Holding Aaronic Priesthood is an extraordinary privilege

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.

...there would not be hundreds of different Christian denominations

Give me a break...shall we list the dozens of Lds break-off groups in their less-than-200-year history?

Or are you going to lecture God about all the tribes of Israel? ("Gee, God, you should have only had one tribe so that the Jews would all interpret everything the same"...When you look @ the list of tribes in the book of Revelation, then add the tribe of Dan to that list, and you have 13 right there...and then if you add in the at-large "diaspora" Jews, you could even say they constitute yet another "tribe.")

Lds "prophets" haven't "agreed" on "scripture" interpretations:
Woodruff thought God progressed; Joseph Fielding Smith thought that was a strange doctrine.
John Taylor & Brigham held the line on polygamy; Woodruff said "no."
All the Lds "prophets" said "no" on black priestholders -- until Spencer Kimball.
Brigham taught Adam was god for over 25 years; no other Lds "prophets" agreed w/him.
Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and Lorenzo Snow all thought the United Order was a Mormon god-ordained thing; John Taylor said, "nope."
The Book of Mormon said "no" on polygamy; Smith's personal life & those "prophets" that followed him said "yes."
Lds early teachings was that murderers could not be forgiven -- and John D. Lee was ex-communicated under Brigham's umbrella; but in 1961 Lee was rebaptized by proxy...and Ezra Taft Benson "laid hands" to restored all "priesthood blessings" on Lee...now, how Lds leaders "lay hands" on a dead person -- other than imagining corpses & skeletons before them -- is beyond me!

I could go on & on, listing dozens & dozens of such Lds common contradictions.

Here ya go!

The following list is taken from the book Divergent Paths of Restoration:

FOUNDED BETWEEN 1830 AND 1844

*
Pure Church of Christ, Wycam Clark, 1831
* The Independent Church, Hoton, 1832
* Church of Christ, Ezra Booth, 1836
* Church of Christ, Warren Parrish, 1837
* The Church of Jesus Christ, the Bride, The Lamb’s Wife, George M. Hinkle, 1840
* Church of Christ, Hyrum Page, 1842
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, F. Gladden Bishop
* True Church of Jessu Christ of Latter Day Saints, Law, Foster, Higbee, 1844
* Church of Christ, William Chubby

NON-EXTANT MOVEMENTS FOUNDED 1844-1860

*
Church of Christ / Church of Jesus Christ of the Children of Zion, Sidney Rigdon, 1844
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, James Emmett, 1844
* Church of Christ, S. B. Stoddard, Leonard Rich, James Bump, 1845
* Indian Mormon, 1846
* Church of Christ, William McLellin, David Whitmer, 1847
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, William Smith, 1847
* Congregation of Jehovah’s Presbytery of Zion, Charles B. Thompson, 1848
* Church of Christ, James C. Brewster, 1848
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Lyman Wight, 1849
* The Bride, The Lamb’s Wife or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jacob Syfritt, 1850
* Church of Christ, Hazen Aldrich, 1851

EXTANT MOVEMENTS

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, James J. Strang, 1844

*
Church of Christ, Aaron Smith, 1846
* Church of the Messiah, George J. Adams, 1861
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite)
* Holy Church of Jesus Christ, Alexandre R. Caffiaux
* House of Ephraim and House of Manasseh of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Jerry Sheppard
* The True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, David L. Roberts
* Marriage Counseling Group
* Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, John J. Hajicek
* Strangite Believers in Pennsylvania

