We believe in the same aorganization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, bprophets, cpastors, dteachers, eevangelists, and so forth.
Note that words pastor/bishop and evangelist/patriarch should be considered synonymous. In the LDS Church each congregation has a bishop, and several groups of congregations have an appointed patriarch.
Unless you are new to my Sunday Post series I think you’ve caught on to the fact that we believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the LDS Church, often referred to as the “Mormon church” is the actual restored Church of Jesus Christ, the same Church He founded when he lived on the earth 2000 years ago. This week I thought I would quote some passages from the bible which talk about how the Church of Jesus Christ was organized. We believe that the organization of the Church was re-established on the earth through modern revelation beginning with the Prophet Joseph Smith.
And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachersPaul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deaconsAnd the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
I believe that God still speaks to us today and that we have not even come close to receiving all of the knowledge he intends to bestow upon us. He has given us prophets, apostles, teachers, evangelists in our day that we might continue to learn and grow in His Gospel.
June 21st, 2009 on 9:35 am
I still hear the primary songs about the articles of faith in my head every time you post one of these
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June 22nd, 2009 on 6:28 pm
Hmmmm… I hate comments. I am sure that I will sound snarky for this… but I honestly have no idea what you’re saying with this post. Maybe it’s just that I am stupid (especially today) or maybe it is just that you’re so immersed in your church that you can’t understand what it is like to not know these things. But I just see a lot of verses which don’t really tell me anything about why you believe what you believe vs. any other reading of the Bible (and those verses).
Will you consider writing a “stepping back” post at some point and using it to let your readers know more about what you’re thinking as you write these posts? What do you expect of your readers? I think that it is perfectly fair to have high expectations of your readers, but I would like to know whether it is something that I can meet, or if I should stop being a pain.
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May 10th, 2010 on 8:08 pm
I just happened to run across this tonight in hopes of finding a lesson for my family of four small children for family home evening (A night we study the scriptures as a family). I just wanted to let you know I love your sight and all you shared. I am excited for the lesson tonight. Thank you! Em
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