Questions Regarding John The Baptist

[Prodigal_Son]

Hey, just doing some studying and can't quite piece a few things together. I know that there are scholars here who might just have the missing info I'm seeking. So here goes:

WJS-- "... Zacharias pleading with the Lord in the temple that he might have seed so that the priesthood might be preserved. (p.67)."

Luke 1:15-- "...and [John the Baptist] shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

TPJS-- "An angel of God also appeared unto Zacharias while in the Temple... [John the Baptist] was called of God to preach the Gospel of the kingdom of God. The Jews, as a nation, having departed from the law of God and the Gospel of the Lord, prepared the way for transferring it to the Gentiles. (p. 272-273)."

D&C 84:28-- "For he was baptized while he was in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power."

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Okay, I'm just trying to get a handle on what's happening here, so bear with my questions and thoughts...

-- When Joseph says Zacharias was praying for the preservation of the Levitical (Aaronic) Priesthood, was he simple referencing his own blood lines, or is it possible that Zacharias and Elisabeth were the last righteous Levites to pass along the Priesthood??? (I draw this notion from the seemingly extraordinary circumstances which John is being born into - and from that third quote I included from TPJS)...

-- Am I right to assume that John's gift of the Holy Ghost was abnormal? Why else would Gabriel (Noah) bring it to his attention - save it be that this was NOT the norm? Or is it possible that being a pure-blooded Levite entitled you to that privilege from birth???

-- Now, regarding the D&C Passage: So he literally had an angel of God come down and set him apart as the Predecessor To The Savior? And wouldn't ordination imply that this is a "priesthood advancement"?

Thanks, all.

Edited November 3, 2008 by Prodigal_Son

[Wingnut]

To answer your first question...I don't know. But now that you bring it up, I'm really interested. By that time, Jerusalem had been taken captive several times, and many of the House of Israel carried off into other lands, causing the tribes of Israel to be scattered. This was prophesied due in part to the unrighteous choices of the people as a whole. I suppose it's possible that so many of those carried off didn't have the Priesthood because (1) they weren't Levites, and (2) they were unrighteous. If that were the case, then it sounds plausible to me that Zacharias might have been in a "last man standing" type of position.

I'm going to be thinking about this now. Very interesting.

On your second question. I think that it's indicative of John's being foreordained, even from the womb. Or it could have something to do with the specificity of John's calling. It made me immediately think of Acts 19 (the story...although it took me a little while to find the actual reference). Paul was visiting with some disciples, and he asked them if they'd received the Holy Ghost yet. They basically tell him they've never heard of such a thing, that they were baptized "unto John's baptism." John's assignment/mission in life was to baptize people, and prepare the way of the Lord. He baptized people by water, not by the Spirit. But we know (as evidenced by the scripture you quoted) that he had the Holy Ghost himself, he just wasn't authorized to confer that gift on others.

That's the Gospel of Wingnut, chapter 12, verse 6-16. Hope you enjoy!

[Prodigal_Son]

...bump...

[a-train]

-- When Joseph says Zacharias was praying for the preservation of the Levitical (Aaronic) Priesthood, was he simple referencing his own blood lines, or is it possible that Zacharias and Elisabeth were the last righteous Levites to pass along the Priesthood???

McConkie thought so. He said "he was the last legal administrator, holding keys and authority under the Mosaic dispensation." (Mormon Doctrine p 393). The Hight Priest at the time of Jesus was Caiaphas who actually participated in Christ's public humiliation and reproach. I would say the answer is yes, but I can't say we know for certain that there were no other worthy Levite priests alive.

-- Am I right to assume that John's gift of the Holy Ghost was abnormal? Why else would Gabriel (Noah) bring it to his attention - save it be that this was NOT the norm? Or is it possible that being a pure-blooded Levite entitled you to that privilege from birth???

Certainly I've not seen any other examples of persons born with the gift of the Holy Ghost.

-- Now, regarding the D&C Passage: So he literally had an angel of God come down and set him apart as the Predecessor To The Savior? And wouldn't ordination imply that this is a "priesthood advancement"?

I think the angel gave to him the ordination to the calling specifically mentioned, his priesthood was by birth.

-a-train