November 13 – Hebrews 7:1-4; “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.”
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This passage of scripture may seem out of the blue with no meaning, but if you really study Melchisedec from Genesis and Hebrews, it’ll give you a better idea of what is going on here. He never passed on his priesthood to anyone because he was without a father and had no one to inherit it from or pass it down to. Share this with the Mormon in your life and compare it with what they know about him.
Also, there was no church in ancient days. What is the deal with “to avoid the too frequent use of the name of the Supreme Being”? Who gave this priesthood the name Melchezidek Priesthood so they wouldn’t use God’s name too much? Where did Joseph Smith receive this instruction and does it line up with the Bible?
Noah was not a priest so how could he pass something down to someone when he didn’t have it to begin with?
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“For Latter-day Saints, there is no mystery surrounding Salem’s king. We know him to have been a great high priest after whom “the church in ancient days” named the priesthood in order to avoid the too frequent use of the name of the Supreme Being. “Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God” (D&C 107:3-4). Melchizedek received his priesthood through the fathers from Noah and in turn conferred that same priesthood upon Abraham (D&C 84:14). It is the priesthood, not Melchizedek, that is without father and mother, without beginning of days or end of years (Joseph Smith Translation, Hebrews 7:3; D&C 84:17).” Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism[Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1999], 150.
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