On the Church and the Priesthood

On the Church and the Priesthood Memra Thirty-Two On the Church and the Priesthood, and it is fitting for one of the week: of the Consecration of the Church A Response The sinner who rebelled against you, against your glorious kingdom. Do not separate from him, my brothers. The holy temple the Creator built for the earthly ones, that they might offer in it the worship of love spiritually. The holy temple and the Holy of Holies he established, a sanctuary on earth and a Holy of Holies above in heaven. In the sanctuary of earth he commanded that they purify themselves mystically, and in heaven it is in acts without division. Two modes he distinguished in his incomprehensible knowledge, and he filled them with the wealth of the sacrifice and without end. The dwelling of earth he called the house of sanctuary earthly, and the Holy of Holies for that place which is hidden in height. The sanctuary and the sanctuary show their love to the sons of its house, and teach them how to sanctify themselves mystically. In the sanctuary of his name he desired to make them partners in the work of his hands, in which they are sanctified when they sanctify the name of his holiness. It is not more than the sounds of their sanctifications, for he is holy and in his purity sanctifies the stains. Through causes he draws his own to be like him, that they might become heirs of the glory of his son. In this manner the Creator built the house of sanctuary and the Holy of Holies, and he kindled a fire that they might be purified in it in place of their lives.

To him it is to cease the iniquity of their deeds, and to their freedom he gave authority to justify. To him he appointed apostles for the treasure that is in them, that they might increase the wealth of righteousness as they wish. For the inclination that is in them he made a treasury of glories, that he might adorn himself and his churches with glorious blessings. The deposit of life without end he possessed and confessed, and placed it in the place hidden from the beholders. In secret he showed the hidden inclination that conceals itself in the soul, that the trembling ones might be baptized in it and see its beauty. The seed of spiritual wealth he cast into the earth, that the earthly ones might be enriched by it and the produce of the earth increase. A new path he showed them, that they might pursue his righteousness and tread it with pains, a victor who conquers through the spirit. Like a guide he advanced on the path of life, and led and arrived at the end of perfection. He possessed and confessed to the sons of his race that they might be his, and through his mysteries they might pursue with him in perfection. In his own likeness he taught them to be priests, that he might be in heaven and they on earth mystically. To them he gave a rank greater than the legal rank, and instead of sacrifices he taught them to offer love. He completed the law with the law of the words of his proclamation, and gave priesthood instead of the priesthood that covers all.

He chose for himself twelve priests at the beginning among the tribes, and in place of the people he called all the peoples who were his own. He placed in their hands the power of the Spirit to heal all, and they uprooted error and sowed the truth of the name of the Creator. They suppressed iniquity and purified blemishes through his help, and they taught humanity to cease the iniquity of their deeds. They planted in the earth the mystery of the seal of the lofty kingdom, and with revelations they fashioned the wonders of the future. Through them the word of life was proclaimed among mortals, and humanity began to walk on new paths. They began to minister spiritually, as they received from the high priests of the holy one. They planted his evil and increased in his slumber, and they handed over the order of their deeds to their disciples. In this way he gave priesthood to new priests, that they might be priests for humanity to leave iniquity in the earth. For the remission of iniquity priesthood came to be among mortals, that mortality might always be ready to be healed. The pains of iniquity are born in humanity by weeping, and they are not cleansed except by the medicine of holiness. Humanity cannot walk a path without stumbling, and when it stumbles it is in need of mercies that heal its iniquity. By the afflictions of iniquity mortals are cast down in body and soul, and they need a physician who knows the pain within and without.

