Are Mormon males called by God as Levitical priests just like Aaron was?

Please click on the title above to go the web site where I got this from. This ministry is a very good witness to Mormons who long to know the truth!

February 15, 2008

By Aaron Shafovaloff

Mormonism claims that most of its male members are Aaron/Levitical priests. How does this claim hold up?

Quoting Hal Hougey from “Latter-day Saints—Where Did You Get Your Authority?”:

1. Qualifications for the Aaronic Priesthood:
   1. Limited to Aaron and his sons only Ex 28:1; 29:9; 29:44; Num 18:1-7; Lev 6:19-23; Ex 28:43; Neh 7:61-65
      1. The Levites helped – Num 3:5-6, 9-10; Heb 7:5
      2. Punishment for non-Levites who tried to become priests:
         1. Dathan and Abiram Num 16: 1-35
         2. King Uzziah – 2 Chron 26:1-3, 16-21
         3. Jeroboam’s priests- I Kings 13:33-34
      3. But Joseph Smith, of English stock, was not a Jew, a Levite, or a son of Aaron
      4. The Aaronic priesthood was hereditary, but not so in the LDS church
   2. Physical qualifications – Lev 21:16-23
      1. LDS ignore these qualifications today
      2. Joseph Smith had a leg operation when he was young, in which part of the bone was removed. He was, therefore, physically disqualified to be a priest (Lucy Mack Smith: Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith and His Progenitors for Many Generations Liverpool: 1853, p. 65)
   3. Other qualifications which LDS ignore: Lev 21:1-15: Num 4:35
2. How Were the Aaronic Priests Ordained in the Bible? - Exodus 29; Lev. 8
   1. Were washed with water v. 4
   2. Were dressed in the priestly robes – v. 5-6 (These robes were for “glory and beauty”-Ex 28:2-but the holy garments of the LDS are neither glorious nor beautiful.)
   3. Were anointed with oilv. 7
   4. Laid hands on the head of a bullock – v. 10
   5. The bullock was killed, and its blood was poured out at the altar, while the fat and the kidneys were placed on the altar, and the rest was burned outside the camp, as a sin- offering v. 11-14
   6. Laid hands on the head of a ram V.I 5
   7. The ram was killed, its blood was sprinkled about the altar, and the body was offered as a burnt offering on the altar-v. 16-18
   8. Laid hands on the head of another ram v. 19
   9. This second ram was killed, and some of the blood was put on the tip of the right ear, right thumb, and right great toe of Aaron and his sons, while the rest of the blood was sprinkled upon the altar v. 20
   10. Some of the blood on the altar and some anointing oil was then sprinkled on the priests and their garments – v. 21
   11. Were given parts of the ram and three kinds of bread, and these were waved as a wave offering, then they were burnt on the altar – v. 22-25
   12. The breast of the ram was given to the one who ordained them v. 26
   13. The shoulder was given to them v. 27
   14. They were to eat of the ram and the bread, but no one else was allowed to do so-v. 30-33
   15. For the next seven days, one bullock and two lambs were offered daily v. 35-44
3. How Do LDS Ordain to the Aaronic Priesthood?
   1. They lay hands on the priests being ordained and speak the words that are specified by the LDS church to confer the priesthood
   2. Nowhere in the Bible account do we find hands laid on the priests hands were laid only on the bullock and the rams!
   3. The LDS ignore completely the Biblical method of ordaining Aaronic priests
   4. It will not do to say these ordinances do not apply today; if the Aaronic priesthood exists today, the method for ordaining priests into that priesthood apply today
   5. LDS often apply Hebrews 5:4, “. . .as was Aaron,” to refer to the ceremony by which one is ordained to the priesthood, but they do not follow that ceremony in any way

Under a subsequent section (”F. The Mormon Priesthood Is an Assumption – Not a Restoration”), Hougey goes on to say:

1. There Is No Biblical Authority for the Aaronic Priesthood Today
   1. The Aaronic priesthood was part of the religious system under the Law of Moses. This law and its ordinances came to an end when Christ died on the cross Gal. 3:19, 23-25; Col. 2:14-17; Heb. 10:1-10.
   2. Christ’s will or testament came into effect after his death - Heb. 9:15-17
   3. There was a change in the priesthood; the Aaronic (Levitical) priesthood was taken away – Heb. 7: 1 1-12
   4. Even Christ could not be a priest of Aaron because he was of the wrong tribe Heb. 7:13-14. (How can non-Jewish LDS qualify if Christ could not qualify?
   5. If Christ were on earth he would not be a priest at all – Heb. 8:4
   6. There is no example of Aaronic priests in the church anywhere in the New Testament, amazing if such priesthood existed in the church. Rather, the New Testament teaches the universal priesthood of all believers I Peter 2:5, 9