Tuesday, June 11, 2013
181: PRIESTHOOD
Is it better for a man to have great faith WITHOUT priesthood, than a man to have priesthood WITHOUT faith?
It probably is better to have great faith.
Faith is the foundation of all righteousness. Faith and only faith is the moving cause of all action. Faith is not only the principle of action, but of power also, in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth. It is the principle by which God works, and through which he exercises power over all temporal as well as eternal things. (Lectures on Faith)
It is even better to have a man with faith and with priesthood. Having both, that man has the ability to get the attention of Heaven and perform mighty miracles.
How does the priesthood work? It works “only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned and by kindness, and pure knowledge, D&C 121: 41-42
The Priesthood has only one main purpose… IT IS TO BLESS. The priesthood should never be used to curse, nor is it required . We are better off in enduring, suffering ..rather than curse. The safest way to proceed under this fallen world with man in it.. is to refuse to curse anyone at anytime, and endure all things and bless when you can.
All too often when men suppose they have the Priesthood, if not narrowly circumscribe.. men will forfeit their priesthood. Men have a tendency to aspire to the honors of men, set their hearts upon the things of this world, cover their sins, gratify their pride, have vain ambition, exercise control or dominion or compulsion. Because of this, the heavens withdraw themselves.
Once a man gets even a little authority, he will IMMEDIATELY begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. This is the case in almost ALL men, and because of this, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved, and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
From what I read in Alma 13, I have very serious doubts that almost any men in the church actually have received the Priesthood at all. They may have the lesser priesthood of Aaron, the Levitical Priesthood which gives a man the authority to baptize, bless the Sacrament, and other such lesser priesthood functions.
ReplyDeleteOne may be ordained to the Higher Priesthood, currently named after Melchizidek, but that ordination is much like the confirmation ordinance given after baptism with water, when the individual is commanded to "Receive the Holy Ghost". Receiving the Holy Ghost is then truly a matter between the individual and God, for we know that only the Savior or the Father can actually baptize a person with the Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost. It appears to be much the same with the Higher Priesthood, which MUST be given under the hand of God, or by His voice.
Just as any individual can occasionally have the Holy Ghost with them, so too, it appears to me, that any individual who has been ordained under the hand of another man to the Higher Priesthood can occasionally exercise the power of that Priesthood in great faith and when aided and abetted by the power of the Holy Ghost. To assume one "holds" the Higher Priesthood just because he has been ordained under the hand of another man is an incorrect, unwarranted, ignorant assumption.
Unfortunately, just as with many things in the church in our time, this has been completely misunderstood and we are commonly taught false principles. D&C 121 is certainly a good starting point in understanding the Higher Priesthood, as is a careful, prayerful reading of Alma 13.
JR
"The priesthood should never be used to curse, nor is it required . We are better off in enduring, suffering ..rather than curse. The safest way to proceed under this fallen world with man in it.. is to refuse to curse anyone at anytime, and endure all things and bless when you can."
ReplyDeleteScary! i remember on my mission, missionary's desiring the opportunity to "dust their feet" (as if we even understand the true intrepretation of such actions) as much as seeing individuals recieve Christ through baptism. We are very much fallen in this world, and do not fully understand all the ways of Father. When I sit with love, with the true gospel, with Christ ... I can't see Father using priesthood to curse anyone (yes, I understand scripturual examples of this) ... but I don't see Christ cursing individuals as much as individual's bringing a curse and / or damnation upon their own heads through choice, turning from God, etc. How could someone who supposedly holds the priesthood use it for such purposes? Christ prayed for those who despitefully used him ... atoned for those who had experienced the vilest of abuses, as well as those who committed such abuses. If and when we are called to judge, it should be unto life. It should allow for more love, more light, and deeper compassion. If there is in fact some instance or act of an individual using the priesthood to curse ... well we need to be very, very careful with our words. Any individual who is truly authorized to speak for Father would know this, and act accordingly--it seems that not only are we fallen, but our understanding and use of the priesthood has become very much diluted with the philosphies, judgments and understandings of man. We should be viewing the priesthood through Father's eyes, not our own ... using it to fulfil His purposes, not our own.