Article of Faith #6

#6 "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."

That is exactly what every missionary goes out and preaches to the world.  That we have the exact same organization in this church as did Christ when he organized the true gospel while he was on the earth. 


I am going to break down each word to make it more understandable.


Organization:

Mosiah 18:17, 20

"And they were called the church of God,

or the church of Christ,

from that time forward.

And it came to pass that whosoever

was baptized by the power

and authority of God was added to his church.

Yea, even he commanded them

that they should preach nothing

save it were repentance and faith on the Lord,

who had redeemed his people."

Premitive Church:

3 Nephi 27:3-7

"And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.

 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?

 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;

 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake."

Apostles:

3 Nephi 12:1

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am."

Prophets:

"The work of a Hebrew prophet was to act as God’s messenger and make known God’s will.  He taught men about God’s character, showing the full meaning of his dealings with Israel in the past. It was therefore part of the prophetic office to preserve and edit the records of the nation’s history.  It was also the prophet’s duty to denounce sin and foretell its punishment, and to redress, so far as he could, both public and private wrongs. He was to be, above all, a preacher of righteousness. When the people had fallen away from a true faith in Jehovah, the prophets had to try to restore that faith and remove false views about the character of God and the nature of the Divine requirement."
From the Bible Dictionary

Pastors:

This is the same things as a Bishop. 
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
have bishops to lead and guide the church locally.
 
Teachers:
Mosiah 23:17

" And it came to pass
 that none received authority
 to preach or to teach except
it were by him from God.
Therefore he consecrated
all their priests and all their teachers;
and none were consecrated
 except they were just men."

Evangelists:
"In popular usage throughout Christendom,
an evangelist is one who proclaims the gospel. 
However, in latter-day revelation
an evangelist is defined as a patriarch."
From the Bible dictionary