Mormon Theology no. 38 - The Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist

The foundation of the Latter-day Saints' claim, which is legitimate, of being the only Church on Earth recognized by God as having proper Priesthood Authority, is laid by John the Baptist.  This is the same John the Baptist who baptized Jesus of Nazareth in the river Jordan.

The event occurred on 15 May 1829.  The Prophet Joseph Smith had continued to translate, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon, and Oliver Cowdery had continued to write for Joseph.  I now quote from Joseph Smith's own account:

We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates.  While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying: Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. (JS-H 1:68-69)

Now, this event, according to the Law of Witnesses, actually occurred, because there is more than one witness attesting to the truth thereof.  Oliver Cowdery wrote, 

On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the ‘blaze of day’; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! . . . we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’ . . . The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry. (Messenger and Advocate, vol. 1 (October 1834), p. 14–16)

To further illuminate the necessity of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, and to also further prove that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only authorized Church of God on the earth, I quote President Joseph Fielding Smith.  Said he, "It is contrary to the order of heaven for those who have passed beyond the veil to officiate and labor for the living on the earth, only wherein mortal man cannot act, and thereby it becomes necessary for those who have passed through the resurrection to act for them. (Essentials in Church History, 27th ed. (1974), p. 58)"  

President Oliver Cowdery further testified, 

He [Joseph Smith] was ordained by the angel John, unto the lesser or Aaronic priesthood, in company with myself, in the town of Harmony, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, on Fryday, the 15th day of May, 1829. . . . our souls were drawn out in mighty prayer—to know how we might obtain the blessings of baptism and of the Holy Spirit, according to the order of God, and we diligently sought for the right of the fathers and the authority of the holy priesthood, and the power to admin[ister] in the same: … the Lord … answered us out of the heavens, and while we were in the heavenly vision the angel came down and bestowed upon us this priesthood. (Patriarchal Blessing Book 1, p. 8–9, Historical Dept., Archives Division, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City)

The foregoing quotations seem sufficient enough to give credence to the Latter-day Saint argument concerning Priesthood and the rightful claim thereto.  I add my witness that I know the Priesthood of Aaron was restored by John the Baptist on the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.  I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living Church on the face of the whole earth.  I know the Book of Mormon is true and testifies of Jesus Christ the Son of God.  In the Name of Jesus Christ, amen!

The "Myth" Un-"Mythed"

In an article by Lauren Green (see article here), mention is made of an ad campaign by American Atheists.  One of the ads state, "You know it’s a myth.  This season, celebrate reason."  The American Atheists major question is whether or not Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God or whether Jesus is a myth.  In this article, we will examine the Messiahship of Jesus.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught,  

How do you prove the resurrection?  As we are going to see, you prove it by testimony. . . . How do you prove spiritual truths? . . . The way Peter and the ancients proved that Jesus was the Son of God, and therefore that the gospel which he taught was the plan of salvation, was to establish that he rose from the dead.  And the way you prove that a man rises from the dead, because it’s in the spiritual realm, is to bear witness by the power of the Spirit of knowledge that is personal and real and literal to you. (Ensign, Dec. 1980, p. 11)

It all centers on witnesses.  In our courts of law, witnesses testify to the guit or innocence of a man.  So in the Gospel of Jesus Christ do witnesses testiry to the validity of the resurrected Son of Deity.

 Mary is the first of all mortals to see her Risen Lord.  The event is heralded in the Gospel of John in these words:

"But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcure, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.  And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?  She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.  And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?  She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.  Jesus saith unto her, Mary.  She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master (John 20:11-16)."

Before the close of the New Testament, it is marked down that the Savior appears to Paul, Stephen, the Eleven Apostles, and lastly to 500 bretheren.  John, on the Isle of Patmos, gives a moving description of the Redeemer of the world.  He said,  

"The Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. . . . His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength (Rev. 1:13-16)."  

So far, that is 514 people who still know that Jesus is not a myth.  

We turn now to the pages of the Book of Mormon, and let it establish a witness of the Son of God.  In that holy Book we learn that 2,500 people saw, conversed with, learned from, and felt the wounds of the Messiah risen again from the dead.  This included the Twelve whom Messiah called on the American continent who were also there.  We also have knowledge of both Mormon and Moroni seeing the Risen Lord.  Of these two special witnesses, the words of Mormon reverberate through the sidereal heavens.  Saith he, "And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus (Moroni 1:15)."  What a powerful but precise testimony!  Included with the 514 people in the New Testament, we now have 3,016 people who knew Jesus is not a myth!

In modern times the witnesses who have left us accounts either by their own hand or spoke these accounts to their children and were thereby recorded, we have at least the Prophet Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Oliver Cowdery, and Lorenzo Snow.  The risen Lord appeared in the Kirtland Temple to accept of the edifice.  It is written,  

"The veil was taken from our minds, and the eye of our understanding were opened.  We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.  His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah (D&C 110:1-3) . . ."  

We also have an account of President Lorenzo Snow seeing Jesus after praying in the Salt Lake Temple for revelation on when to reorganize the First Presidency after the death of President Woodruff on 2 September 1898.  The account reads thus,  

"I want to tell you something. It was right here that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me at the time of the death of President Woodruff. He instructed me to go right ahead and reorganize the First Presidency of the Church at once and not wait as had been done after the death of the previous presidents, and that I was to succeed President Woodruff. . . . He stood right here, about three feet above the floor. It looked as though He stood on a plate of solid gold. . . . [I] actually saw the Savior, here in the Temple, and talked with Him face to face (Improvement Era, Sep. 1933. p. 677)."
The hallway in which this event occured is pictured below:

Presidents Smith and Snow knew Jesus was not a myth!  I also know that Jesus Christ is not a myth.  

Thus let it be known that I know that there is no myth of Jesus - He is a reality.  He is the Son of God and all people's Savior, even if they say there is not a God in heaven and that they can pove it.  I know God lives and restored His Church through Joseph Smith.  I know the scriptures testify of Jesus as a reality and that He is real.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mormon Theology no. 6 - Marriage for Time and All Eternity

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church which has the Authority, plain and simple, to bind families together forever. We trace the Priesthood back to an appearance of John the Baptist to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on 15 May 1829 in Pennsylvania. If this event did not occur, then the LDS Church's claim to Priesthood Authority is null and void. We are the only Church to claim Authority legitimately because we include the presence of Angels in that claim. If the Angels didn't come and restore that Authority, then the Catholic Church has it and no other. But since I have verily proven in our past lectures that the LDS Church is the only true Church, then that argument is settled.

In the Houses of the Lord scattered across the Earth, the fact is that the LDS Church DOES have the Authority to marry forever because God said in the beginning to the first man and the first woman that He had "created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Gen 1:28)". And also Jesus says, "What God hath joined together let not man put asunder (Matt 19:6)." We are the only religion in the world to teach that man and woman can live forever as husband and wife.

President Jedidiah M. Grant saw the Spirit World for two nights in succession before he died.  President Grant told President Heber C. Kimball of the vision.  President Heber C. Kimball quoted Grant as saying, "To my astonishment when I looked at families there was a deficiency in some, there was a lack, for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here. (JD 4:136)"  The "calling" which the families did not honor begins in the House of the Lord when the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage is entered into.  The only way to be united as a family for eternity is within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Thus saith Jesus Christ, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are they which testify of Me."
- John 5:29

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen!