The Biblical word "elder" means "old one." The average worldwide life span for a male is currently 66-years. So why does the LDS Church call 19-year old teenagers "Elder" after merely going through the Melchizedek Priesthood Endowment Ceremony?
by 
Mister IT has a Liahona equipped COAT
ANSWERS: 5
-
Elder is a title reflective of priesthood office. It's no different than a priest being called "Father" despite the assumption that he is celibate.
-
If you're using the biblical word, use the biblical average lifespan--back then it was around 30 years, making 19 middle-aged and close enough to 'elder'
-
the Levi Priesthood...many Levi's but not all Levi's were priests...had other qualifications and duties... but the elders of the early bodies in Christ were to be of specific "specifications" and had specific duties to help tend the "teachers" (pastors) flock...read in NT what was required....I believe they were to be of 1 wife, godly children, good man, etc. so, it would be kinda of hard for a 19 yr. old to be this in the community ..but the OT priesthood that Melchizedek organized was of the priestly line of Levi, they were born into but not all were priests..lots had duties such as sanitation, policing, etc....
-
SHORT ANSWER: It's an absurd practice that can lead to Mormon Male Arrogance. LONG ANSWER: Just giving someone the label "Elder" doesn't make them one. This Mormon practice is obviously ridiculous. It's a blatant attempt to stroke the egos of young men and "puff them up" to believe that they have a wisdom, knowledge, and power that is greater than unendowed young men. I have seen humble, clear thinking, normal young men turn into arrogant uppity know-it-all jerks after getting the label "Elder" from the LdS Church. And this pattern has been noted by other Mormon Studies Scholars as well. It is clearly a key - if not THE key - factor in the phenomenon known as "Mormon Male Arrogance". One of the greatest and easiest changes that the LdS Church could make to reform itself is to drop this absurd, and patently unBiblical practice.
-
actually there is no such thing as the melchizedek priesthood endowment ceremony, it is not necessary to be endowed to hold the melchizedek priesthood. as for your question why do we park in driveways and drive on parkways? also since a majority of the members of the priesthood reside in the aaronic priesthood (young men 12 to 18) a 19 year old would be there elder or as the dictionary on my mac defines it, "a person of greater age than someone specified"
RELATED QUESTIONS
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC