Chapter 1
The Priesthood
Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father.
—Alma 13:6–9
The concept of priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is unique and perhaps confusing for those who are unfamiliar with it. Even many members of the Church who accept, love, and appreciate the priesthood may find themselves “fuzzy” on the doctrine and principles. Perhaps that is because the term priesthood is used in at least two ways. First, priesthood is the term used to describe the total power and authority of God. Second, priesthood is also the term used to describe the power and authority that God gives to ordained priesthood holders on earth to act in all things necessary for the salvation of God’s children.1 This second usage is the widely accepted definition of the priesthood. For example, Preach My Gospel defines priesthood as the authority and power that God gives to man to act in the name of Jesus Christ in all things for the salvation of mankind.2 Thus, the same word, priesthood, refers both to God’s total power and authority and to that portion of His power and authority that He delegates to man on earth.
Linguistically, some terms can be used to refer to a larger whole as well as to a part. Consider the term earth, which can mean both the planet on which we reside and the topsoil we push around in gardens. Certainly, the planet Earth encompasses garden topsoil, but garden topsoil does not encompass the planet Earth. Context usually makes the meaning clear.
Similarly, context usually makes the meaning of the word priesthood clear. However, misunderstandings can arise when people in and out of the Church equate priesthood ordination with the total priesthood power and authority of God.
God holds unlimited, unbounded, and unending power and authority. He has delegated some of His authority and power to ordained priesthood holders on earth—specifically, that which is necessary to bring about the salvation of mankind. The offices of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood do not constitute all of God’s priesthood, His total power and authority. Brigham Young taught that there are many aspects of God’s total priesthood power and authority that are not delegated to men on earth. He said:
It is supposed . . . that we have all the ordinances in our possession for life and salvation, and exaltation, and that we are administering in those ordinances. This is not the case. We are in possession of all the ordinances that can be administered in the flesh; but there are other ordinances and administrations that must be administered beyond this world. I know you would like to ask what they are. I will mention one. We have not, neither can we receive here, the ordinance and the keys of resurrection. . . . This is one of the ordinances we can not receive here [on the earth], and there are many more.3
Indeed, we may wish that Brother Brigham mentioned other things besides the keys of resurrection. He does, however, allude to other authority and power retained by God—the authority and power to produce bodies and spirits, create kingdoms, and organize matter. Referring to these statements by Brigham Young, President Spencer W. Kimball said that “we talk about the gospel in its fulness; yet we realize that a large part is still available to us as we prepare, as we perfect our lives, and as we become more like our God.”4
We must, therefore, recognize that God has conferred only a portion of His total priesthood power and authority. This concept is illustrated graphically in Figure 1, which demonstrates the relationship between God’s total priesthood power and authority and that portion of His power and authority that He has delegated to man on earth through priesthood ordination.
Figure 1.
Consider that God’s total priesthood power and authority is represented by the entire sphere, both the spherical segment or cone and the remainder of the sphere, with the radius of the sphere being infinite. God delegates and confers a portion of His authority and power to ordained priesthood holders on earth, represented as the cone. Since the radius of the sphere is infinite, the volume of the power and authority represented by the cone is also infinite.
All blessings come from God’s total priesthood power and authority. Priesthood power and blessings, by that expanded definition, have been and always will be available to all who qualify for them, without restriction based on gender, birth order, or lineage. This principle can readily be seen from multiple examples in which God’s power was manifest at a time when conferred priesthood did not exist on the earth. Many spiritual and devoted individuals complied with laws that govern reception of God’s blessings, without having received any priesthood ordination. Christian reformers such as William Tyndale, Martin Luther, and John Calvin received God’s power as they translated the Bible and participated in other inspired activities.
Even after the Great Apostasy, God was not “snoozing” until the priesthood was conferred on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829 (Doctrine and Covenants 13).5 Before and after the Reformation, God blessed men and women, Protestants, Catholics, and non-Christians by His priesthood power and authority as they prayed and lived according to the light and knowledge they received.
Joseph Smith originally accessed God’s priesthood power and authority without priesthood keys and without conferred priesthood authority. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith after his sincere prayer before priesthood keys had been restored to the earth. The Book of Mormon was translated in part by the gift and power of God before Joseph Smith received any priesthood ordination. What power, then, did Joseph Smith have access to? The only answer is God’s priesthood power and authority.
The same is true today, although the keys of the priesthood are on the earth. People who are not members of the Church or who do not hold conferred priesthood pray and receive answers, exercise faith, and are healed. Those who live God’s commandments are blessed.
Through revelation, there is much we know about the power and authority God has delegated to men through priesthood ordination.6 We know that priesthood keys must necessarily function within the context of God’s total priesthood power and authority. All priesthood keys for the earth are held by Jesus Christ, and the priesthood conferred upon mortal men was anciently named after Him: the Holy Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God (Doctrine and Covenants 107:2–3). This is why ordained holders of the priesthood act in the name of Jesus Christ. In this role, a priesthood holder performs ordinances that will be recognized by God as valid. Conferred priesthood authority also includes the right and responsibility to preside within the organizational structure of the Church. Through priesthood keys, God governs His Church. By conferred priesthood authority, the gospel is preached and the ordinances of salvation and exaltation for both the living and the dead are performed.