to heal the hidden and revealed pain, the priesthood was given, to cure iniquity with spiritual medicine. He is the physician, the priest of mysteries and of revelations, and his medicine is the simple health of body and soul. With the remedy of the Spirit he cleanses iniquity from thoughts, and he removes the pain of sin and clothes in truth. On his lips he expounds the way to knowledge, and like a seeker he examines truth and rejects iniquity. He is an angel of the Lord and a minister of the written word, and through him the service to humanity is fulfilled. Like a limb chosen from the body of his own kind, and like a head he is honored to guide his members. The order of the head fills the limbs and members, and through him humanity is distinguished in iniquity and righteousness. In him they see, as in a mirror, truth and falsehood, and like a display he shows the beauty of the virtues. Like a tongue he interprets truth before learners, and he reveals the power of mysteries before the simple. Spiritual teaching is hidden within his lips, and he constantly sprinkles the dew of mercy on the land of humanity. He multiplies and sows hope, love, and faith, and reaps blessed fruits, full and imperishable. He brings in the hearing of the word of life into the senses of the hearer, and the air resounds with the sound of words of sweetness.

He stirs up the waves for the sake of the sweetness of the life of the dead, and he heals the dead body with the sound of health. Like a sculptor, he carves every hour with the fingers of the physician, so that the physician may not be separated from the born. Like a guide, he shows the way before travelers, so that the dead may travel in the company of the kingdom of life. In the sea of the physician, he steers with his words, and he increases and warns that he may guard the wealth of his soul at all times. In the ship of the Church, he stands and warns the laity by day, and he protects her from the storms of the spirit of the wicked. He is a helmsman who is very skilled in the house of thoughts, and he knows that the course leads to the destination of life without end. With the oars of the spirit, the ships of eloquence, he sets their course for the harbor of the life that is hidden in the height. Because of the hope of future things, he endures labors, and he cuts off every time that perhaps the oil might be lacking in his lamp. He took the talent of the spirit from his Lord for trading, and he is obligated to cast the coin of words on the table of the soul. Or the art of remission of iniquity he learned from the king, that he might not be hindered from the remission of his sins. The treasure of the spirit he dispenses with his hands for distribution, and it is right for him to distribute his resources wisely. His Lord gave him eloquent sheep to shepherd, that he might go and graze in the pastures of the life that are full of spirit.

He is appointed over flocks and lambs and sheepfolds, and over all the measures of men and women and children. For the work of the physician he sets the sign of his calling, to hunt them down: to uproot their error and to sow in the earth the name of the Creator. Go forth, teach, and proclaim, and baptize all the peoples: one being of one Creator, three persons. Names for the guilty one who proclaims with the hands of the physician and glorifies the being of the hidden one from all. For this, priests are placed in the earth to minister, that they may turn the physician from error to knowledge. By one of their words the physician sees the light of life, and by their labors he tastes the taste of the sweetness of truth. Like a mediator he is in the house of God between the physicians, and through him the sacrifices of the self are offered before the Lord of all. Through him the wealth of the spirit is distributed to the earthly ones, and power is given to be strengthened for the work of truth. He opens the door of mercy before the beholders for everyone, and grants forgiveness, removing iniquity from the sons of his race. With water and spirit he seals the being like a firstborn, and removes iniquity and clothes with garments of righteousness. He calls and persuades the hidden power that is beneath his hunting, and establishes the manifest power to give life. They are born again in the form of an embryo, and the power of grace in the form of a seed that gives birth to life.

He washes the body and soul together in the water of baptism, and again he gives birth to them as they are sanctified from defilement. He is the wonder that is with the great flock of the righteous, the desire that the sinners be justified for the sinners. He is the gift of God, the whole that is not comprehended, who distributes the wealth of his mercy to the poor for the poor. He is the command of the great shepherd who rules over every creature, who gives authority to the hands of his servants to be like him. By the hand of the priest he opens his treasure to the penitents, and the priest becomes rich from the treasures of his divinity. He gives the keys of his mercies to the faithful as true ones, and they open at all times the treasure of his mercies through faith. He places the keys of the dead in his lips, and he opens and takes the gate of the hidden things through the tongue of flesh. The priest buries in the water of baptism as in a tomb, and he turns and revives the dead of iniquity to new life. By the power of the Creator he buries the dead and revives the dead, and as from a womb he gives birth to the priest spiritually. He raises spiritual children by the power of the Spirit, and when they are grown he extends the food of perfection. With the food of the Spirit he nourishes the priest bodily, and according to the birth he also gives nurture to those born again. He prepares the living sacrifice at all times before the eaters, and he mixes and gives to drink the power of life to the body and soul.

