I admit that this post may take some New Testament, Old Testament, and Latter-Day Saint background to understand. However, I will try to make this as easy to follow as possible so that any person of any religion can understand. Also, while nothing I say here is radical or extreme to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, my conclusions should not be considered official Church doctrine and instead express my opinion.
Let's start on May 15, 1829. At that time an angel from heaven appeared to two men: Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. I have linked their names to their accounts of the story. All you need to do is click on their names to read more.
This heavenly messenger came to restore power and authority from God (called the Aaronic Priesthood) to man. He laid his hands Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery's heads and said this:
"Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness" (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1).
Without going into too much detail about the "Priesthood of Aaron" or "Aaronic Priesthood," I want to focus on the last line. "And this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi to offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness."
In the Old Testament, before Jesus Christ was born in this world, the people of God's Church (the Jews) practiced a law commanded of God. This law pointed forward to Jesus Christ.
Because Jesus Christ had not yet died, the Jews needed a constant reminder of His great sacrifice. The Church members before Jesus Christ were required to sacrifice animals. The family tribe that was primarily responsible for the animal sacrifices were the Levites. The literal sons of Levi held the Priesthood of Aaron or Aaronic Priesthood. The sacrifice of animals pointed them forward to Jesus Christ's great sacrifice on the cross.
When Jesus Christ came to the world He clearly taught that there was to be no more animal sacrifices after His death. Those who followed Him stopped practicing this law and other pieces of this old law. Instead, Christ asked them to regularly take wine and bread in remembrance of His blood and body.
Now, let's consider again the angel that appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The angel said, "[the Aaronic Priesthood] shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi to offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness." What does this mean? Will the Levites offer another animal sacrifice before Jesus Christ comes again?
I will tell you that no one in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practices animal sacrifices. No leader has ever taught or commissioned it anywhere.
The answer to this question is clearly found in a letter from Joseph Smith to the Church in 1842:
"Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand . . . he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation" (Doctrine and Covenants 128:24).
It seems pretty clear to me that the "offering" the sons of Levi are going to make is going to be our family history and temple records. No animal sacrifices. That's all I have to say on that.
Let's start on May 15, 1829. At that time an angel from heaven appeared to two men: Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. I have linked their names to their accounts of the story. All you need to do is click on their names to read more.
This heavenly messenger came to restore power and authority from God (called the Aaronic Priesthood) to man. He laid his hands Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery's heads and said this:
"Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness" (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1).
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| Picture from LDS.org |
In the Old Testament, before Jesus Christ was born in this world, the people of God's Church (the Jews) practiced a law commanded of God. This law pointed forward to Jesus Christ.
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| Jesus Christ gave His life for us. We all sin and need to be cleansed by His suffering. Picture from LDS.org |
When Jesus Christ came to the world He clearly taught that there was to be no more animal sacrifices after His death. Those who followed Him stopped practicing this law and other pieces of this old law. Instead, Christ asked them to regularly take wine and bread in remembrance of His blood and body.
Now, let's consider again the angel that appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The angel said, "[the Aaronic Priesthood] shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi to offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness." What does this mean? Will the Levites offer another animal sacrifice before Jesus Christ comes again?
I will tell you that no one in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practices animal sacrifices. No leader has ever taught or commissioned it anywhere.
The answer to this question is clearly found in a letter from Joseph Smith to the Church in 1842:
"Behold, the great day of the Lord is at hand . . . he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation" (Doctrine and Covenants 128:24).
It seems pretty clear to me that the "offering" the sons of Levi are going to make is going to be our family history and temple records. No animal sacrifices. That's all I have to say on that.
Joseph Smith taught:
ReplyDelete“It is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice [i.e.,] the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was offered up, and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in the future; but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges and authority of the Priesthood, or with the Prophets.
“The offering of sacrifice has ever been connected and forms a part of the duties of the Priesthood. It began with the Priesthood, and will be continued until after the coming of Christ, from generation to generation. …
“These sacrifices, as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications, and blessings. This ever did and ever will exist when the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood are sufficiently manifest; else how can the restitution of all things spoken of by the Holy Prophets be brought to pass. It is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies; this has never been spoken of by the prophets; but those things which existed prior to Moses’ day, namely, sacrifice, will be continued.” (Teachings,pp. 172–73.)
President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that:
“ . . . we are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times into which all things are to be gathered, and all things are to be restored since the beginning. Even this earth is to be restored to the condition which prevailed before Adam’s transgression. Now in the nature of things, the law of sacrifice will have to be restored, or all things which were decreed by the Lord would not be restored. It will be necessary, therefore, for the sons of Levi, who offered the blood sacrifices anciently in Israel, to offer such a sacrifice again to round out and complete this ordinance in this dispensation. Sacrifice by the shedding of blood was instituted in the days of Adam and of necessity will have to be restored.
“The sacrifice of animals will be done to complete the restoration when the temple spoken of is built; at the beginning of the millennium, or in the restoration, blood sacrifices will be performed long enough to complete the fulness of the restoration in this dispensation. Afterwards sacrifice will be of some other character.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:94.)