"Write your worries in the sand, carve your blessings in stone"
--- Robert E. Kennedy
If you read my post about the priesthood and the unique authority that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints professes to possess, you may have also heard the beliefs of some who profess that those priesthood keys were never lost. With all due respect, I refer to the Catholic belief that those keys, which the Apostle Peter did indeed possess as the Senior Apostle, were somehow perpetuated through other clergymen following his demise. I admire Peter. I truly do. The things he accomplished despite the trials he faced, both during Jesus' life and thereafter taking the gospel to the Gentiles are incredible. He truly was the one in charge following Christ's ascension. But those keys were lost nonetheless when all the Apostles were killed and no new Apostles took the mantle (See "Apostasy and Restoration"). The succession was broken despite the fact that some local clergy, who did not have keys of their own, survived the persecution. This is a major difference in belief that has existed for as long as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized in 1830 and I don't intend to try to convince you to believe me. If you're as steadfast in this matter as I am, a blog post won't likely do much to change your mind. Nevertheless, this blog post addresses an idea derived from a passage of scripture that aims to paint Peter as the rock upon which the Church was to be built. Now, Peter did a lot for the church, but the Church which I believe to be true has Christ as the rock, not Peter who was a great person, but a man like any other. Today, Christ's true and living Church is once again led by the living Christ and beneath him, living prophets and Apostles who once again hold those priesthood keys that were lost for nearly 1800 years. (See "Prophets and Callings")
**NOTE: If you wish to get in contact with missionaries of the Church to learn more, you can do so at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/missionary-visit
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FIRM FOUNDATIONS
Something positive to be said of Mexican construction is that they are industrious. In the United States, we have complicated edifices of steel I-beam majesties and beautiful wooden artwork. In Mexico, those materials were non-economical and inconvenient. Wood would never tolerate the environment in Mexico. Our bookshelf of pamphlets developed termites and could not withstand the humidity let alone an entire wooden house. Instead, most men took up the task of constructing their own houses with cinder blocks framed by metal rod scaffolding. Families would buy heavy sacks of dry cement, dump it out on the ground, pour buckets of water in them, mix it with gravel and use that cement to stick the blocks together like Legos. It was common to see piles of cement somewhere on every street.
Mexicans in my mission often built their own houses or did their own remodeling. Knowing how to build seemed to be in their blood because they did so in unconventional ways that would never pass our safety regulations but worked nonetheless. Because wood wasn't common, they used any scrap wood they could get their hands on only to make temporary scaffolding or cement molds. It didn’t have to look beautiful, it just had to work. It was both startling and impressive how their DIY construction projects resulted. They held together despite the amateurism with which they were made. You see, it is not the aesthetic appeal that is the most important part of a structure, it is its integrity.
The most important part of an edifice is that which is laid first—the foundation. Matthew 7 presents a parable of a wise man who built his house upon a rock. “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” This is the man who not only “hears” the word of God but also does it (See "Ears to Hear"). On the other hand, the man who does nothing is like a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the same storm did its toll to the house “and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (vs. 27; 1 Nephi 11:36). Both architects took time to build an entire house! We are not told what building materials were used. Only one cared about the ground on which it was built. Only one endured, not because of the building materials but because of the foundation.
THE ROCK OF CHRIST
Spiritual storms are bound to hit all of us from time to time, such is life. But consider where you yourself stand. Like a tree, are you rooted in your faith? Are you immovable? (Mosiah 5:15). Are you unshakable? The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ reflects a similar metaphor but tells us what our solid foundation should be:
“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery, and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)
The rock of which this scripture metaphorically speaks is a testimony of Jesus Christ, or better yet, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (See "Testimonies and Trainers"). It is foundational. It keeps the rest from falling. In Matthew 16, when Jesus is with His disciples near the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, there arises the question of who He is. Says He:
“But whom say ye that I am?’ And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God…” Jesus replies, “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in heaven, And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:13-18)
Let's read that again, "flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee but my Father which is in heaven...and upon this rock I will build my church". This is the rock! A testimony of Jesus Christ to be sure, but more specifically, divine revelation! One cannot fall from the truth if his doctrine comes straight from heaven, not that of “flesh and blood”. Without a link between God and man, the Church would fall. Without revelation, religion would be nothing more than the blind leading the blind (See "What Is Truth? Faith and Science"). The philosophies of man, no matter their good intentions, could never compensate for direct heavenly instruction. I mention this scripture because the rock is all too common in some religions taken to be something else entirely, specifically, that Peter is the rock, not revelation.
Furthermore, here's the thing that follows. The Catholic Church professes to be the original Church which this scripture references and they interpret that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against [the Church]" means that it would never be lost. But this isn't a proper interpretation either. There are many scriptures that prophesy a "falling away" that would precede the Second Coming. Jesus warned of this. And indeed, the wicked slew the righteous, and all Apostles included. While in the end, God would restore the keys and His church and has promised that it will never be taken from the Earth again (See "Return of the King -- Part 2"), this scripture cannot be understood to mean that there would be no Apostasy, because there was! (See "Apostasy and Restoration")
It is true that the name “Peter” comes from the Latin root “Petrus” meaning rock but let it be known that Christ is the rock in reference. It is one of His many names as well as Peter's. When the Children of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years, they were given a mysterious bread-like substance referred to as “manna” that fell from the heavens (“manna” possibly coming from the Aramaic “man hu” translated as “What is it?”). But how were these millions of Israelite refugees to get sufficient drinking water in a desert, and to do so for forty years? Moses even called them “as the stars of heaven for multitude” (Deut. 1:10). The Lord spake unto Moses and Moses went and “lifted up his hand and with his rod, he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank…” (Numbers 20:11; 1 Nephi 17:29). Symbolically, Christ is that rock that was struck on his final mortal day so that “living water” might come forth. (John 4:10-14; 19:34; 1 Cor. 10:4)
How grateful I am for the rock that brings forth living water! Although Peter was the senior Apostle and a valiant and righteous man, Christ is the rock the church is built upon, not Peter nor any other individual. Revelation comes from Jesus Christ through the Holy Ghost to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the church of Jesus Christ, no one else, not even the prophets whom we know directs the church only under revelation from Christ. Without Christ as the foundation and leader of the Church, it would fall. Any other religious institution would be manmade. Because we know the living Christ directs His Church today, we can be confident in the revelation we continue to receive. And more than ever, we need the living Christ, He who rose from the dead and is still alive today to help us through the now and the things yet to come. This is why it is important which Church is true because we need the one that is led by Christ, the one that will bring us back to our Heavenly home.
Ponder Question: Why does this even matter? What might be the concern if one believes that Peter, or any other person, is the rock upon which we should build our faith?
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