Authority, Ordinances, and Preparation (Dallin H. Oaks) Part 4

Sharing your faith with the light of basing it helps to know what their church is taught in several basic topics. For this reason Gorman is a research ministry has provided its crash course Mormonism crash course, Mormonism includes concise articles highlighting what LDS leaders and church manuals have taught on issues that will probably come up in a typical conversation. You can find these informative articles and crash course Mormonism.com that's crash course Mormonism.com viewpoint on Mormonism is a program that examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint: Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism are things that a program for that musical introduction welcome to this additional viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at MRM this week we've been looking at an article that can be found in the August 2021 edition of the Leo hold a magazine. As I stated before, the Leo hold a magazine has replaced the ends sign as the magazine for adult members in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

This article is titled authority ordinances in preparation written by Dallen H. Oakes was the first counselor in the first presidency begins on page 7 and just to give it a little bit of a recap.

If you haven't been with us this week. He tells the story of a conversation that he had with the wife of a minister who we assume was getting prepared to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He says this happened about 30 years ago and he says that she came to ask me why she had to be baptized. When she had already been baptized a Christian by her minister husband, who had baptized many people in his congregation. She asked, according to Oakes, are you telling me that my husband didn't have any authority to baptize all those people he baptized. He responds by saying no. Now he goes on to explain himself a little bit better at why he said no but I certainly have a problem with him saying no because he knows very well that this minister would not have any authority to baptize anyone.

Only those who have authority in the LDS church are able to do so now when he says no I think he's being a little bit misleading now because of rebounds and gives it a bit of an explanation as to what he means by that.

But in doing that he makes it very clear that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true church.

He goes on to say, I testified to her that this authority has been restored and now exists only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and then he proceeds to give a number of examples of how the word authority is used in the New Testament Gospels.

When referring specifically to Jesus Christ. Nobody would question those verses as he says them, but notice what he does with that word authority under the heading the role of ordinances. He says the most familiar examples of the exercise of priesthood authority involve ordinances. So what he does.

Eric as we were discussing yesterday. He takes all those verses from the New Testament that speak of Jesus's authority and he tries to give the impression that all of them are referring to what the Mormon church calls priesthood authority. Even though the word priesthood is not used in any of those verses. You don't see that concept in any of those passages that Dallen Oakes gives his presupposition is quite obvious in the next sentence where it says ordinances and priesthood are inseparable and so while he has listed all of these verses to supposedly support that idea.

It certainly does not support know it doesn't. But what else does he say under that heading the role of ordinances and ordinances. A sacred act of eternal significance done with priesthood authority. It accompanies the making of covenants and the promising of blessings.

Ordinances of the restored Church of Jesus Christ include baptism, the partaking of the sacrament. The most frequent ordinance in the church and the ordinances of the temple, including marriages for time and all eternity and the gift of what we call the endowment, which consists of knowledge covenants and promised blessings within Christianity.

Historically we have had ordinances such as baptism and the partaking of the Eucharist or the Lord's supper, the communion we don't necessarily call it the sacrament as Latter Day Saints do with the basically the same concept. Even though in Mormonism. They use water instead of a grape juice or wine, but still we don't see anywhere in the New Testament.

These ordinances of the temple, including marriages for time and all eternity. There's no reference in the New Testament that early Christians did that but yet he's making it appear as it is in the context of Mormonism to be something that's absolutely essential if Latter Day Saints wants to receive the best. His religion offers him.

He goes on to say in the The requirement of ordinances is God-given and has eternal effect.

He quotes from doctrine and covenants 130 verse 20 there is a law your revocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world upon which all blessings are predicated but then what is he going to say and all who have blessing at the Lord's hands shall abide the law, which was appointed for that blessing and the conditions thereof as were instituted from before the foundation of the world that's from doctrine and covenants 132 verse five notice carefully the wording and all who will have a blessing at the Lord's. The Lord is in brackets hands shall abide the law. In other words, Jesus isn't enough.

You have to abide the law, which was appointed for that particular blessing could be understood this way, if you hope to get into the celestial kingdom. You have to keep celestial law. In other words you have to do the things that have been laid down by the LDS church that will allow you to qualify to be in that level of Mormon heaven. The celestial kingdom if you do not keep celestial law. Let's say you're good enough and you keep terrestrial law that obviously you only qualified to go to the terrestrial kingdom. The same would be true for the tea celestial kingdom. If you've lived celestial law during your mortality, then you would qualify for the celestial kingdom.

