My Definition of the Mormon Priesthood

A humanistic system that's highly subjective with the facade of spirituality when if fact it's totally pagan.

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

I'm Grateful

In the eight months that Christian and I dated there were many changes and new experiences. I could spend a lot of time writing about the many 'adventures' Christian and I went on during those eight months. Mostly, this particular time was a time for healing. I knew I couldn't do anything about getting my kids back. I wasn't about to drag them into parental wars. I couldn't do that to them. I knew that they were being somewhat taken care of. My kids did move away from Convert as soon it became legal for them to do so. (I will write about them more later.)
I got to know Christian's relatives while I learned how to live on practically nothing. I learned how to appreciate God's creations around me. I learned how to fish, how to hunt, and how to utilize natural plants that grew on Christian's land. I tasted wild morel mushrooms for the first time, and made wild raspberry jam and wild blackberry jam for the first time. I learned how to identify different species of trees, plants, birds, and how to identify the different paw and hoof prints in the ground. The world around me was new and exciting. (God has given His children so much, if we would just be still and know that God is providing for our needs.) The most uplifting experience was that God provided me with so much spiritual growth, without the gain of material possession.
I quit smoking all at once. I went from two and a half packs of menthol cigarettes a day, to nothing. I owe it all to God. Jesus helped and is the only one who could help me stop depending on cancer sticks. I have not picked one up since I stopped. I started to get some exercise. Christian bought me some running shoes and I tried to 'jog' on a running track. I got one quarter of the way around the track on my first try. Afterwards, I was totally out of breath. I kept up my routine exercises with Christian. It was a matter of months that I was able to get one mile around the track. The bonus of all that exercise was that I lost seventy pounds within a year and a half. My diet drastically changed as well.
It was June of 1996 that I gave my life to Jesus and asked him to come into my heart and take over. I never knew that Jesus could give me the peace in my heart that I needed without requiring a priesthood holder and permission from those 'in authority'. There I was, with practically nothing, but Jesus stretched out His arms and accepted me. I was a wretched mess, but Jesus, through His grace, took me in with no conditions. God used Christian to show me what I needed in my life. For that I'm grateful.