He sets the table of life and places it before their eyes. He performs the mystery of the body and life with bread and wine. Through the revelations he shows the power of the hidden things, and he reveals the mystery in the consumption of the bread and the drinking of the wine. The bread and the wine see the outer senses, and the hidden movements show the power of the revelations. The priest stands like a tongue for interpretation and proclaims his word, death and life, to the beholders. With bread and wine he shows the body and blood of the King who died for all and lived and gave life to all through his cross. In awe the bodily minister stands and asks for mercy upon himself and upon his kind, who are worthy of mercy. And he calls the Spirit who descended upon him with power from him, that he may give power in the bread and wine to give life. In the bread and wine the mysteries of life begin and become food for the giver of life, the carrier of life. In the name of the Trinity he breaks the three portions and teaches the mystery of the holy sacrifice with the spiritual things. The people answer after his words: Holy, Holy, Holy is the mystery that is hidden from all and revealed from all. And he stretches out his hands and breaks the spiritual bread and marks the pattern of the body and blood of the one who died and was resurrected. With his hands he gives the body of the King to his altars, while he is empowered by the grace to give life.

He gives the bread and says, "The body of the King Messiah," and he gives the wine and makes it the precious blood. O body that is touched by the fire and is not moved, O dead one who, though dead, distributes life. He makes the scattered dust fit for you to receive the fire, and he makes your servant the distributor of life to the wretched. He teaches you to bind the fire in the coverings of flesh, and he examines for you the hidden wisdoms from you. It is not yours to perform these high things from you; it is the power of the help of God who raised your lowliness. He placed in you the hidden power and strengthens your members, and he interprets in you the power of his hidden things through the members of flesh. From his helps he established a gift to give life, and he made dust a treasure of spiritual things for your heart. To the treasure of the spirit the priest of the spirit is made treasurer, and spiritual things are placed in his hands to distribute. The keys of the height are in your heart, O dead one, like a ruler, and he binds and looses with the word of his mouth like a creator. He binds the wicked with the chain of the word of his mouth, and he looses and turns back those who have changed from wickedness. He seals the sign of the power of the creator after his words, and he binds the evil and the good when they have been justified. The great wonder of the great love of God who gave authority to the servant to make his hands resemble him.

His sign alone is sovereign over all creation, and it is his to bind and to loose as he wills. By his goodness he gives it to the children of the church for the authority of his sign, that they may know his love, how much he loves the children of his house. With wisdom he acts when he shares his own with his own, with the causes and the fruits of his own becoming his own. With praises he exalts the man as to the heights, so that by his words the ladder of the rank that bestows life is set. In the name of the priesthood he opens the treasure of his great wealth, so that every man may receive remission of sin through one of his kind. With the sanctity of the height prepared to unite the earthly ones, he gives understanding like the breadth of the confession of his words. In that mystery the dwelling-place makes the priests like the sanctity of the earth, and like a mirror it shows the worth of the future things. Like beacons they are placed on the path to the face of the height, and no man passes beyond them to the destination beyond. The place of light fills the earth for those who are in darkness, and like salt it gives flavor to those who are insipid. At all times they raise up eloquent nets of their words, and they hunt men from death to life. By them the dead of the sin of the grave of their error are revived, and they see the light of the life of the dead in their words.

