LDS church is NOT based upon reality and certainly not from God.
You cheated! You gave the answer to my question in post #202! Ypu did Maggritte’s homework!
The job of the Old Testament prophets was to give God’s word to man (before the Bible), and to prophecy the coming of Jesus.
With Jesus death and with the development of the Bible, the need for the office of prophet ceased (different from the gift of prophecy which is misunderstood my many as being the same thing).
Christ called the law and the prophets the FOUNDATION.
When you finish a house, do you go back and relay the foundation? No. The house is finished, the Messiah come.
Good points and well said.
exactly.
The bible tells us who God is, what happens when we die, what to believe, how to live our lives, that Jesus is coming back, and how the world will end.
What else are you looking for?
So, Lucifer wants us to pray to God to know the truth?
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Lucifer wants you to trust your feelings to determine truth rather than the Bible.
The acceptance of additional scripture automatically assumes that the Bible is not enough. If the Bible is not enough, or trustworthy enough, then Satan wins because we look for other paths to God than the one He laid out in Scripture.
Satan can (and does) perform miracles to keep people from the real God.
But since the LDS believe that the atoning for sin occured in the Garden of Gesthemane when Jesus supposedly LITERALLY sweated blood, why talk about his broken body?
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That is a very good question.
In LDS theology, the crucifixion was only a method of death, Jesus’ death was only needed so He could be resurrected and thus proving we would all be resurrected.
Also for the LDS, ‘salvation’ usually equates with resurrection, not returning to God (that is called the Celestial Kingdom and usually ‘exaltation’).
So, when an LDS person states that “the atonement paid for our sins and the Savior died for my salvation” they REALLY do mean something completely different then what Christians mean.
That is why defining terms is so important when dealing with the LDS.
Now THAT'S a loaded question if you happen to be Joseph Smith!
Your statement is contrary to what I heard when I attended services at my uncles ward. In fact the entire time I attended, I never heard the Name of Jesus mentioned, even during the “sacrament” with white bread and water.
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Saundra’s comments so often sound Christian rather than Mormon. I am wondering how much she really knows about LDS doctrine and how much she really studies it.
Many people accept LDS doctrine/history without examination because of the social aspects and culture of the LDS. Out in the ‘mission field’ (outside Utah) the ward becomes your whole social world, build in friends, activities, being part of something.
When i joined the LDS I was a ‘true believer’, I never went to dances or anything like that but the ward still became my social center. I preferred spending time with other LDS rather than non-LDS co-workers who ‘didn’t live the standards’ (drank, smoke, sex outside of marriage), it was really easy to become judgmental of those who didn’t fit the LDS mold.
Amen!
Don’t you think that it’s possible that God could call prophets to declare His word and to reveal His will to the people of the world in our day, as he did in ancient times?
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Why would He have to ????
Why wuld He want to ???
Why don’t you think that it’s possible that God could just declare His word and to reveal His will straight to the people of the world in our day, as he did in ancient times?
Intividually without a go between ???
The boy Samuel...
The Virgin Mary...
The shephard boy, David..
The fishy smelling Jonah ...
The Edenites, Adam and Eve...
The ship builder, Noah..
The Chaldean, Abram...
The Apostle Paul...
and so on...
Either Jesus told the truth when He said He would send the Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Trinity...
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what he hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.” John 16:13-15
or He lied...
But Jesus is God and God does not lie...
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19
a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, Titus 1:2
And since the Jesus of the Christian Bible is Truth...
Jesus said to Normandy, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man or woman comes to the Father except by me.”
it must be the mormon jesus who has lied...
Because as a “(person) of the world in our day” I have no trouble hearing from God for myself...
Since God speaks straight to me, why would I need “prophets to declare His word and to reveal His will to” me ??
Someone with the “gift of prophecy” might say something that with CONFIRM to me somethiong that God has already told me but that is rare...
BTW That so called prophet of the mormon corporation hasnt said anything as yet ???
To “declare (the mormon god’s) word and to reveal (the mormon god’s) will to the mormon people of the mormon world in our day,” to what was it ??? 13 MILLION mormons, Monson must be going day and night...
He best get of his duff and start declaring and revealing...
The prophets in ancient times lived in caves alone listenng to God when they went writing down the oracles of God or declaring and revealing to the people...
and Monson better start going to the Kings and leaders of the world real quiock ..thats what the prophets of old did...
How about Obama ??? Has Monson been to the White House to say “Woe to you” even ONCE since Obama got “elected”
I mean other than the kiss up warm fuzzy visit with his supposed “genealogy”
Hmmmmmmmmmm ???
If a prophet is to declare and reveal, its a good thing we are not waiting around for Monson...
No, I do well believing Jesus Christ and not Joey Smith about prophecy...
God speaks to me directly and declares and reveals...
Does that make ME the prophet of the mormon corporation ???
As I’m sure God declares and reveals to all the Flying Inmans...
That would make us all prophets of the mormon corporation...
so, what do you want to know, kid ???
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