So, now to the meat of things. The unique thing about our church and message, is that God has called and still calls prophets to lead His church. Prophets play an important role in God's plan for us. In fact, because of prophets, we have God's plan for us! "surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." -Amos 3:7. The role of the prophet is to learn God's will by revelation, write it down, and then tell the people what God's will is! God will always go to his prophet to tell us his will. It's been the case with Moses, Noah, Adam, Enoch, Abraham, the list goes on and on! The Lord told Noah to tell the world to repent or he would destroy the earth! Noah did such and was rejected by the people. God then told Noah to build an Ark, Noah did and the earth was flooded and Noah and his family were the only ones spared, because of their obedience. Moses, received the ten commandments from God and then gave it to the Isrialites. What Moses wrote, which happens to be the first five books in the Bible is called scripture. Scripture is revelation written down. Simple! It is what God has commanded, it was recorded, and now we have it for our learning and our lives!
One thing that set apart the prophets from other people, is that they had the Priesthood. The Priesthood is the authority to act and do in God's name. It is the power of God given to men. They receive it by the laying on of hands, just as Moses did with Aaron. It gave them the ability to receive revelation for the world. It is also the power to do other essential ordinances, like Baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Only people who have the Priesthood can perform Baptisms that will be recognized by Jesus Christ Himself! In Matthew 10:1, Christ gave his apostles "power" to do the same miracles that He was doing. He gave them the power of God. In the Book of Mormon, Christ called 12 others among the Nephites and gave them the "power and authority" to baptize in his name! It is essential to know how important the Priesthood is in the Plan of Happiness.
Unfortunately, people are not always happy with the prophets and what they teach. In fact, they cast out, stone, and kill them when the people are very wicked. When this occurs, it is called an apostasy. Apostasy comes when the people reject the prophets God sends to them. So in turn, God withdraws his prophets for a time. With this, their is no priesthood authority on the earth. No one to receive revelation and no authority to baptize. But, through out time and time again, and through His infinite love and mercy, our Heavenly Father calls another prophet. He calls him, gives him the priesthood authority, and gives him commandment to tell people to come unto him. He restores his church on the earth.
This will be a key factor through out the rest of the principles of the Restoration. It is so key to realize that God still gives us guidance. A parent knows that no matter how old their children are, they still need guidance and instruction. It's his way of giving us the flashlight in the darkness, to find the path home. It's kinda like batteries. Eventually we will need new ones, or even a recharge. He is willing to help us when we need it, and even when we don't think we need it. I know this is a way that I know that God still loves me. Enough to give me the light needed to come home. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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