Me, too. The thermometer in hell is sinking lower and lower -- Stephen, Steven, John and Marc all agree on something!
Just one anecdote, or more detail about my original anecdote. It was the scripture in Alma (sorry, I'm too lazy to look it up) that JWR referred to which was the one the SP counsellor read to me when he told me why I was being ordained a HP. However, I believe that when you teach from the scriptures, you are merely (?) the mouthpiece for the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. A true prophet, or anyone else exercising his or her office, for that matter, can produce "spoken scripture" from the ingredients of a cereal box if they're so moved upon (no disrespect intended). Or put a more positive way: on another list recently we discussed a scripture in Isaiah which specifically identifies Mt. Zion as Jerusalem, and how this appeared to present a problem with the way it was used by Nephi. We talked a little bit about typological approaches, or helical time, or prophetic future perfect, or whatever you want to call it, but the question came up: did Isaiah necessarily know what he was writing? I don't know, but I believe the door could be left open to the possibility that he didn't know every consequence of what he wrote, or how future prophets would interpret it in their own times. I was reminded of the inscription on the lintel above the entrance to Confederation House, which is today the home to the provincial legislature of our smallest province, Prince Edward Island, but also home to the Charlottetown Conference which laid the groundwork for confederation -- so C'Town is kind of like our counterpart to Philadelphia, you might say, if I have the historical parallel right. At any rate, the inscription reads, "They builded better than they knew." I think prophets, being human, but guided by God, often build "better than they know." But that's a speculation, thrown out just to provoke some meditation. Steven Montgomery wrote: > > > I must confess I haven't thought much about this issue in the past. > However, after reviewing the various posts on the subject I have to come > down on the side of Stephen Beecroft and John W. Redelfs (sorry if I missed > any others?) that the mere office of High Priest is not as important as > being ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. > > -- > Steven Montgomery -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland “We do not think that there is an incompatibility between words and deeds; the worst thing is to rush into action before the consequences have been properly debated…To think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one’s unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action.” – Pericles about his fellow-Athenians, as quoted by Thucydides in “The Peloponessian Wars” Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
