The sixth Article of Faith reads: We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He set up His church in the way He desired it to be. He had twelve apostles who helped Him with preaching the gospel and administering to the needs of the people. He gave us the sacrament. He gave us all the basic tenants of the gospel. He showed us how He wanted it to be administered.
When He appeared to Joseph Smith and told Joseph to reorganize the Church, He explained how it was to be done. The organization of the Church we have today is the same organization Christ Himself set up while on the earth. We follow His example and His original church in the ways our church operates today.
This is one of the reasons that scholars of Christ’s original church find themselves drawn to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They can see that we have not deviated from the course set by Christ Himself two thousand years ago.
The seventh Article of Faith reads: We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
As members of the Church, we believe that not only do these gifts actually exist, but that we can have access to them through our faith and our desire to stay close to the Spirit from which they come. We believe in personal revelation, the ability God has to speak with His children in this day and age, and we believe that we can and are healed from various physical and emotional ailments. These things are not elements of fiction, but are present every day in the lives of His followers. As we trust Him and show evidence of that trust through our actions, His blessings cannot be restrained from following after us.
Related Blogs:
The Organization and Destiny of the True and Living Church
Do Mormons Think They Have the Only True Church?