Through him the dead and the living are distinguished in two abodes, and his authority is preserved by the choice of man and the watchers. He is the judge of spiritual and corporeal beings, and by his sign demons are confounded in the course of their ways. And if the course of their ways is bound by iniquity, as the choice of man prevails who overturned their ordinance. If spiritual angels are distinguished through him, a pure judgment is due to whoever transgresses against him. The debt of love is due to everyone who does not repay him, for on behalf of everyone he seeks mercy from the one who sins against all. To him is entrusted from the hearers the reward of love, that he may administer the provision of spiritual life. As fathers show their love toward their children, and by the nourishment of the spirit they sustain the limbs in place of the members. The pastors of rational sheep are called from the Lord, and according to the seasons also a spiritual order. To him was uttered that daughter of a voice to Simon, that he should pasture sheep and lambs that are rational and flocks. Hear, O daughter of a voice, that choice of priests of the church, and show the love that Simon showed toward the Savior. Pasture splendidly according to the command of the good shepherd, and perform the seasons with the great love that surpasses her love. Behold and seek how by his blood he sacrificed the seasons of man, and on the head of the wood he wrote and freed her from servitude.

He sees how much he suffers from the oppressors for the sake of his flock, and he toils and labors over all the pains that it might not be lost. The evil one of his own accord kindles the love of her lovers, and they follow in the footsteps of the path of her proclamation. The father receives a reward from the king and confesses to those who love him, that with him he may be in the delight of life without end. He knows that her love is true and her creation is wise, and he knows well how to guide his congregations. By the sea he goes to the place where the waves stand, and he also gathers all the wealth of the high kingdom in his hands. And with the judgment of the place that is just, he distributes his wealth, he decrees condemnation upon the oppressors who seized and plundered. If, however, the evil servant who is far from knowledge says, his master comes and pursues his oppression with his hands. Then the servants who are sold for a price more precious than all listen to the word of the liberator of the servitude of the race. Then they are strengthened by the power of the understanding that is hidden in his words, that with the judgment there is also a remission without end. For the good he prepares the reward of the future, and with the rods he casts the lot of the hard sinews. He fears more from his words than from the true ones, and he is not negligent lest he be condemned with the guilty. True is his knowledge and not false is the confession of his words; he is not divided over his possessions lest they be lost.

The priests ought to guard these good things more than anything. How great is the honored rank of the priesthood, more than anything! A priest who knows the will of his Lord and does not act upon it is guilty of the wages of the knowledge he knows, and he is unjust. But if he is unjust, the one who acts unjustly, arrogantly, is unjust to himself, away from the good things that are entrusted to him. He himself rules over the will of the reward of future things, and he is tormented like one who knows and errs. A priest who errs, great is his burden and harsh his toil, and according to his rank, both his abandonment and his exaltation. By the greatness of the rank of the name of priesthood, I desired to enter, and I bore the pain of seeing that it was diminished without knowledge. I marveled when I saw the greatness of the glory of those who triumphed, and I grieved and was embittered against the affliction of those who were humbled. As great as their greatness was above all ranks, so was their smallness, without measure, below all ranks. The treasure of the Spirit was turning for them to guide them, and their foolish shepherds did not know how to discern the power of its greatness. Keys of height were placed in their hands, a hidden sign, and the priests held the bolts, closing the door before intruders. Iniquity of the flesh was appeasing them to hide them, and the iniquity of the hidden ones was better than the stains.

of the wage. The light and salt of the city, the priests, when they give it, and the darkness of its light and the bitterness of its taste through its stewards. To give life to the dead, it gathers and calls, and behold, it is dead through the deeds of the drunkards. The good seed would receive it to cast it into the earth, and the laborers remained from the labor of the word of truth. Against the spiritual sin it was heavy, and the lights slept and the light of their lamps was extinguished. The oil of mercy was lacking from the vessels of their deeds, and they did not take mercy, they did not show and they left wisely. Foolish virgins, they changed the name of the bridegroom to a lack of care, who guarded the body and were not sanctified from defilement. What profit is the man who guards his body in purity if his thoughts are not purified from the stains? What help is the light that bears the name of priesthood if it does not extinguish the deed that is within the name of the outer? The deed is great, the name of priesthood, and not authority, and through deeds he is guilty, the man who approaches her. Paul teaches the rank of her, that as he approaches, so the man who runs after the presbyterate, the deed runs. The priests have wronged the word of Paul with a chosen one, and they have desired authority and they have rejected the labor of raising life. They loved the name because of the love of earthly things, and they despised the ranks of the honorable and honored the filth.

