Authority in the Ministry 2
A forceful illustration of the futility of false ceremonies, or of the mere form of sacred ordinances when the authority is absent, is shown in the New Testament record of the seven sons of Sceva. These in common with others had marveled at the miraculous power possessed by Paul, whom the Lord so blessed in his apostleship that through contact with handkerchiefs or aprons sent by him the sick were healed, and evil spirits were cast out. Sceva’s sons, who are counted by the sacred chronicler among the exorcists and the vagabond Jews, sought also to expel an evil spirit: “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth” said they; but the evil spirit derided them for their lack of authority, exclaiming: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” Then the afflicted person, in whom the evil spirit dwelt, leaped upon them and overcame them, so that when they escaped from the house they were naked and wounded.
Teachers True and False-None but those who are duly authorized to teach can be regarded as true expounders of the word of God. The remarks of Paul concerning high priests are applicable to every office of the Priesthood: “No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” And Aaron, as we have already seen, was called through Moses unto whom the Lord revealed His will in the matter. This authority to act in the name of the Lord is given to those only who are chosen of God; it is not to be had for the mere asking; it is not to be bought with gold. We read of Simon, the sorcerer, who coveted the power possessed by the apostles; he offered them money, saying: “Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost.” But Peter answered him with righteous indignation: “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.”
It was known to the apostles of old that men would seek to arrogate unto themselves the right to officiate in things divine, thus becoming servants of Satan. In addressing a conference of elders from Ephesus, Paul prophesied of these ill events and warned the shepherds of the flock to look well to their charge, and in an epistle to Timothy the apostle reiterated this prophecy. Encouraging to diligence in preaching the word, he declared: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Peter’s declarations on the same subject are no less plain. Addressing himself to the saints of his time, he refers to the false prophets of old, and adds: “There shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies; even denying the Lord that bought them * * * And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”
Divine Authority in the Present Dispensation-We claim that the authority to administer in the name of God is operative in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today; and that this power or commission was conferred upon the first officers of the Church by ordination under the hands of those who had held the same power in earlier dispensations. That the authority of the Holy Priesthood was to be taken from the earth as the apostles of old were slain, and that of necessity it would have to be restored from heaven before the Church could be reestablished, may be shown by scripture. On May 15, 1829, while Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were engaged in earnest prayer for instruction concerning baptism for the remission of sins, mention of which Joseph Smith had found in the plates from which he was then engaged in translating the Book of Mormon, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light. He announced himself as John, called of old the Baptist, and said he had come under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the higher Priesthood. The angel laid his hands upon the two young men and ordained them to authority, 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.”
A short time after this event, Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordained the two to the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, bestowing upon them the keys of the apostleship, which these heavenly messengers had held and exercised in the former Gospel dispensation. This order of Priesthood holds authority over all the offices in the Church, and includes power to administer in spiritual things; consequently all the authorities and powers necessary to the establishment and development of the Church were by this visitation restored to earth.
No one may officiate in any ordinances of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unless he has been ordained to the particular order or office of Priesthood, by those possessing the requisite authority. Thus, no man receives the Priesthood except under the hands of one who holds that Priesthood himself; that one must have obtained it from others previously commissioned; and so every bearer of the Priesthood today can trace his authority to the hands of Joseph Smith the Prophet, who received his ordination under the hands of the apostles Peter, James, and John; and they had been ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ. That men who are called of God, to the authority of the ministry on earth, may have been selected for such appointment even before they took mortal bodies, is evident from the scriptures. This matter may properly claim attention in the present connection; and its consideration leads us to the subjects following.
Foreordination and Preexistence
(Foreordination and Preexistence )
Foreordination-In an interview with Abraham, the Lord revealed many things ordinarily withheld from mortals. Concerning this the patriarch wrote: “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.” This is one of the many scriptural proofs that the spirits of mankind existed prior to their earthly probation-a condition in which these intelligences lived and exercised their free agency before they assumed bodily tabernacles. Thus the natures, dispositions, and tendencies of men are known to the Father of their spirits, even before they are born into mortality. The word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, telling him that before he was conceived in the flesh he had been ordained to be a prophet unto the nations.
