Aaron (Disciple)

Let’s compare the mediatorial structure of the Levitical priesthood to the LDS priesthood: The Bible shows us: Yahweh ↓ Divine Presence (Holy of Holies) ↓ High Priest (only ever one) (line of Aaron) ↓ Priests (sons of Aaron) ↓ Levites (assistants) ↓ Israelite (individual) Now let’s show the LDS structure: Heavenly Father ↓ Jesus Christ ↓ First Presidency ↓ Quorum of the Twelve Apostles ↓ Melchizedek Priesthood (elders, high priests, etc.) ↓ Aaronic Priesthood (deacons, teachers, priests) ↓ Individual member (male participants ordained progressively) Does it seem biblical to you? I would say no. This does not reflect the biblical priesthood structure whatsoever. It doesn’t reflect Jesus Christ’s mission to mediate to God on our behalf like the High Priest would do for Israel.

WSJ: Tesla Finally Has Its First Semi-Truck and It’s Already a Hit With Truckers. "Truckers who drove it in pilot tests say they loved features including a centered driving position, faster charging and longer range for about $100,000 less than other battery-electric trucks. Angel Rodriguez, a 56-year-old truck driver for Hight Logistics in Long Beach, Calif., recently swapped out a 13-gear diesel truck for a Tesla Semi, which is automatic, for a one-month pilot test. “It’s just easier on your body. It’s less stressful because you’re not really having to engage the clutch and the stick shift.” Big F Transport employs five mechanics to service more than 40 diesel-powered rigs and a fleet of trailer chassis in Wilmington, Calif. “If we go all EV we will only need one [mechanic] to service chassis,” said Geovanny Melendez, the carrier’s VP of operations, who went to see the Semi earlier this month at a ride-and-drive event near the Port of Long Beach. Jennie Abarca, co-founder and CEO of King Fio Trucking in Long Beach, Calif., once worked as a truck dispatcher and her husband is a truck driver, so she knows all too well the toll a diesel engine takes on people’s lungs and hearing. She eventually wants to swap out King Fio’s 27 diesel trucks to create an all-electric fleet. King Fio already has 11 battery-electric trucks from Volvo and Nikola. But the company limits those trucks to shorter trips to and from local ports because they only have a range of about 225 miles. The Semi, by contrast, can travel 500 miles on a single charge, according to Tesla. For King Fio that means two or three round-trips a day from Long Beach to warehouses in the nearby Inland Empire or a single round-trip to Las Vegas. She has 20 Semis on order. “The Teslas change everything,” Abarca said. “It opens up a whole different type of delivery that I can make.”

Dragon Tales (1999)

Just remember: we know more than them.

Question for the Creedalists…. In what way can a human create an infinite/eternal sacrifice… since the hypostatic union promotes that only the flesh of Christ was the thing that felt the pain and what died for our sins… where does it say in the bible the flesh is sufficient?

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Was Joseph Smith's claimed visionary experience unique? It was not unusual for the time, nor for the place, the Northeast. Elias Smith, 1816 ". . . I went into the woods...after a stick of timber; after taking it on my shoulder . . . as I walked along on a large log . . . my foot slipped . . . the timber fell one end on the log and the other on the snow, and held me, . . . While in this situation, a light appeared from heaven, . . . My mind seemed to rise in that light to the throne of God and the Lamb, . . . The Lamb once slain appeared to my understanding, and while viewing him, I felt such love to him as I never felt to any thing earthly. . . . It is not possible for me to tell how long I remained in that situation, . . ." (The Life, Conversion, Preaching, Travels, and Sufferings of Elias Smith, Portsmouth, N.H., 1816, pp. 58-59) Norris Stearns, published 1815 Greenfield/Leyden, Massachusetts “At length, as I lay apparently upon the brink of eternal woe, seeing nothing but death before me, suddenly there came a sweet flow of the love of God to my soul, which gradually increased. At the same time, there appeared a small gleam of light in the room, above the brightness of the sun, then at his meridian, which grew brighter and brighter: As this light and love increased, my sins began to separate, and the Mountain [of sin] removed towards the east. At length, being in an ecstasy of joy, I turned to the other side of the bed, (whether in the body or out I cannot tell, God knoweth) there I saw two spirits, which I knew at the first sight. But if I had the tongue of an Angel I could not describe their glory, for they brought the joys of heaven with them. One was God, my Maker, almost in bodily shape like a man. His face was, as it were a flame of Fire, and his body, as it had been a Pillar and a Cloud. In looking steadfastly to discern features, I could see none, but a small glimpse would appear in some other place. Below him stood Jesus Christ my Redeemer, in perfect shape like a man-His face was not ablaze, but had the countenance of fire, being bright and shining. (The Religious Experience of Norris Stearns, Written by Divine Command, 1815) Billy Hibbard, published 1825 New York "When I came to the place of prayer, had kneeled down and closed my eyes, with my hands uplifted toward the heavens, I saw Jesus Christ at the right hand of God looking down upon me, and God the Father looking upon him. The look of Jesus on me removed the burden of my sins, while he spoke these words, 'Be faithful unto death and this shall be thy place of rest.'" (Memoirs of the Life and Travels of B. Hibbard: Minister of the Gospel, 1825) John S. Thompson, 1826 New York "I dreamed Christ descended from the firmament, in a glare of brightness, exceeding tenfold the brilliancy of the meridian Sun, and he came to me saying, 'I commission you to go and tell mankind that I am come; and bid every man to shout victory.'" (The Christian Guide to a Right Understanding of the Sacred Scriptures, 1826) Among others. LDS historian Richard Bushman identified over 33 visionary tales published between 1783 and 1815 alone. Joseph either experienced something similar, or wanted to claim divine authority and patterned his later account (1842) after these visions in order to convince people of his prophetic mantle.