They want to know there purpose in life and to have understanding of the things around them.
Many of those who are really looking and searching discover the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and find answers to their questions.
What stands out to most of those people who discover this is that this is the only church on earth that have living prophets and apostles who guide this church under the direction of Jesus Christ Himself through direct revelation.
Ephesians 2: 19-20
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Church Organization.
There are fifteen apostles in this church.
The Lord has chosen the most senior and experienced apostle to be the prophet of the whole church.
He picks by inspiration, two of the other apostles as counselors and this forms what is called a quorum. The title given them is the First Presidency of the Church.
The other twelve apostles form the quorum of the twelve apostles, with the second most senior of all of the fifteen as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
All fifteen of the apostles are designated by the Lord as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
All the remaining fourteen apostles have all of the same keys but they are dormant until activated by the authority of the prophet.
The keys of the prophet or most senior apostle have all of his keys active, and can, by inspiration, activate any of the keys of any of the other apostles, to accomplish a task assigned to the prophet by revelation from the Lord.
What are Keys?
A key is the right or privilege which belongs to and comes with the priesthood to have communication with God to accomplish the assignment given to him.
He has at his disposal the keys to bring to light the mysteries and revelations and give them to the world.
What is a Prophet?
A prophet is a person who knows by personal revelation from the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
A prophet’s mission is not just to tell the future.
More important than that, is that they bear witness of Christ and the divinity of Christ to all of mankind.
They are to teach the Plan of Salvation and perform sacred ordinances to their fellow men.
Most of the prophets had the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is the true authority of God to act in His name and was restored to the earth in 1829.
Some have possessed the keys to authorize them to administer the Fulness of the Gospel ordinances including temple ordinances.
What is a Seer?
Seers are highly spiritual prophets and revelators chosen by the Lord to act as seers.
As the occasion is required, they are they are appointed to possess and use the interpreters or Urim and Thummin.
With these, as an example, the Prophet Joseph Smith used them to translate the Book of Mormon from the sacred Gold Plates, and have also received many revelations by using them.
Mosiah 8: 15-18
15 And the king said that a seer is greater than a prophet.
16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.
17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.
18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.
Where there are no seers, apostasy prevails.
What is a Revelator?
He is anyone who receives a revelation directly from the Lord and then conveys the revealed truth to another.
The President of the Church is a revelator for the Church.
The Prophet Joseph Smith was a revelator who revealed much to the Church and the world.
The Apostle John, because of the great revelations he gave to the world is now known as John the Revelator.
What is the Urim and Thummin or Interpreters?
They are instruments delivered to chosen prophets to be used in receiving revelations and in translating ancient records from unknown tongues. When approved by the Lord Prophets are permitted to pass these instruments on to their mortal successors.
Usually they are carried in a breastplate over the heart.
Exodus 28: 30
30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.
The Urim and Thummin were in use before the Flood.
The Brother of Jared had them before leaving the Tower of Babel in the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. See Ether 3: 21-28.
This was the set that came through King Mosiah and handed down from prophet to prophet to Moroni and buried with the Book of Mormon Plates.
This is the set that the Prophet Joseph Smith used in the translation of the Gold Plates. See Doctrine and Covenants 17: 1.
President Joseph Fielding Smith said this Urim and Thummin was the seer stone that was in possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith and is now in possession of the Church. See Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p. 225.
For more information go to www.lds.org
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