Introduction

Foundations and Doctrine of the Priesthood

The doctrine of the priesthood shall
distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

—Doctrine and Covenants 121:45

Imagine that man is given a special piano when he is ordained to the priesthood. The musical output from the piano represents priesthood power. Consider that the piano keys sense both conferred priesthood authority and righteousness. Righteousness is not synonymous with perfection, but the term implies that the priesthood holder is making every reasonable effort to be worthy of the priesthood he holds. If the piano keys sense both the man’s conferred authority and his righteousness, the depression of a key is coupled with a hammer that hits a string and produces a musical note. If either conferred authority or righteousness is missing, the key strike is uncoupled from the hammer, and no sound results.

When a priesthood holder is first issued his special piano, he is not able to play a piano concerto. In fact, his authority is restricted to only some keys, such as the middle register. Later, as he receives more priesthood authority, more piano keys become available to him, until he has access to the entire keyboard. Regardless of how many keys he is authorized to play, initially, the music is simplistic and occasionally cacophonic. But as he continues practicing over and over, the music improves. Eventually, the result is a piano concerto.

Like the imaginary piano, the powers of heaven are delicate. To be effective in gaining access to them, we need to learn and apply a set of principles that govern the use of Heavenly Father’s delegated power. In other words, it takes practice and self-control to be a world-class priesthood holder. God does not expect a priesthood holder to play piano concertos right away or even to understand how the special piano works. But He does expect a priesthood holder to exercise the priesthood he has been given and over time become adept at handling that power. This process involves understanding the doctrine of the priesthood. As the priesthood holder uses his priesthood authority and power, he comes to understand the doctrine of the priesthood. During the time of learning, our Father will make the priesthood holder’s exercise of priesthood power adequate for the task at hand.

The doctrine of the priesthood, referred to in Doctrine and Covenants 121:45, includes a revealed set of principles governing the use of the priesthood. As one exercises priesthood authority, these principles become more and more natural. Over time, using these principles, a priesthood holder behaves more like the Savior and becomes more trustworthy in using the priesthood.

A foundation for understanding priesthood must be built before discussing the doctrine of the priesthood.1 Therefore, the first section of this book addresses these fundamental questions:

• What is the priesthood?2

• What is the purpose of the priesthood?

• What are priesthood offices and keys?

• What are oaths and covenants generally, and what are the oaths and covenants that are specifically associated with the priesthood?

• What are the commandments associated with the oath and covenant of the priesthood?

The second part of the book discusses the doctrine of the priesthood, or the set of principles governing the use of the priesthood. These principles derive from a revelation to Joseph Smith in 1839 recorded as Doctrine and Covenants, section 121. The Lord states that many are called to His work but few are chosen because they do not learn this one lesson: “That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:36).

This should come as no surprise. Priesthood is God’s power, a portion of which is delegated to man, for the salvation and exaltation of Heavenly Father’s children. To use God’s power, the priesthood holder must be worthy, align his will to God’s, act in faith, and function in accord with His established principles.

Some of these principles are explicitly stated in the revelation (Doctrine and Covenants 121), including:

• Impairment of priesthood authority occurs when “we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion . . . in any degree of unrighteousness” (verse 37).

• The proper exercise of priesthood authority must be learned. Few naturally act properly because “it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority . . . they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” (verse 39).

• The proper exercise of priesthood power or influence is maintained only by “persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge” (verses 41–42). Force is out of the question. Only Christlike attributes are used in its exercise. Proper priesthood influence is dependent on the agency of those upon whom and for whom the priesthood is exercised.

• Only the Holy Ghost should prompt and authorize a priesthood holder to reprove or chasten another, and then only with clarity and focus. Thereafter, the priesthood holder must clearly demonstrate that the main reason for the correction is love of the individual (verse 43).

In addition to these explicitly stated principles, the Lord also makes it clear that the prime motivation for the priesthood holder in his exercise of priesthood must be charity, or the pure love of Christ (see Moroni 7:47–48). So, in addition to understanding the connection between the rights of the priesthood and principles of righteousness, the Lord exhorts the priesthood holder to be motivated by charity. He says:

“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45; emphasis added).

The promised blessings that come from exercising priesthood authority in this way are explicitly stated: the priesthood holder’s confidence will wax strong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the priesthood will distill on his soul. The priesthood holder can be confident in the presence of God because he behaves more like Christ; he is more dependable and predictable. Heavenly Father can begin to trust him as He trusts Christ Himself. Nephi, the son of Helaman and the brother of Lehi, was such a priesthood holder. Christ said to him:

Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.

