A Case for Authority

Many years ago, Moses decided he wanted to speak for God. So he went to school, got a degree in religion, rented a building in Cairo, put out an advertisement in the local paper to form a congregation, and the rest is history.

Or, maybe that is not how it happened. What does the Bible teach us?

Exodus 3:13  And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Exodus 28:1 Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: 

We discover that Moses did not take the honor of speaking for God onto himself, but he was called by God to do the work.

Moses felt inadequate to speak, so God did something more to help in the calling of speaking for God. Speaking to Moses, the Lord said:

Exodus 28:1  AND take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. 

Aaron and his sons were called of God through the prophet. We see that God called and chose these persons – none of them chose themselves. That is how God works. He calls individuals to do His work. We do not choose ourselves.

It is as the Lord told Joseph Smith:

D&C 132:8 Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion. 

Consider the prophet Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Jeremiah was actually ordained to his calling before he was even born – while he was still a spirit in the pre-existence! 

There are some who say that in the New Testament, God changed His ways, and that everyone who believes in Christ is called. No need to be specially called by God any more. But what does the New Testament teach us?

Hebrews 5:1 FOR every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: …

4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee.

6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.

The New Testament is quite clear. God has not changed. Still the same God. And he says that all, and in this case, High Priests, must be called just as Aaron was. How was Aaron called? By another having authority to do so. Even Jesus submitted to this same method!

Whether a prophet or a high priest, or any other calling to officiate in God’s name, one must be called by God, or by someone like Moses with authority from God.

Thank our consistent and unchanging God, He is still the same today, and has blessed us with the predicted restitution* of all things in these latter days before the Second Coming, in the same manner and fashion as He did in the past. As He appeared to Moses, He now likewise in these last days appeared to Joseph Smith, and gave him authority to speak, teach and do all things whatsoever God wants prior to the Second Coming.

*Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

JOHN 5:39 Ye THINK Ye Have Eternal Life

John 5:37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 41 I receive not honour from men. (bold, italics added)

 

The Jews to whom Jesus was here speaking wanted Him dead because He had indirectly declared He was equal to God:

John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

It was to this belligerent audience that Christ spoke “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life.” But the truth is, the Scriptures, as valuable as they are, do not in and of themselves provide us with eternal life – coming to Christ gives us a chance – note he says “might” rather than “will.” In other words, both are required – searching and following the Scriptures and following the precepts of Jesus.

Notice that Jesus does not say “that ye shall have eternal life,” but rather “that ye might have eternal life.” Confessing Christ to be the Savior is a good start, but if we stop there, it will not take us across the finish line. We must also follow Jesus.

 

Matt. 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (also quoted in Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; see also John 12:26; (bold added)) 

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (bold, italics added)

 Jesus did not say “read about what I said” but rather “hear” my voice. How to hear Jesus? He is talking about inspiration, about personal revelation.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

What does it mean then to follow Jesus? We do what He did – we do his works.

John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (bold added)

 We must continue to receive inspiration:

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (bold added)

Remember that the word, in the which we continue, is the word we hear and then do.

Conclusion:

·      Searching the Scriptures can give us direction and knowledge of Christ, because they testify of Him, but that direction and knowledge alone will not save us;

·      Coming to Christ, or following Him, offers us a chance to have [eternal] life;

·      Following Christ means we believe on him, and do His works;

·      We must not seek our own will, but rather the will of the Father who sent Christ.

·      We must endure to the end, to continue in doing Christ’s inspiration. Then are we His disciples indeed, and then we have eternal life. All we need to do to obtain eternal life is listen for the promptings of His spirit, and follow them. Those promptings guide us to repent, believe on Him, hear His word (guidance to do good) through inspiration, continue (don't give up), and to be at peace with ourselves knowing that we are his disciples indeed!

·    Added thought: Churches that have as their foundation study, scholars, degrees, learning, consensus on the correct translations of the many varied ancient Biblical manuscripts, and mere confession of Christ’s divinity, thinking  therein they have eternal life, are missing the mark. Among the churches that rely on prophets, inspiration and revelation, thinking and doing good rather than just hearing, there might be found the correct path.