Regarding the Promised Reply to the Comment made by "BOMC" at the end of Post 41q, this entire post should be read first and then in the paragraph located just above the Accessing the Blog Index referred to in blue, above, I, Neil Birch, blogger of "HaveYou Really Read the Book of Mormon" will briefly summarize my promisedresponse to BOMC.
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TODAY'S THEME
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The Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood On May 15, 1829 Painting: Del Parson |
The Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood - Sometime in June 1829 -Painting: Kenneth Riley
TEACHINGS OF PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCH
JOSEPH SMITH (Published in 2007 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. - All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of AmericaTEACHINGS OF PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCH
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Joseph Smith - Gospel Art Book #122, Painting by Del Parson |
Teachings of Joseph Smith
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....The true Church of Jesus Christ was organized by Joseph Smith in the dispensation of the fulness of times.
Joseph Smith reported the events of the meeting held on April 6, 1830, to organize the Church: “Having opened the meeting by solemn prayer to our Heavenly Father, we proceeded, according to previous commandment, to call on our brethren to know whether they accepted us as their teachers in the things of the Kingdom of God, and whether they were satisfied that we should proceed and be organized as a Church according to said commandment which we had received. To these several propositions they consented by a unanimous vote.
“I then laid my hands upon Oliver Cowdery, and ordained him an Elder of the ‘Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;’ after which, he ordained me also to the office of an Elder of said Church. We then took bread, blessed it, and brake it with them; also wine, blessed it, and drank it with them. We then laid our hands on each individual member of the Church present, that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and be confirmed members of the Church of Christ. The Holy Ghost was poured out upon us to a very great degree—some prophesied, whilst we all praised the Lord, and rejoiced exceedingly. . . .
“We now proceeded to call out and ordain some others of the brethren to different offices of the Priesthood, according as the Spirit manifested unto us: and after a happy time spent in witnessing and feeling for ourselves the powers and blessings of the Holy Ghost, through the grace of God bestowed upon us, we dismissed with the pleasing knowledge that we were now individually members of, and acknowledged of God, ‘The Church of Jesus Christ,’ organized in accordance with commandments and revelations given by Him to ourselves in these last days, as well as according to the order of the Church as recorded in the New Testament.”6
At the first general conference of the Church, held in Fayette, New York, on June 9, 1830, the sacrament was administered, several people were confirmed members of the Church, others
C H A P T E R 1 1 page 138-140
were ordained to offices in the priesthood, and the Holy Ghost was poured out upon the Saints. The Prophet Joseph Smith recorded: “Such scenes as these were calculated to inspire our hearts with joy unspeakable, and fill us with awe and reverence for that Almighty Being, by whose grace we had been called to be instrumental in bringing about, for the children of men, the enjoyment of such glorious blessings as were now at this time poured out upon us. To find ourselves engaged in the very same order of things as observed by the holy Apostles of old; to realize the importance and solemnity of such proceedings; and to witness and feel with our own natural senses, the like glorious manifestations of the powers of the Priesthood, the gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost, and the goodness and condescension of a merciful God unto such as obey the everlasting Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, combined to create within us sensations of rapturous gratitude, and inspire us with fresh zeal and energy in the cause of truth.”7
Christ’s Church is organized according to the order of God. “Christ was the head of the Church, the chief cornerstone, the spiritual rock upon which the Church was built, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it [see Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 2:20]. He built up the Kingdom, chose Apostles and ordained them to the Melchizedek Priesthood, giving them power to administer in the ordinances of the gospel.”8
“ ‘Christ . . . gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers’ [Ephesians 4:11]. And how were Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists chosen? By prophecy (revelation) and by laying on of hands:—by a divine communication, and a divinely appointed ordinance—through the medium of the Priesthood, organized according to the order of God, by divine appointment.”9
“[The Book of Mormon] tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this [the American] continent after His resurrection; that He planted the Gospel here in all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they had Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists; the same order, the same
C H A P T E R 1 1
p. 140
priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers, and blessings, as were enjoyed on the eastern continent.”10
“An evangelist is a Patriarch. . . . Wherever the Church of Christ is established in the earth, there should be a Patriarch for the benefit of the posterity of the Saints, as it was with Jacob in giving his patriarchal blessing unto his sons.”11
Articles of Faith 1:6: “We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.”12
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was formally organized by the
Prophet Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830, at the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. in Fayette, New York. The latter-day Church is organized in the same way as the Church in the Savior’s time, with “apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.” (emphasis added)
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's only authorized Church on Earth! Beginning officially on April 6, 1830 with a number of original members who believed in the message brought to them by Joseph Smith, Jr. of Palmyra, New York, as described in the above excerpt from a Church Priesthood/Relief Society manual, this church has grown to a membership of close to Thirteen million members world wide.
