Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Refuse Not the Faithful

Reading:   Numbers 18:1-7

It's hard to imagine any sin or iniquity associated with holy office so when I came across a verse that seemed to claim exactly that, well, a curious concern blossomed and I had to investigate...

NUMBERS 18:1
1 And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.
What does it mean to "...bear the iniquity of the sanctuary?" My thoughts seem to gravitate toward the importance of protection.  Bearing the responsibility of protection over the tabernacle was an immense undertaking - the priceless artifacts and value of the tabernacle was imeasureable in that it was a needed tool for the washing away of sin and if it were defiled or destroyed there would be no other means of cleansing ones soul.  So, if it were destroyed or removed from functionality for any reason, the responsible party, they that were tasked with protection of the sanctuary, would have to bear the iniquity of its loss.

In regards to "...[bearing] the iniquity of your priesthood," again, if we understand that with great power brings great responsibility, it is simple to deduce that holding the priesthood power and refusing or ignoring promptings to use it would incur consequence.  When someone is in need of a blessing, for whatever purpose, it behooves all with priesthood authority to willingly offer or accept the responsibilty of delivering the desired blessing; denying the needs of the faithful is an open act of defiance toward God.  Could you imagine an entire priesthood body openly refusing to prepare, bless, and serve the sacrament, absolutely not, it would be an open act of refusing others the blessings of the atonement - unheard of - equally so would be refusing to bless someone in their time of need, a sure form of iniquity in the eyes of God.

~Kipling

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