And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. (Helaman 10:4–5; emphasis added)

Nephi qualified for the blessing of having confidence in the presence of God because he demonstrated consistently that his will was aligned with God’s and that he would not ask for anything that was contrary to God’s will. This did not happen at the beginning of Nephi’s ministry, but after Nephi was tested and tried and had demonstrated his worthiness.

This pathway toward gaining the confidence of God is the key that unlocks the meaning of the doctrine of the priesthood distilling upon one’s soul as the dews from heaven. In what way would principles governing the use of the priesthood distill on the soul? Why would the Lord use the term distill to characterize the process?

Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in the volatility of the components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is not a chemical reaction; rather, it is a physical separation of compounds. It is used to increase the purity of a desired component. For instance, water is distilled to remove impurities. Distillation of fermented solutions has been done since ancient times to produce distilled beverages with a higher alcohol content.

Applying the concept of distillation to the doctrine of the priesthood suggests that in exercising priesthood authority in the proper way, a man incorporates Christlike attributes into his soul, pure and simple. The impurity that melts away is the “natural-man” tendency inherent in every priesthood holder. His tendency to act contrary to the doctrine of the priesthood is supplanted by pure motives and righteous conduct. In this way, the dews from heaven come drop by drop into his life.

As a priesthood holder exercises priesthood authority in the right way, those aspects of his life that naturally seek to maintain authority without regard to the powers of heaven are discarded. Those parts of his nature that seek to use authority for personal gain are discarded. Those parts of his nature that seek to use force, guilt, or intimidation are discarded. Over time, all that is left of his soul are Christlike attributes that allow him to naturally use the priesthood in the proper way.

For this set of principles to be incorporated into one’s soul, the priesthood must be used. The exercise of priesthood authority is the “heat” that distills the priesthood holder’s soul. He will not naturally understand these principles by reading a book or theorizing about them in a class or seminary but by practicing them. When the doctrine of the priesthood has been incorporated into spiritual DNA, when it has distilled on the soul as dews from heaven, then this blessing comes: “The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:46, emphasis added).

When the blessings flow “without compulsory means,” the proper exercise of priesthood authority becomes natural. God’s authority is used in God’s way. Thought of in this way, the doctrine of the priesthood is not a grand, unifying doctrine that is unknown to most. It is not mysterious, unknown to all but the most experienced and righteous, or reserved only to those in the leading councils of the Church.3 The doctrine of the priesthood is simple. It informs the priesthood holder how the priesthood is to be used. We need not assume that the principles discussed are the only ones that constitute the doctrine of the priesthood. But the principles taught in the following chapters will assist a priesthood holder to increase his confidence before God and become a natural priesthood holder, becoming like our Father.

Notes

1. Definitions of the priesthood. There is no difficulty in finding definitions for the priesthood. The Guide to the Scriptures indicates that the priesthood is “the authority and power that God gives to man to act in all things for the salvation of man (Doctrine and Covenants 50:26–27).” The priesthood is God’s authority and power. It is given to men on earth to implement Heavenly Father’s plan for the salvation and exaltation of His children.

Joseph Smith defined priesthood as “an everlasting principle” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith [1976], 157) and as a “law of theocracy” (ibid., 322).

2. The doctrine of the priesthood. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use of the word doctrine was in the twelfth century in vernacular French and in Latin. The meaning of doctrine has evolved over time, ranging from a piece of instruction, a lesson, or precept; a body of instruction or teaching, a belief, theoretical opinion; a dogma, tenet. Doctrine in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could be applied to political and religious ideas—for example, the doctrine of the equality of all men, the Monroe doctrine, and the doctrine of the sacred Trinity. A definition of the word that might be most applicable to its use in Doctrine and Covenants 121:45 is “a body or system of principles or tenets.”

3. Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught, “This doctrine of the priesthood—unknown in the world and but little known even in the Church—cannot be learned out of the scriptures alone. It is not set forth in the sermons and teachings of the prophets and Apostles, except in small measure. The doctrine of the priesthood is known only by personal revelation. It comes, line upon line and precept upon precept, by the power of the Holy Ghost to those who love and serve God with all their heart, might, mind, and strength” (“The Doctrine of the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 1982). The assertion made in this book is to the contrary. Rather than being little known in the Church, the doctrine of the priesthood is known. It has been revealed in scripture. Apostles and prophets have taught and continue to teach it. It is the set of principles that govern the use of the priesthood. The practical application is what must be learned through revelation, as the doctrine must be experienced to help us become like God.