It is a church of service, both to the living and to the dead. All members are expected to render a good amount of service to others, on their own and by the request of authorized church leaders.
I have chosen at random, photos, paintings and news information typifyng the examples of service offered by the LDS Church and its members in our day and age:
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Full-Time Male Missionaries Serving Full Time for Two Years Without Pay |
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Full-Time Female Missionaries Serving Full time for One and a Half Years Without Pay |
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| Bolivian Altiplano LDS Vegetable Garden Project |
Please connect with my post 39p for other pictures and information on this special Bolivian Altiplano project. That information is found in the second half of that post of mine. Please click the green link in this paragraph.
Now you can connect with my post 39p to read in the first part of it, a summary of Welfare Assistance Given in Other Nations of the World by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Since 1985. 39p.
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This is an Example of Temporary Housing in an LDS Church Courtyard for Haitians Whose Homes were Destroyed in an Earthquake There. |
By your having reviewed the welfare assistance rendered by the Church of Jesus Christ in Post 39q above you will have been able to have just a small glimpse at what the Church of Jesus Christ has done since its early beginnings in the first part of the Nineteenth Century when the church was officially organized.
Now, for those of you blog viewers who desire to investigate a little further into what the Church provides for the blessing of you and all of the others of our Heavenly Father's children here on earth through His Church, I invite you to click on the link found just under this photo of one of this Church's many temples throughout the world before reviewing my post 40r.
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| LDS San Diego, California Temple |
_____________Now at this point in this post I will respond to the first comment made by "BOMC" at the end of my post, 41r.
As indicated at the very beginning of this post by the two paintings depicting the first ordinations to the Aaronic Priesthood and to the Melchizedek Priesthood in our day and age, I would agree with you, "BOMC" that there were members of the Restored Church before April 6, 1830. Please note, however, in my Post 41r (in which your first comment was addressed) when mentioning the April 6, 1830 event, I used the words, officially formed. That refers to the fact that on that very day the Church had qualified under New York law as a church and had there become, "officially" a church. Your point was well taken that there were members before that day but that wasn't the point that I was making. Read carefully again (near the beginning of this post) the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith at that very important occasion and you will see that that beginning was more than just filling a legal requirement regarding churches. True there were members before, but that which occured on April 6, 1830 was a very important beginning.
I have used this present post to give those readers of my blog who don't know as much about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as perhaps you or I, to get a more full picture of how much this church has grown and developed as shown by the great service it has rendered to mankind and give us a glimpse into its great future! I felt it very helpful to those who read this blog who are not members of the "LDS Church" to read the information found in one of our most recent Priesthood and Relief Society Lesson manuals regarding what occurred on that very important day of April 6th 1830.
Thank you for your first comment. I have just glanced at your second comment because of my being in the middle of composing this post. I will focus on it after publishing this post tomorrow! Best Wishes to You!
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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Since its earliest Official Beginnings, a Brief and Partial Glimpse at What it Has Become - Post 41s When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetic Scrolling Device. (When It Has Been Installed.)
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Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon - Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.
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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.
If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.
I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.
Neil Birch