Priesthood is the conduit for obtaining revelation in the Church, the channel through which God reveals Himself and His glory, His intents and His purposes. Although men and women both receive revelation through God’s priesthood power for their specific stewardships and responsibilities, the Melchizedek Priesthood holds “the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:19–20).7 Through those who hold priesthood keys, the mind and will of God for His people as a whole are conveyed. When priesthood is employed by His servants on His errand, it functions as if by the Lord’s own mouth and hand (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38).
But there are still many things we do not know about priesthood power and authority. For example, why does God restrict His delegation of power and authority? Today only fifteen men have received all priesthood authority and keys, and only one on earth, the President of the Church is authorized to direct the use of those keys in their entirety.
In fact, there has never been a time in the history of the earth when priesthood ordination has not been restricted to specific individuals, groups, or tribes. It has never been given to all of God’s children.
In ancient Israel, firstborn males were hallowed to the Lord at the time of the Exodus (see Numbers 3:13). Later, those of the tribe of Levi were substituted for these firstborn males, to have charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle and to do the service of the tabernacle. Aaron and his sons were designated the priests that officiated in the tabernacle (see Numbers 3). Non-Levites could not be priests or even hold the Levitical Priesthood.
After the Babylonian captivity, the children of priests whose genealogies were lost were denied priesthood ordination (see Ezra 2). It is reasonable to suppose that they were just as worthy as those who could prove their genealogy, yet they were prevented from officiating as priests. How can this disparate treatment be reconciled? We really do not have a complete understanding. However, it is important to remember that while the tribe of Levi and the descendants of Aaron were the ones ordained to the priesthood, all of Israel benefitted equally from the ordinances God prescribed.
For a time in this dispensation, black men of African ancestry were not permitted to be ordained to the priesthood. Why? The Church offers this statement on the matter:
The gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. The Book of Mormon states, “black and white, bond and free, male and female; . . . all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33). This is the Church’s official teaching.
People of all races have always been welcomed and baptized into the Church since its beginning. In fact, by the end of his life in 1844 Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, opposed slavery. During this time some black males were ordained to the priesthood. At some point the Church stopped ordaining male members of African descent, although there were a few exceptions. It is not known precisely why, how or when this restriction began in the Church, but it has ended. Church leaders sought divine guidance regarding the issue and more than three decades ago extended the priesthood to all worthy male members. The Church immediately began ordaining members to priesthood offices wherever they attended throughout the world.8
Recently the Church also made the following statement on this subject: “The origins of priesthood availability are not entirely clear. Some explanations with respect to this matter were made in the absence of direct revelation and references to these explanations are sometimes cited in publications. These previous personal statements do not represent Church doctrine.”9
Importantly, Heavenly Father through the priesthood offers His eternal promises to each of His children. All have equal access in the end to His love, power, blessings, salvation, and exaltation. In that regard, God is no respecter of persons (see Acts 10:34; Doctrine and Covenants 38:16; Moroni 8:12; Doctrine and Covenants 1:35). As quoted partially in the Church’s official statement, Nephi said:
“For he [the Lord] doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile” (2 Nephi 26:33).
Some criticize the Church today because women are not ordained to the priesthood and therefore do not “hold” the priesthood. How can this disparate treatment of men and women be reconciled? Again, we really do not have a complete understanding; however, women in the Church frequently exercise priesthood power and authority, though they are not ordained to priesthood offices.
Consider four ways in which this is so. First, through a setting apart by an authorized priesthood holder, women have priesthood authority to use in their callings in their wards and branches throughout the Church. They have all the authority they need to fulfill their callings and stewardships. What authority do they have? As Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught:
We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, but what other authority can it be? When a woman . . . is set apart to preach the gospel as a full-time missionary, she is given priesthood authority to perform a priesthood function. The same is true when a woman is set apart to function as an officer or teacher in a Church organization under the direction of one who holds the keys of the priesthood. Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing her or his assigned duties.10
Second, women gain access to the power and blessings of God through receiving priesthood ordinances and making covenants. Power comes from making and keeping baptismal covenants. Power comes from receiving the Holy Ghost. Power comes from making and keeping temple covenants. The power of godliness is thereby manifest in women’s lives (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:20–21). As Elder Neil L. Andersen said, “The blessings of the priesthood are infinitely greater than the one who is asked to administer the gift.”11 LDS women who diligently make and keep covenants experience priesthood power in their lives.