Evidence is abundant that Jesus Christ was chosen and ordained to be the Redeemer of the world, even in the beginning. We read of His foremost position amongst the sons of God in offering Himself as a sacrifice to carry into effect the will of the Father. He it was, “Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world.”
Paul taught the doctrine of divine selection and preappointment thus: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. * * * Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called.” And again: “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.”
Alma, the Nephite prophet, spoke of the priests who had been ordained after the order of the Son, and added: “And this is the manner after which they were ordained-being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.”
Foreordination Does Not Imply Compulsion-The doctrine of absolute predestination, resulting in a nullification of man’s free agency, has been advocated with various modifications by different sects. Nevertheless, such teachings are wholly unjustified by both the letter and the spirit of sacred writ. God’s foreknowledge concerning the natures and capacities of His children enables Him to see the end of their earthly career even from the first: “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Many people have been led to regard this foreknowledge of God as a predestination whereby souls are designated for glory or condemnation even before their birth in the flesh, and irrespective of individual merit or demerit. This heretical doctrine seeks to rob Deity of mercy, justice, and love; it would make God appear capricious and selfish, directing and creating all things solely for His own glory, caring not for the suffering of His victims. How dreadful, how inconsistent is such an idea of God! It leads to the absurd conclusion that the mere knowledge of coming events must act as a determining influence in bringing about those occurrences. God’s knowledge of spiritual and of human nature enables Him to conclude with certainty as to the actions of any of His children under given conditions; yet that knowledge is not of compelling force upon the creature.
Doubtless He knows of some spirits that they await only the opportunity of choice between good and evil to choose the latter and to accomplish their own destruction; these are they as spoken of by Jude, “who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.” To avert the fate of such their free agency would have to be taken away; they can be saved by force alone; and compulsion is forbidden by the laws of heaven alike for salvation and condemnation. There are others whose integrity and faithfulness have been demonstrated in their pristine state; the Father knows how unreservedly they may be trusted, and many of them are called even in their mortal youth to special and exalted labors as commissioned servants of the Most High.
Preexistence of Spirits-The facts already presented concerning foreordination furnish proof that the spirits of mankind passed through a stage of existence prior to their earthly probation. This antemortal period is oftentimes spoken of as the stage of primeval childhood or first estate. That these spirits existed as organized intelligences and exercised their free agency during that primeval stage is clear from the declaration of the Lord to Abraham: “And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever.”
No one who accepts Jesus Christ as the Son of God can consistently deny His antemortal existence, or question His position as one of the Godhead before He came to earth as Mary’s Son. The common interpretation given to the opening words of John’s Gospel sustains the view of Christ’s primeval Godship: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” We read further, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The affirmations of the Redeemer support this truth. When His disciples dissented concerning His doctrine of Himself, He said: “What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before?” On another occasion He spoke in this wise: “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” And His disciples, pleased with this plain declaration confirming the belief which, perchance, they already entertained at heart, rejoined, “Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb * * * by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.” To certain wicked Jews who boasted of their descent from Abraham, and sought to hide their sins under the protecting mantle of the great patriarch’s name, the Savior declared: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” In solemn prayer the Son implored, “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” Yet Christ was born a child among mortals; and it is consistent to infer that if His earthly birth was the union of a preexistent or antemortal spirit with a mortal body such also is the birth of every member of the human family.
But we are not left to mere inference on a basis of analogy; the scriptures plainly teach that the spirits of mankind are known and numbered unto God before their earthly advent. In his farewell administration to Israel Moses sang: “Remember the days of old * * * When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” From this we learn that the earth was allotted to the nations, according to the number of the children of Israel; it is evident therefore that the number was known prior to the existence of the Israelitish nation in the flesh; this is most easily explained on the basis of previous existence in which the spirits of the future nation were known.
No chance is possible, therefore, in the number or extent of the temporal creations of God. The population of the earth is fixed according to the number of spirits appointed to take tabernacles of flesh upon this planet; when these have all come forth in the order and time appointed, then, and not till then, shall the end come.