The Priesthood is Taken Away from the Israelites

Today I read Exodus 34 where God commands Moses to make new tablets of stone and bring them to Him so that He can give Moses the law again.  God tells Moses that it will not be the exact same as before.  Joseph Smith restores some text that was lost where God tells Moses that He will give Moses a carnal law to give the children of Israel and that He will take His Priesthood out of the midst of the people.  This is a very real and severe punishment but the gravity of it might not come across right at first to some of the people.

Holding the Priesthood of God, the very authority and power that Jesus Christ used to create the world and universe around us is a fantastic privilege.  It is the highest honor a man can hold in this life in my opinion.  Now, some non-LDS readers might cry foul that it is not offered to women but let me first clarify that this is a decision made by God Himself, not the Prophets and Apostles.  Who are you to tell God what to do with His own authority and power?  Secondly, these arguments about equality and fairness to women fade away if you understand what the Priesthood is.

The Priesthood is a call to serve.  It is a ticket to a life of service.  The Priesthood cannot be used to bless your own life in any way shape or form.  The only way a Priesthood holder can use his authority to bless his own life is by using his Priesthood properly to bless the lives of others and by so doing Heavenly Father will bless him.  But that is it.  A Priesthood holder cannot perform any ordinances for himself.  He cannot bless himself.  If we are sick and in need of a priesthood blessing we have to ask another Priesthood holder to bless us.  We cannot baptize ourselves or perform any life saving ordinances beyond the sacrament.  My personal thought, which I have shared on here before, is that women don't need the push in the right direction to serve like men do.  They will serve on their own and are even able to perform one of those ordinances necessary for salvation for themselves.  God has a profound love for His daughters and takes care of them.  Men on the other hand need the Priesthood to help them serve and take care of Heavenly Father's children in the proper way.

So even though it may not seem like it, removing the Priesthood from the common man of the Israelites is in fact a BIG deal.  Entire generations of men were not able to receive the blessings that come from holding the Priesthood in righteousness and using it to bless the lives of others.  Such privilege was limited to the tribe of Levi.  The people made their choice and they did not choose God.  And as we said just the other day, God will not be mocked!  Until tomorrow.