what i believe: Prophets and Apostles

on sundays i try to post a little bit about what i believe as a Mormon, or member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. to get caught up, you can read more on the sidebar of my blog. down where it says "what i believe" i have the links listed of what i have posted before. it might help if you are new to my blog and don't know exactly what i'm talking about.

In the Old Testament, there were prophets: Adam; Moses; Elijah; Noah; Abraham, and many others. In the New Testament we learn that after Jesus began his ministry, he called twelve apostles. These apostles traveled with him, helped teach His gospel, prayed with him, and were even present at the Garden of Gethsemane when he atoned for our sins. After Christ was crucified, they continued his work. They traveled around, calling people to repentance, baptizing, giving the gift of the Holy Ghost, healing the sick, eaching Christianity, testifying of Christ. They were all eventually killed for their testimonies and the authority to act in the name of Christ (the priesthood) was lost.

In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith prayed to know which church he should join and was told not to join any of them (read more about this story here). Over time, the Mormon church was organized and on May 15, 1829, the Priesthood of Aaron (or the Aaronic Priesthood) was restored, and a short time later the Melchizidek Priesthood was restored. This was the authority to act in God's name. Under the Priesthood, Joseph Smith was ordained a prophet, and he called twelve apostles to help assist him in his work. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Bible, and that is why our church has a prophet and twelve apostles who lead our church. Mormons read the King James version of the Bible and at the back we have a Bible Dictionary with definitions of terms contained therein. Under "apostle" it says,

The word "apostle" means "one sent forth." It was the title Jesus gave (Luke 6:13) to the twelve whom he chose and ordained (John 15:16) to be his closest disciples during his ministry on earth, and whom he sent forth to represent him after his ascension into heaven. The calling of an apostle is to be a special witness of the name of Jesus Christ all the world, particularly of his divinity and of his bodily resurrection from the dead (see Acts 1:22). Twelve men with this high calling constitute an administrative council in the work of the ministry. When a vacancy occurred with the death of Judas Iscariot, Matthias was divinely appointed to that special office as a member of the council (Acts 1: 15-26). Today twelve men with this same divine calling and ordination constitute the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Twice a year, in April and October, these prophets and apostles come together for a worldwide general conference. It is held in Salt Lake City, Utah, and broadcast by satellite all over the world. For two days we get to listen to these witnesses of Christ as they teach and testify of the Savior and other aspects of the Gospel. I am so grateful to have righteous men lead our church. I believe they are truly called of God. I love them and respect them and I believe they truly are witnesses of Christ and His resurrection.

I believe in our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and his counselors Dieter F. Uchtdorf and Henry B. Eyring; and the twelve apostles of our church: Boyd K. Packer, L. Tom Perry, Robert D. Hales, Russel M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard, Jeffrey R. Holland, Richard G. Scott, Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, Joseph B. Wirthlin, and David A. Bednar.

You can read talks from the most recent General Conference here.







art credit: In Remembrance Of Me by Walter Rane and The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, courtesy of lds.org