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Mormonism

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Clarity and more information
While Joseph Smith taught that any person with a testimony of Christ may have the spiritual gift of prophecy, the LDS Church remains a hierarchical organization. At the head of the organization is the President of the Church who Mormons believe is a [[prophet]] in the mold of the Old Testament prophets, such as Moses. This President is usually assisted by two "counselors," who, along with the President, form what is called the "First Presidency." Most members of the LDS church believe that their current president, Russell M. Nelson (as of 2018), is the sole person authorized to speak definitively for God on the earth today. Below this "First Presidency" is the "Quorum of the Twelve Apostles" who are also considered "prophets, seers, and revelators," but who do not exercise the prerogatives of leadership held by the President of the Church, who has "final say" in all matters. This First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles constitute the highest leadership bodies in the LDS Church and Mormons believe they hold and exercise the "keys of the kingdom" as Jesus promised Peter. Beneath these are the various "Quorums of the Seventy" concerned with heading up Mormon missionary efforts and representing the leadership of the church to the various members throughout the world. Along with the First Presidency and the Twelve APostles, the Seventies are referred to as General Authorities as they are considered to have authority over the entire church in general. The "Presiding Bishopric" oversees the temporal needs of the LDS Church and manages its massive welfare programs. <ref>All Utah LDS priesthood offices are limited to men; the Community of Christ, on the other hand, ordains both men and women (since 1984).</ref>
A local Mormon congregation, called a "ward" (equivalent to an Orthodox parish), is headed by a "bishop" (equivalent to an Orthodox parish priest). A group of wards occupying a specific geographical area is organized into a "stake" (equivalent to an Orthodox diocese), headed by a "stake president" (equivalent to an Orthodox bishop). The disparity between Mormon and Orthodox usage of "bishop" can cause confusion for the uninitiated!
Another source of confusion is An important point to understand that all Mormon males above age 12 who attend church regularly and live the Mormon use of church's moral guidelines are ordained into an office in the word "elderLDS priesthood." While Orthodox Christians use "elder" to refer to a holy person who has been At 12 young men are ordained Deacons and given a special gift of spiritual insight responsibilities in distributing the bread and direction water used for holy communion to the congregation (but who is Mormons do not necessarily a priest, or even a malegenerally use wine.), Mormons use this term to refer At 14 young men are ordained as Teachers and have responsibilities to a specific office in prepare the "Melchizedek Priesthood," the higher of their two "priesthoods" (the "lesser" priesthood is referred bread and water for blessing as well as distributing it to as the "Aaronic Priesthood")congregation. "Elder" is the lowest office in this higher priesthoodAt 16 young men are ordained as Priests and are given, and is generally held by along with all male members over previous responsibilities, the age of eighteen deemed "worthy" of it (authority to baptize and bless the vast majority)holy communion.
Generally, at 18, Mormon men are ordained as Elders. While Orthodox Christians use "elder" to refer to a holy person who has been given a special gift of spiritual insight and direction (but who is not necessarily a priest, or even a male), Mormons use this term to refer to the first office in the "Melchizedek Priesthood." Along with all previous responsibilities, it is at this time Mormon young men go on a preaching mission for two years where they try to convert everyone who will listen to their beliefs. Elders also have the authority the the LDS Church to bestow the gift of the Holy Spirit, oversee church meetings in the absence of a bishopric, anoint and bless for healing, bless children, bestow the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods, and ordain men to the offices of deacon, teacher, priest, or elder. "Patriarch" also has a different usage for Mormons than for Orthodox; instead Christians. Instead of referring to the chiefest of bishops a sit does among the Orthodox bishops, this the term "patriarch" is used by Mormons to describe an office in the higher Mormon priesthood mostly concerned with the giving of special "patriarchial patriarchal blessings" to church members. Mormons believe that patriarchal blessings declares a person’s lineage in the house of Israel and contains personal counsel from the Lord to that person, something of a personal revelation from God through the Mormon patriarch. As Mormons believe their patriarchs declares the will of God, if not His exact words, in these blessings they equate patriarchs with the biblical term evangelist.
===The "Doctrine of Eternal Progression"===
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