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young, 1847

*
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or Church of the First Born, Joseph Morris, 1861
*
The Prophet Cainan or Church of Jesus Christ of the Saints of the Most High God, George Williams, 1862
*
Morrisite Group, John Livingston, 1864
*
Church of Zion, William S. Godbe, 1868
*
Church of the First Born, George S. Dove, 1874
*
Priesthood Groups (Fundamentalists), 1890
*
United Order of Equality, Ephraim Peterson, 1909
*
The Church of Jesus Christ of Israel, J. H. Sherwood
*
Order of Aaron, Maurice L. Glendenning
*
Church of Freedom of Latter Day Saints, 1950s
*
Zion’s Order of the Sons of Levi, Marl V. Kilgore, 1951
*
The Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, Joel F. LeBaron
*
The Church of the Firstborn, Ross W. LeBaron, 1955
*
Perfected Church of Jesus Christ of Immaculate Latter Day Saints, William C. Conway, 1958
*
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, John Forsgren, 1960
*
Church of Jesus Christ, William Goldman, 1960
*
LDS Scripture Researchers/Believe God Society, Sherman Russell Lloyd, 1965
*
The Church of the Body and of the Spirit of Jessu Christ, Max Powers, 1965
*
United Order of the Saints of Guadeloupe, Michel Gamiette, 1966
*
United Order of the Family of Christ, David E. Desmond, 1966
*
Split from Zion’s Order of the Sons of Levi, Eldon Taylor, 1969
*
Homosexual Church of Jesus Christ, Denver, Colorado, 1972
*
Latter Day Saints Church, N.S. Park, 1972
*
The Church of the Lamb of God, Ervil M. LeBaron, 1972
*
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mikhail Krupenia, 1972
*
The New Jerusalem Group, Kathryn Carter, 1972
*
The Watchmen on the Towers of Latter Day Israel, Miltenberg, Braun, 1973
*
Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly, Alexnader Joseph, 1974
*
Evangelical Church of Christ, Church of the New Covenant in Christ, John W. Bryant, 1974
*
Split form Zion’s Order of the Sons of Levi, Barton Kilgore, 1975
*
Affirmation, 1975
*
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Robert Simons, 1975
*
Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, Bruce Wakeham, 1975
*
Aaronic Order Break-off, 1977
*
Christ’s Church, Inc., Gerald Peterson, 1978
*
Church of Jesus Christ, Art Bulla, 1978
*
The Restorers or School of the Prophets, Robert C. Crossfield, 1979
*
Zion’s First International Church, LeeAnn Walker, 1980
*
The Free Will Mormon Church, Franklin Lee Coleman, 1980
*
Church of Jesus Christ, Jorge Mora, 1981
*
Sons Ahman Israel, Davied Israel, 1981
*
Samoan LDS Church, New Zealand, 1981
*
The Millennial Church of Jesus Christ, Leo P. Evoniuk, 1981
*
Peyote Way Church of God, Immanuel P. Trujillo, 1981
*
The Chruch of Jesus Christ of the Saints in Zion, Ken Asay, 1984
*
Break from the Church of Jesus Christ in Solemn Assembly, 1984
*
Church of Jesus Christ of All Latter-day Saints or Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, Antonio A. Feliz, 1985
*
Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints, Robert P. Madison, 1985
*
Church of Christ the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times, Siegfried J. Widmar, 1985
*
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Fundamentalists, Wight Family, 1985
*
Mormon Fundamentalists, England, Alan and Marian Munn, 1986
*
Churchof Jesus Christ Omnipotent, 1987
*
Community of Zion, Central Utah Division
*
Church of the First Born, General Assembly

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ, Alpheus Cutler, 1853

*
Church of Jesus Christ, Clyde Fletcher, 1953
* The Restored Church of Jesus Christ, Eugene O. Walton, 1979

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1851-1860

*
Church of the Christian Brotherhood, Richard C. Evans, 1917
* The Church of Christ, the Order of Zion, John Zahnd, 1918
* The Church of Jesus Christ, Thomas W. Williams, 1925
* Church of Jesus Christ Restored, Stanley M. King, 1970
* New Jerusalem Church of Jesus Christ, Barney Fuller, 1975
* Church of Christ Restored, Paul Fishel, 1976
* True Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Forrest Toney, 1980
* Church of the Restoration or Churches of Christ in Zion, Robert Chambers, 1981
* Lamanite Ministries for Christ or New Covenant Ministries for Christ, 1984
* Restoration Branches Movement, 1984
* Church of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, A. Lee Abramson, 1985
* Church of Jesus Christ, Zion’s Branch, John Cato, 1986
* Church of Christ, David Clark, 1986
* Independent Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Christopher C. Warren, 1986
* Native Indian Church

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of The Church of Jesus Christ, William Bickerton, 1862

*
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ, Allen Wright, 1907
* Primitive Church of Jesus Christ, James Caldwell, 1914

Splinter Groups and Sub-movements of Church of Christ (Temple Lot), Granville Hedrick, 1863

*
Church of Christ, Independent, Informal, Frank F. Wipper, 1927
*
The Church of Christ, Otto Fetting, 1929
*
Church of Christ, P.A. Ely, 1929
*
Church of Christ, C.W. Humphrey, 1929
*
Church of Christ, Samuel Wood, E.J. Trapp, 1930
*
Church of Christ (Restored), A.C. DeWolf, 1936
*
Church of Christ, E. E. Long, Thomas Nerren, 1936
*
Church of Christ, Paul Hilgendorf, 1942
*
The Church of Christ With the Elijah Message, W. A. D. Draves, 1943
*
Church of Christ, Pauline Hancock, 1946
*
Antarctica Development Interests or the New American’s Mount Zion, John Leabo, 1955
*
Church of Christ at Zion’s Retreat, Gerald Hall, 1973
*
The Church of Israel, Dan Gayman, 1973
*
Break from the Church of Christ (Hancock), Davison, Michigan, 1973
*
The Church of Christ, Restored Gospel 1929, 1985

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