Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

1. Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood Khinckley1@yahoo.com

2. On our summer vacation…

3. Jeremiah 34:18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, 20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life

4. President Hinckley Oliver Cowdery…received the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist, and subsequently the Melchizedek Priesthood under the hands of Peter, James, and John. He magnified that priesthood as a witness to the Book of Mormon, as a Counselor to the Prophet, as one to select the Twelve Apostles and to instruct them, as a missionary in moving the Church across the frontiers of the western territories, and as a teacher and speaker whose voice rang with great and persuasive power. But he turned and began to look through the wrong end of the lens. He found fault. He complained. His calling shrank, he diminished his priesthood, he distanced himself from those in authority in the Church. Gone was the voice of persuasion, gone was the power of the priesthood of God which he once held and magnified. For eleven years, he walked almost alone, without friends. He walked in poverty and in sickness… His is one of the most touching, pathetic stories in the history of this great work. So long as he magnified his calling, he was magnified. When he diminished that calling, he shrank to oblivion and poverty. He came back, but he never regained his previous stature. (April Conference, 1989)

5. Oath and Covenantof Baptism of the Word of Wisdom of the Priesthood OATH COVENANT For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, …a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him …shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; 19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; 20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. …that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? (Mosiah 18:10

6. What Are the Promises? 33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. D&C 76: 70 These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all,

7. What Are the Promises? 33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. 34They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron

8. Orson Pratt When the Temple [in New Jerusalem] is built the sons of the two Priesthoods, that is, those who are ordained to the Priesthood of Melchizedek… and those who have been ordained to the Priesthood of Aaron … the former called the sons of Moses, the latter the sons of Aaron, will enter into that Temple . . . and all of them who are pure in heart will behold the face of the Lord . . In doing this, he will purify not only the minds of the Priesthood in that Temple, but he will purify their bodies until they shall be quickened, renewed and strengthened, and they will be partially changed, not to immortality, but changed in part that they can be filled with the power of God, and they can stand in the presence of Jesus, and behold his face in the midst of that Temple. JD 15:365-66.

9. What Are the Promises? 33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. 34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham

10. President Joseph F. Smith Let me conclude by saying to you what I have said many times, and what I hope I will ever stand by. I would a thousand times rather go to my grave as I am, with the convictions that I possess, than to falter for one instant in that which God has revealed to me. It is more than mortal life to me. My standing in the Church is worth to me more than this life—ten thousand thousand times. For in this I have life everlasting. In this I have the glorious promise of the associations of my loved ones throughout all eternity. In obedience to this work, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I shall gather around me my family, my children, my children's children until they become as numerous as the seed of Abraham, or as countless as the sands upon the sea shore. For this is my right and privilege, and the right and privilege of every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who holds the Priesthood and will magnify it in the sight of God.

11. What Are the Promises? 33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. 34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

12. Section 76 66 These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all. 67 These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn.

13. What Are the Promises? 33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. 34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God. 35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;

14. Section 76 69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.

15. Funeral of Elias Higbee1843 "That which hath been hid from before the foundation of the world is revealed to babes and sucklings in the last days. The world is reserved unto burning in the last days. He shall send Elijah the prophet, and he shall reveal the covenants of the fathers in relation to the children, and the covenants of the children in relation to the fathers." … When a seal is put upon the father and mother, it secures their posterity, so that they cannot be lost, but will be saved by virtue of the covenant of their father and mother" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 320-21

16. Orson F. Whitney "The Prophet Joseph Smith declared and he never taught a more comforting doctrine that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return." (Conference Report, April 1929, p. 110.)