Quote:
Originally Posted by california_ave
D&C 13.1: 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. Was Christ's sacrifice the end and put an end to blood sacrifice? Does the "offering" of the Son of Levi referred to in Malachi and repeated by John the Baptist necessarily mean the same kind of OT "offerings", that is a blood sacrifice. How do we reconcile these? |
Many in the Church, including leaders, have opined that this means there will again be blood sacrifice, at least one time. I don't see this at all. D&C 13 specifically states that the Priesthood is restored "until" the sons of Levi offer up a righteous offering. That harkens back to the ancient blood sacrifices, but it doesn't say that.
Note Oliver Cowdery's recounting of this same prayer. He says that John (the Baptist) said something like "THAT the sons of Levi may offer up etc." One meaning of the word "until" is "to the end that" or "for the purpose that". This usage was much more common in the early 19th century, and agrees perfectly with Cowdery's recounting. If we accept this idea, then what John the Baptist said is that the Aaronic Priesthood is being restored TO THE END THAT the sons of Levi offer up a righteous offering.
And what is the righteous offering that has been required of us for all time, and more specifically since Christ's mortal ministry? A broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Behold the reason for the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood!
IMO. YMMV. LDS RM NFL QB.