You need to abide the law, which was appointed for the particular blessing you hope to receive. If you want to get into the celestial kingdom. You better be keeping celestial law. What exactly is celestial law will celestial law is basically keeping all the covenants that you have made in the temple.

In other words, you have promised or covenanted that you were going to keep all the commandments that you are going to repent of your sins to the point of not just confessing them, but never repeating them again if you can manage those two areas. Plus, you're married for time and eternity in the temple, then you're on your way to the celestial kingdom if you're not doing that you're not abiding the law which was appointed for that particular blessing. Where is this in the New Testament.

Latter Day Saints could easily say will see that just proves that many plain and precious things were taken out of her Bible and that's why there's no mention of it. Mormonism teaches according to a church manual gospel principles that was printed in 2009, page 98. The church today teaches the same principles and performs the same ordinances as were performed in the days of Jesus. This idea priesthood bill is also insinuated within the tax and as we saw from yesterday. With all these Bob Bible verses that are cited have nothing to do with priesthood. But he assumes it has to do with priesthood.

Another page in the gospel principles page 67 says we must have priesthood authority. There's year year presupposition to act in the name of God. When performing the sacred ordinances of the gospel, such as baptism, confirmation, administration of the sacrament and temple marriages same things that Oakes talks about if a man does not have the priesthood, even though he may be sincere.

The Lord will not recognize ordinances he performs. Maybe this is something that Oakes could have told that lady that you were talking about the beginning who is trying to figure out why she has to get rebaptized. What is he to say well your husband did not really have the priesthood, and he just not say no but to explain that right off the top because this is what Mormonism is teaching Bill this comes from duties and blessings of the priesthood basic manual for priesthood holders. Part B this is from 2000, page 33. This is a church manual, it says the ordinance of temple marriage is also necessary for us to become like our father in heaven.

Temple marriage makes it possible for us to have eternal families. When we receive the soreness worthily and keep the covenants we make our families will be blessed to live together throughout eternity. Is that something that we would imagine the apostle Paul would teach with the apostle Paul say something like that in first Corinthians 7 verse eight he said now to the unmarried and the widows I say it is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do now. Of course, none of the general authorities are unmarried, but could you imagine Oakes or Nelson or Holland or anybody else getting up and saying you know marriage is not that important. In effect, why is marriage not crucial in Christianity because it's not something we do in order to be able to be with our earthly family forever. Verse nine Paul says if they cannot control themselves. They should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

The reason why if you're unmarried. It would be good to stay that way because you can serve God full-time, but if you can't control yourselves, then you should go ahead and get married.

But in Mormonism. It's about having children and about increasing the family. It's all part of again. That presupposition that were here to continue to do what heavenly father did. And it's interesting that Paul does not give that as a reason for marriage, he doesn't say that the reason is for procreation. It's to control your passions. Interesting that Paul would make those comments in light of what this statement says the ordinance of temple marriage is also necessary for us to become like our father in heaven.

Temple marriage makes it possible for us to have eternal families.

Nowhere do we see anything like this taught in the New Testament, and as I mentioned earlier, Mormon can easily say will yeah but that's the part of the plane and precious things that were removed from the Bible.

That's an argument from silence, folks. That's all it is. It's an argument from silence. You could say that about anything you can have any group teach anything and say that that was a part of the Bible, but is it really true so it's hard to prove that because there's no evidence of this that all this is exactly what the members of the LDS church are doing their trying to prove their point by making a statement that the Bible was corrupt and obviously according to them that corruption included any reference to a doctrine that they are espousing. This would be one of them. That is the ordinance of temple marriage. There is no such thing in the New Testament. It was never discussed in the New Testament just as this Mormon priesthood authority was not discussed in the New Testament authority is certainly mentioned when it speaks of Jesus and also I might mention that authority is also mentioned when it comes to those who are believers to them gave he power over the right to become the sons of God. There's nothing in the New Testament that supports this idea of this priesthood authority that Dallen Oakes is talking about in his article authority ordinances and preparation. Thank you for listening. If you would like more information regarding his research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website at www.mrm.org you can request your free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you will join us again as we look at another viewpoint on Mormonism