Levitical Priesthood & Sacrifices
Exodus 28:1; “And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.”
Numbers 3:2-3; “And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office.”
As we see in God’s word, He gave Moses & Aaron specific directives of who would serve as priests in the temple. The mandate included that only the sons or those born into the line of Aaron were qualified.
How did these people offer sacrifices if they weren’t from the line of Aaron? If they were Israelites and truly following the Law they’d know they weren’t qualified to offer anything in the temple.
When Mormons tell you they could do this because they were part of the Levitical Priesthood you can show them from God’s word why they couldn’t possibly be part of the Levitical Priesthood because as the Book of Mormon says the Nephites came from the tribe of Manasseh.
The Levitical Priesthood was made up of men from the line of Levi and more specifically those who were from the line of Aaron. Obviously, both Moses and Aaron were descendants of Levi.
Descendants of Levi weren’t allowed to be landowners because God told them He was their inheritance and their food supply came from the offerings made at the temple, prepared by fire. They were also given as payment the first-fruit of textiles, food, oil and wine. (Deut. 18:1-5).
Do you see the significance of how Jesus fulfilled the Law in just this example? While there were many ways in which He fulfilled the Law, this example is a great one to show your Mormon friend/loved ones.
He was the first-fruit
He was the offering
He came from the line of Levi
He alone holds the Levitical Priesthood
Also important to point out is Numbers 3:10; “And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest’s office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.”
So how could the Nephites perform sacrifices without dying?