Terrible Times

It was early fall of the same year, and the children had started back to school. I had a couple of hours to myself, before I had to go to my lunch-time cleaning account (where I had to go and clean Converts two large company contract bathrooms). I got a call from Convert that morning. He was yelling at me on the phone. He was using profane language to explain to me that there was a problem at the bank. I started crying while I was talking with him, because I couldn't understand how there could have been a problem with what he was talking about. He stated that there was a large sum of money missing from the business account, and accusingly, wanted to know why I had taken it out. He also wanted to know what I had done with the money! I couldn't hardly believe that he was accusing me of taking money out of the business. Did he think that I was that stupid? The more he talked, the more upset I got. He hung up and I wept, and wept....
I had to talk to someone. I needed some guidance. I called the doctor's office and explained what had just happened. The doctor wasn't in the office and the secretary and nurse couldn't help me at all. I hung up the phone and wept more. I had only been getting one hour of sleep a night and was totally exhausted. I had no more energy. I couldn't take what Convert was doing to me anymore. I needed sleep and because I was over tired, took a few of his sleeping pills. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to go to sleep. I gulped them down with some water and went into my bedroom. I got down on my knees and begged, "God to PLEASE help me. Take away the hurt, take away the pain, but most of all, I need you, God, to change the current situation I am in". I continued weeping for a long time.....
The next thing I remembered was that I was lying in a bed in a strange place. It seemed sterile and impersonal. I remember a woman standing by me, rubbing my shoulder. She had a friendly smile and asked how I was doing. I said that I was hurting inside. She silently smiled back. I then realized that I had lost the time between weeping in my bedroom and waking up in a hospital bed. However, I vividly remembered my kids being with me before the ambulance came to pick me up. I could hear their voices and feel their touch, and wanted to yell out to them, but I couldn't.
The next couple of weeks were the hardest. I had to be away from my children and get myself together. While I was there, in the hospital, Convert gave me divorce papers. Mentally, I was not concerned about what he was saying, but instead was thinking back to when he was in the hospital, and I was there for him. The only reason he visited me in the hospital, was to give me another petition for divorce.
The doctor came and saw me several times and concluded that I needed to get totally away from Convert. He said that my major depression was ruling me. The doctor said I needed to attend therapy secessions to teach me how to gain skills for mental survival. He said I needed to know how to stand up for myself. He also said that I needed to be able to have mental strength, not only for my self, but for my kids.
After the two week stay in the hospital, I went home. It felt different being there. No one was home at that time, so I sat at the kitchen table and meditated. About ten minutes went by, then Convert came home. He smiled and said, hi. He sat down and told me that I was never to leave the house again. He said that I was not to disobey him again. He stated that if I did leave the house, he would make sure that I would wind up living in the gutter. He said that I left the house he would call the cops and have me picked up, and locked up. I told him that I needed to attend my therapy sessions. He replied that I was not to attend these sessions.
Right then I knew that I really needed some kind of therapy to help me. I needed to get better and not be afraid anymore, but to know how to think correctly. (Due to my Mormon mental conditioning, regarding the priesthood authority and obeying church doctrine, rather than how to think, I didn't have the mental ability to withstand whatever Convert threw at me.) I went to my first counseling session. The only thing I learned from it was that the counselor 'never lost his place'. That evening, I came home and found no one there. Convert had taken the kids and left.
The next few months were extremely hard for me. Convert had kept me from finding the kids for three days. He had a new house for the kids. He must of have rented the place before I got out of the hospital. Convert, somehow, had the court system give him custody of the kids. I lost my kids to Convert all because I needed some sleep.
I had no job, no family, no church, no friends, and no God. I felt like I'd lost everything that meant anything to me. I called my parents and pleaded with them to help me. This was the only thing I knew to do. I went home, back to Michigan. I left the people I loved the most in order to start over. I left my home that I had paid for to the kids, and forced myself to leave Georgia, in order to get myself together.........Convert and I divorced while living states apart......

College No More

I looked around the community I was in and it only made me yearn all the more to get back to Utah. I, therefore, applied to a college where I was from in Utah. The photo below shows that I got accepted! I was so thrilled to know that I had a reason to go back, back to what I knew as home. I could hardly wait for my dad to get home so I could tell him the news.
Shortly after he got home, I showed him the certificate of acceptance. He stared at it awhile, leaned back on the kitchen counter and looked me square in the eyes.
"You know," he stated, "I know that you want to go back to Utah. I also know that you want to attend college."
I could tell that he didn't like what he saw.
"God has shown me that you are not to go to college. For that fact, you are not to get married," dad said sternly.
By this time my heart was in my throat and the flood gates were opening.
"As patriarch of this home and having the power of the priesthood, God has told me that you are to stay home and take care of your mother and me," my dad roared with all of his authority.
His roar, I was so scared of his roar.
"Oh, you can have a part time job and continue with your church work, but that's it," he bluntly stated.
(My dads thinking comes from Mormon teaching.)
By this time I was sitting in one of the kitchen chairs because I was too weak to stand. My throat was swollen from fighting back my need to weep -- I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything but stair at him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These words he spoke were not what I was prepared to hear, let alone deal with.
I gracefully accepted his authority and bowed out to my room. There, in the privacy of my room, is where I threw myself on my bed, buried my head in my pillow (it was a stuffed blue elephant) and wept bitterly. I saw my whole life end. I hashed over the possibility of never having the pleasure of going to the celestial kingdom. No temple marriage, no eternity. I thought of the touch of my children; I'll never know. I wept all the more.
By this time I was shaking so much, I had the dry heaves.
I have done all I knew to do to be able to go to heaven. Now my dad, my inspiration, my leader, my life, my patriarch, informed me I wasn't good enough for God. My mind was too numb. My heart too broken, my life shattered.....