The heavy burden of the wage is more precious than the truth of the weight of the wage. And they adorned it falsely and they mocked the eyes of the beholders. They took a gift that cannot be sold among earthly things, and they took it and offered it for money, a common thing for the poor who are equal. With dead money they did not give the gift that fills with life. And they took the dead who died in sin and they were not absolved. They held the scepter of spiritual things in the hands of fools. And laymen stood at the head of the flock to lead it. A blind shepherd raised his staff against his sheep, and he became a head, a thought hung over the people, a child. A weak shepherd of sheep thought to shepherd, but not the eloquent. And as if to the deaf, he leads the wage among earthly things. The fool saw that the authority of dominion leads in the land, and he began to demand the weights of the age in the likeness of kings. He does not know what the sign of the name of his authority is, nor does the flock know where the pasture is to live. A blind man who is blind from knowledge led the blind, and they began to walk on a path of error without pasture. Without knowledge the fool leads his sheep, and as in darkness he walks on a path without knowledge. His hunt is the completion that is written in the scriptures: that a priest without knowledge is like the people. Priests completed each other with deficient parts, and they lost the way and remained from the course of the hunt for truth.

Also the priesthood, which saw that they had erred outside the order, to hide its sword against the iniquity of their deeds. The iniquity of the gifts and of the bitterness saw and became enraged, and it seized the door of which its compassion is not open, exchanging mercies for them. Outside the door of mercies stands the petition of man, and all mercies are at the face of the door of a secret sign. Come, O man, be pressed upon your iniquity until your life, that you may not be bound in the judgment of a day without end. Come, let us seek a fence of mercies before the priesthood, that your iniquity may be revealed and depart from within its book. The priests were like mediators by their words, and in the likeness of bribery they brought near the pains of their thoughts. It is for them to offer the sacrifices of love and to conceal the iniquity of man and of their congregations. It is for them to open the door before sinners, like treasurers of a great treasure that is not exhausted. They were like a tongue to interpret, and they brought forth the spirit before the judge who examines iniquity. The priest says to his flock this voice: "Return, sinners, that you may find mercy for all your debts." The hope of life he sows at all times in the ears of every man, and he places a remedy beneath the thought for the pains of the soul. He suffers for all and calls out for all like a divider, and he considers his own the pains of his companions in the likeness of Paul.

A writ is written against the debts of the sons of his race, and he is obliged to pay the debt of love to his honor. To the high rank he brought his mercy above his companions, and the skill of his rank shows the labor that saved his name. His name is a test that is set in place of a sign to purify, and it is right for him to entrust his name to the deeds. The money of mercy he distributes in his hands for division, and if he who stands hears the voice, it is the evil servant who acts. Even he who takes the loaf and hides it thinks he has escaped, and his hunt is the sign of the judge hidden in the depth of his words. The evil servant called even his master to his wickedness, so that he takes a bribe and does not give a bribe, as he who takes. To this daughter of the voice, priests, listen discerningly, and cast the money of the word of life into their hearing. Even hearers, receive the seed of their words, so that you are not condemned with the oppressors who took and robbed. In love, listen to the voice of the covenant from their words, so that you are not entangled when you are accused for your debts. With humility, let each one accept the order of his labor, and he will be healed by the physician who set the medicine for his wound. The physician is the priest who heals the pains within the soul, and his hunts it is right that the sick of mind always pursue. The medicine of the spirit knows what is set upon thoughts, and it cuts off iniquity with the iron of divine mercy.

The sick in soul approached the sign of the known ones, and they showed the wounds of their thoughts to the hidden sign. The strong in the path approached the wise, and they set a beautiful course toward the promise of life without end.