Let's See What These People Can Do!

11 months down today!  1 more month and I´m on the downhill slope!

We are starting to see some enthusiasm and excitement from the members here in Guarambaré.  It´s about time!  We´ve been working so hard to get these people going, and finally they´re getting their tails into gear.  Things should be picking up here soon.  The church here is a rented out house, but across the street the church has land where they want to build a big chapel, but there´s some requirements we have to meet first.  We have a weekly attendance at church of about 35 people.  By November, we need to have 70.  If we can accomplish that, they won´t sell the land and will start building the big chapel.  Let´s see what these people (and us) can do!
 

Next Article of Faith:
"We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."
The message here is two-fold.  First, that there was a specific organization to Christ´s church He set up again on the earth during His mortal life.  Second, what exactly was that organization.  This is important to know, because if we have the same organization today, it is a big sign that it is the same church that He established.  The organization isn´t everything necessary - there are authority issues and the like - but it is a major part.  We, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have the same structure that Christ Himself implimented in His organization.  I´ll explain a bit about what each one is, according to my understanding.
Apostle - A special witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  They are men specially called to be full-time witnesses and teachers of the doctrine of Christ.  They are given the authority and power to do so in that office.  They hold all the keys of the priesthood, but only 1 - the prophet - has the AUTHORITY to use them.
Prophet - An apostle - the only Apostle - to whom the authority is delegated (in the form explained in the previous Articles of Faith) to exercise and use each and every key of the kingdom of God.  For example.  If there are 10 cars in a parking lot, all the Apostles physically posess copies of the keys to each one.  All of them can use a few of those keys to use specific cars.  But only the prophet has the authority to use each of those 10 keys to drive each of those 10 cars.  When he dies, another Apostle is called to fill the vacancy and the senior of them (in terms of amount of time called as an Apostle) is designated the new prophet.  In olden times, this position was filled by people like Moses, Noah, Jesus Christ, and Peter.
Pastor - This calling could have a variety of meanings.  I presume that it means anybody who administers to the body of the Church.  They are called to be the authority over a geographical group of saints.  Somebody with a calling in the work of the Lord could be called a pastor.  They may have administrational duties, and the most similar position today would be that of a bishop.
Teacher - A teacher has 2 meanings in today´s terminology.  1.) A teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood.  His calling is to minister to the body of the members and take care of their temporal needs, assuring that there are no problems among the saints.  He also has the authority to prepare the sacrament.  2.) A person called to expound and explain doctrine to a class of people.  A teacher is the greatest calling of them all.  Christ Himself was the master teacher, and one would do well and be privileged to become a skilled teacher.
Evangelist - I don´t remember where exactly, but in one talk in the Church magazines I remember reading that a patriarch is a modern-day evangelist.  A patriarch is a very specific calling.  They, among other things, bless the people and reveal to them specific doctrine and direction concerning their own lives directly from Heavenly Father.  According to the faith of the person and their dilligence, these things spoken in a blessing by a patriarch can come to pass and lead you in the right direction in life during times of difficulty or indecision.

Each of these entities exist in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today.  That is because it is the same Church that existed primitively, as stated in the Article of Faith.  It is the same Church that Jesus Christ newly established and perfected in His life, and it continues fully and wholly in operation today.  Follow it :)

-Elder Moore