Ensign, ‘I have a Question,’ OCTOBER 1973; “Why was it necessary for Elijah to be taken into heaven as he was? Are there other prominent persons who did not taste of death—and do we regard Moses as being translated instead of dying?
Since Elijah and Moses were foreordained to perform earthly ordinances before the death and resurrection of Christ, it was necessary that they retain their physical bodies beyond the natural time of their lives. President Joseph Fielding Smith has written:
“When Moses and Elijah came to the Savior and to Peter, James, and John upon the Mount, what was their coming for? Was it just some spiritual manifestation to strengthen these three apostles? Or did they come merely to give comfort unto the Son of God in his ministry and to prepare him for his crucifixion? No! That was not the purpose. …
The Prophet Joseph Smith has explained it as follows:
“‘The priesthood is everlasting. The Savior, Moses, and Elias [Elijah, in other words] gave the keys to Peter, James, and John on the Mount when they were transfigured before him. The priesthood is everlasting—without beginning of days or end of years; without father, mother, etc. …
Because Christ was the first resurrected being, any prophet who had to perform earthly ordinances before his resurrection had to be preserved in the flesh. Thus, the Lord preserved Moses and Elijah in the flesh so they could confer the keys they held upon Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration.
John the Beloved and the Three Nephites were translated and are still fulfilling responsibilities given to them. Enoch and his entire city were translated and caught up into heaven, to return to this earth at the second coming of Christ. There have also been others, such as Alma, who have not “tasted death.”
…The Prophet Joseph Smith discussed the doctrine of translation, a power whereby men are preserved in their tangible, physical bodies, in the following words:
“Many have supposed that the doctrine of translation was a doctrine whereby men were taken immediately into the presence of God, and into an eternal fullness, but this is a mistaken idea. Their place of habitation is that of the terrestrial order, and a place prepared for such characters He held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets, and who as yet have not entered into so great a fullness as those who are resurrected from the dead.” (Documentary History of the Church, vol. 4, p. 210.) Alma P. Burton, professor of Church history and doctrine, Brigham Young University” – Richard Lloyd Anderson
1 Timothy 4:1; “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”
And so they did. The warning from the apostle Paul couldn’t be any clearer. There have definitely been some who’ve departed from the faith, and taught doctrines of demons. Most unfortunately, we see this in the teachings of Joseph Smith and those who still choose to follow his lead.
Here are the problems with this teaching –
1.The priesthood is everlasting, but it’s held by just One Person; Jesus Christ.
2.Where in the Bible does it say people go to live on other planets?
3.From whom did Smith receive the authority to declare the Bible is incorrect?
4.The Bible says Moses died and was buried in Moab – Deut. 34:5.
5.No city of Enoch was ever translated.
6.The apostle John died c. 100 AD in, or near Ephesus
And why would Prophets pass on a Priesthood that they were not members of?
Well…when you don’t want to accept that you don’t hold the priesthood, the next logical step would be to pass it on to others who aren’t qualified. 😉
It never ceases to amaze me that people will follow blindly in a religion without doing research. Even if the person grew up in this faith, such as yourself, they still should research all aspects of it. I did this with my faith in my early 20’s after I left home. I went to different churches and compared what their doctrines were with the Bible. This was way before the Internet in the early 1970’s so it took a long time.
Unfortunately, the Mormon faith has the Melchizedek Priesthood all wrong. Using the Bible, the earliest reference is in Genesis 14. The other reference is Ps. 110. In the NT, there are references in the Book of Hebrews. It refers to Jesus and there is no lineage as the Mormons claim. It also refers to the New Covenant superseding the Old Covenant.
As a result, there is nothing to ‘pass on’ to anyone and the LDS can’t claim to belong or ‘have’ this priesthood. There is only one Priest in the Order of Melchizedek and that is Christ Jesus.