"SIGNET IN THE NAME OF THE LORD"

            [Article from the August, September 2011 edition of the church publication, "the green olive branch"]

The Green Olive Branch is A Publication Promoting The Original Teachings Given to Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration. Come All Who Are Called To Be Latter Day Saints, Join In The Grand Effort To Gather The Scattered Tribes Of Israel With Those Of The Gentiles Who Shall Enter Into The New And Everlasting Covenant And Together Establish Zion,   A New Jerusalem And It’s Righteousness.

  Kings Appoint Ministers             

Throughout history kings have appointed men to be their chosen ministers. They would, in specific instances, give them the full power and authority of the throne to accomplish their assignments. It was sort of like giving someone a Power of Attorney in our day and age to act in our stead.  In doing this, one of the ways a King would let all concerned know that the minister was acting with the authority of the king was to furnish them with his signet ring which contained his royal seal, thus empowering his acts with the full weight and authority of the Crown.

Pharaoh gave Joseph authority to act in his name and use his royal seal!

“And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there in none so discreet and wise as thou art; Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee; and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”  Genesis 41:39- 44

King Ahasuerus gave Haman AND LATER Mordecai authority to act in his name!

 “And the king [Ahasuerus, king of Elam] took his [signet] ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy. And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. . . in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.” Ester 3:10- 12

Later King Ahasuerus stripped Haman of his authority and gave the signet ring to Mordecai who was a Jew and the Uncle of Ester the Queen of Elam.

Zerubbabel the king of Judah WAS given authority to act in THE NAME OF GOD

Zerubbabel was the King of Judah when a remnant of Jews returned from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem after the seventy years of exile and captivity.  

“In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet; for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2: 23

The King of Kings

Our Heavenly Father gave Jesus power from on high. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Matthew 28:17 “And lo, he heard a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him” Matthew 3:46

There is one King with more authority than all others who is above all other Kings. God endowed him with all power. He is the very Holy Spirit of Truth in the flesh who came and redeemed mankind from sin to bring us back into the presence of our Father in Heaven. There was power in his name because it was the good pleasure of the Eternal Father to honor his son in whatsoever was asked in righteousness in his son’s name.

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  John 14:13

The Lord, in turn delegated authority or his “power of attorney” to his authorized and called priesthood. This authority is granted to his ministers to perform all required divine ordinances and all necessary and righteous acts to bring his covenant children into a state of sinlessness, righteousness and grace. This is not to say that every minister called is to the same task or endowed with the same power, for they are not. The authority and ministry of a Priest or Deacon is different than that of an Elder or High Priest, but even though having different functions, they are all commanded to move toward the same purpose and objective, thus advancing the cause of the kingdom and to move the individual and the church toward Zionic perfection. Jesus said, “Ye are therefore commanded to be perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.”  Matthew 5:50

Jesus made it plain that those who were to serve the cause of the kingdom had to be called as the Apostles were called.  “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit; and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” John 15:16

There has been and still is a misconception among those who feel a desire to serve God, but no man should be so presumptuous as to interject himself as a priesthood member when he does not have a call from God. And oftentimes we are critical of those who are called. We cannot see the potential of a man, God can. God looks at the innermost man and chooses his priesthood.

Jesus in speaking to his Disciples in general and the Apostle Peter in particular said, “. . . I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:20

This power of the Father that was conferred upon his Son, Jesus [all power], was in turn delegated [by measure] to his ministers giving them authority to act in the name of and with the authority of the Great King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.  Micah prophesied the kingship of Jesus from the advent in Bethlehem 716 years prior to the birth. “But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he [the anointed savior] come forth unto me that is to be ruler [king] in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he [the Lord] give them [Judah] up, until the time that she [the church of Christ] which travaileth hath brought forth; then the remnant of his brethren [the Jews] shall return unto the children of Israel, [Zion, the ten tribe kingdom of Israel]. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.”  Micah 5:2- 4

The great prophet Isaiah 732 B.C.E. before the advent called the child that was to be born of Mary, “The mighty God, The Everlasting Father.” “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there is no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6, 7

The angel [Gabriel] said unto Mary . . . “thou shalt conceive, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel; how can this be? And the angel answered and said unto her, Of the Holy Ghost, and the power of the Highest. Therefore also, that holy child that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:30- 35

Jesus upset the Jewish establishment and they were desperate to know how to control his influence among the poor who were dissatisfied with their leadership. They were fully aware that many miracles had been and were being performed in his name. They feared the influence this would have upon the Jewish population and attempted to silence those who used the name of Jesus in their healing and other miraculous ministries.

Peter and John had just healed a crippled man who had been crippled all his life and they had just been successful in converting seven thousand souls to the Church which caused the religious leaders of Jerusalem much alarm.   “And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them [Apostles Peter and John] in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.” Acts 4:6- 9

The promises of Jesus to his followers were many concerning the power of his name.

“And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover;” BoM Mormon 4:87

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject to us through thy name.” Luke 10:18

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:12, 13

The Doctrine and Covenants bears out the power of the name of Jesus

We are commanded by the Doctrine and Covenants to, “Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness; and as many as repent, and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” D&C 16:4e

We are called to know by what name we shall be called at the last day. “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made, ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters: For behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him, and have become his sons and his daughters. And under this head ye are made free; and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given, whereby salvation cometh, therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God, that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this, shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ. And now, it shall come to pass that whosoever shall not take upon them the name of Christ, must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God.” Mosiah 3:8- 13

“Yea, all those who were the true believers in Christ, took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians, as they were called, because of their belief in Christ, who should come; and therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.” BoM Alma 21:45

May each of us strive to glorify the Holy name of Jesus Christ in all that we are,  all that we do, and in all that we say, for it was he that gave his earthly life as an offering for our sins and it was he who has redeemed his covenant people to eternal life. And it was he who gave his ministers authority to perform the ordinances and sacraments IN HIS HOLY NAME. ■