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Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel

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Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel Jesus Christ Called Twelve Apostles During His mortal ministry, the Savior called, ordained, and commissioned twelve Apostles. He conferred priesthood keys upon them, and they received a witness of His divinity. Under the Savior's direction, the Apostles helped govern the work of the Church and were prepared for the time when He would no longer be on the earth. This lesson explores the Savior's priesthood authority and His preparation of the Apostles to lead the Church. "HOW, WHEN AND BY WHOM DID JESUS RECEIVE THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD?" WHAT AUTHORITY DID JESUS CONFER UPON HIS APOSTLES? WHAT WOULD THIS AUTHORITY ENABLE THEM TO DO? “Type a quote here.” -Johnny Appleseed Matthew 10:1-8 “Type a quote here.” -Johnny Appleseed Keys of the Kingdom • Matthew 16:18-19 • Joseph Smith taught: “Upon this rock I will build my Church… What rock? Revelation.” (TPJS, p. 274) • He also taught: “Christ was the head of the Church, the chief cornerstone, the spiritual rock upon which the church was built.” (TPSJ, p. 318). • Helaman 5:12 Keys of the Kingdom • Two claims to authority: 1. “One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic” Tradition (many denominations): They believe Peter was the first Pope (Bishop of Rome), tracing all Bishop’s authority back to him. No apostasy. 2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: The LDS position is that the Church is built upon the rock of revelation and Jesus Christ (JS statement and Hel. 5:12). Apostolic Authority, lost with the death of the Apostles which led to the apostasy, has now been restored. Transmission of Authority • “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic” tradition: Peter was the first Bishop of Rome and as long as you can trace your priesthood to Peter and subsequent Bishops, apostolic authority remains. The OHCA does not claim authority was transferred from apostle to apostle—but rather, to bishops instead. • LDS Belief: Acts 1 indicates that apostolic succession required the participation of a all members of the quorum of the 12, who assisted in the selection of new Apostles. The martyrdom of the Apostles resulted in the demise of the quorum, and those remaining (John was the last) did not appoint new Apostles in the absence of a quorum or quorum president. Transmission of Authority • Some contend that Peter passed his authority to a successor, called a bishop, and that that bishop did likewise, and so on. The first such successor is claimed to be Linus, but as noted by the Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, "Nothing is known of his life or career." These successors are alleged to constitute the papal line of authority. In essence, the pope (meaning "papa" or "father") is deemed to be the supreme bishop. The official Vatican position is as follows: "The Catholic Church recognizes in the apostolic succession . an unbroken line of episcopal ordination from Christ through the apostles down through the centuries to the bishops of today." Transmission of Authority • Francis A. Sullivan, a long-time professor of theology at the Gregorian University in Rome, wrote a book entitled From Apostles to Bishops and acknowledged that the argument asserting a direct line of succession is historically defective. He noted: "One conclusion seems obvious: Neither the New Testament nor early Christian history offers support for a notion of apostolic succession as 'an unbroken line of episcopal ordination from Christ through the apostles down through the centuries to the bishops of today.'" With historic candor, this learned scholar admitted that there was no historical link between Peter and his supposed papal successors. There was much extrapolation and surmising and proposing, but in the final analysis there was no verifiable historical connection. Transmission of Authority • In fact, historical studies have proven, without argument and with general agreement amongst scholars of all faiths, that the bishop of Rome finally achieved papal supremacy through a series of clerical forgeries. • A. Cleveland Coxe summarized how the bishop of Rome finally achieved supremacy: "After the Council of Nice they [the bishops] were recognized as patriarchs, though equals among brethren, and nothing more. The ambition of Boniface III led him to name himself 'universal bishop.' Transmission of Authority • This was at first a mere name 'of intolerable pride,' as his predecessor Gregory had called it, but Nicholas I (A.D. 858) tried to make it real, and, by means of the false decretals, created himself the first 'Pope' in the modern sense, imposing his despotism on the West." • These decretals (or doctrinal decrees issued by the pope) came about because the German archbishops and kings paid only lip service to the would-be popes of Rome. In an effort to gain their support and loyalty, forged documents alleging Rome's preeminence were created. Somewhere in the A.D. 840s, a French cleric forged a series of church decrees giving ultimate power to the bishops of Rome. Transmission of Authority • Noted historian Will Durant wrote: "Lorenzo Vallo, in 1440, so definitely exposed the frauds in the 'False Decretals' that all parties now agree that the disputed documents are forgeries." • Recognizing the foregoing historical problem of papal succession from the apostles, and further recognizing there was no scriptural witness of apostolic succession through popes, Professor Sullivan, a Roman Catholic theologian, suggested an alternative approach to succession for the ongoing church—that the body of missionaries and ecclesiastical leaders collectively held the keys of the priesthood that were embodied in the Quorum of the Twelve apostles. Transmission of Authority • One obstacle to both theories is the lack of historical evidence, to which Professor Sullivan has admitted. In this regard, he further wrote: • “No doubt proving that bishops were the successors of the apostles by divine institution would be easier if the New Testament clearly stated that before they died the apostles had appointed a single bishop to lead each of the churches they had founded. Likewise, it would have been very helpful had Clement, in writing to Corinthians, said that the apostles had put one bishop in charge of each church and had arranged for a regular succession in that office. We would also be grateful to Ignatius of Antioch if he had spoken of himself not only as bishop, but as a successor to the apostles, and had explained how he understood that succession. Unfortunately, the documents available to us do not provide such help.” (As quoted in Callister, Inevitable Apostasy and the Promised Restoration) Keys of the Kingdom • Elder Boyd K. Packer tells of a singular and unique experience when he knew for himself that the Keys of the Kingdom reside in this Church. .
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