Third, faithful women invite the blessings of heaven independent of priesthood ordination. The blessings of God’s total priesthood power and authority are available to LDS women throughout the world. When miracles occur in a woman’s life in the absence of conferred priesthood, she has complied with conditions to be blessed by God’s total priesthood power and authority. Women tap into God’s priesthood power and authority through faith and prayer. Women who pray and act in faith have regular access to God’s priesthood power and authority. President Russell M. Nelson issued a plea to the women of the Church12 to be the kind of women “who know how to make important things happen by their faith” and “who know how to call upon the powers of heaven.” Women throughout the Church “speak with the power and authority of God” and demonstrate their faith by accepting and magnifying callings, serving missions, raising children, praying for guidance, and acting on the impressions from the Holy Ghost. Their faith gives them access to the powers of heaven to resist temptations, act in charity and goodness, build families, improve communities, and establish the Church.
This third way is complementary to, and not a substitute for, blessings received through conferred priesthood authority. It is not an “alternative” pathway to priesthood blessings to be used instead of those that are accessed through conferred priesthood.
Fourth, a woman participates in the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood through temple sealing to a worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holder. Exaltation and eternal life in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom are achieved only as the fulness of the priesthood is attained through building and achieving an eternal marriage. The highest intellectual and spiritual development of both men and women is to become as God is. Becoming as God cannot be achieved by men alone or women alone. Only through the sealing ordinances of the holy Melchizedek Priesthood, performed in the temple of the Lord and ratified by the Holy Spirit of Promise, and through faithful, righteous living can a man and a woman join in an eternal marriage unit wherein they may attain a fulness of the priesthood and exaltation together (see Doctrine and Covenants 132:18–19). All blessings, benefits, and inheritances of the Melchizedek Priesthood are equally shared and achieved by husband and wife if they keep their covenants and live in love, harmony, and cooperation in the Lord.
“Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19–20).
God offers to all His daughters multiple opportunities to have the fulness of His priesthood and to receive eternal power and blessings. This is where equality really matters. For some, the questions surrounding why God directs that only men are ordained to priesthood offices may be all consuming. They may feel that for God not to be a “respecter of persons” He must delegate tasks equally. However, participating in eternal equality before God is infinitely more important than being equally delegated earthly tasks.
Even with this understanding, some may still find the issue of women and priesthood ordination troubling. But the time will come when those who remain faithful to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ despite their concerns will be blessed beyond measure. In the Lord’s own time and in His own way, we will gain a clear understanding of His purposes. When that happens, we will all recognize that God has treated us with greater fairness, mercy, and compassion than we deserve or could have imagined.
The highest and greatest expression of priesthood power and authority is in the family. Families are integral to our loving Heavenly Father’s plan; consequently, the interaction between priesthood and family is intertwined. Without the priesthood, the purpose of creation, the purpose of the earth itself, would come to naught. Without the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the sealing authority, “the whole earth would be utterly wasted” at the time of the Lord’s Second Coming (Doctrine and Covenants 2:3). Without the priesthood and the welding link provided by the sealing authority, everyone would have “neither root nor branch,” neither ancestry nor posterity (Malachi 4:1).
Heavenly Father’s plan and His greatest desire is to have all of His children return to Him, saved from death and sin and exalted as families. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” states: “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”13
A correct understanding of God’s plan helps us understand that both priesthood and family are necessary. In the ideal family, the husband and father presides in righteousness and uses the priesthood to bless the lives of his family members. Originally, priesthood was inherently patriarchal, and priesthood lineage was the same as a patriarchal lineage. God did not first create a church; He created a family. Later, God inspired prophets to organize a structure outside of the family, intended to support families. Then, priesthood outside of patriarchal lineage began.
For example, the seventy elders of Israel, spoken of in Exodus (24:1–11) and Numbers (11:16–25), appear to have performed a priesthood function that extended beyond their own families. The lesser judges to whom Moses delegated power performed priesthood functions beyond their own families (Exodus 18). Similarly, priesthood was used within a Church structure when Alma organized the Church of Christ at the Waters of Mormon (see Mosiah 18) and later organized units of that Church throughout the land of Zarahemla.
And it came to pass that king Mosiah granted unto Alma that he might establish churches throughout all the land of Zarahemla; and gave him power to ordain priests and teachers over every church.
Now this was done because there were so many people that they could not all be governed by one teacher; neither could they all hear the word of God in one assembly;
Therefore they did assemble themselves together in different bodies, being called churches; every church having their priests and their teachers, and every priest preaching the word according as it was delivered to him by the mouth of Alma.
And thus, notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church, yea, even the church of God; for there was nothing preached in all the churches except it were repentance and faith in God.
And now there were seven churches in the land of Zarahemla. And it came to pass that whosoever were desirous to take upon them the name of Christ, or of God, they did join the churches of God;
And they were called the people of God. And the Lord did pour out his Spirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land. (Mosiah 25:19–24)
What is the role of the priesthood in the home when the priesthood exists without being tied to a patriarchal line? The priesthood holder should become a better husband and father as he incorporates the doctrine of the priesthood into his life. The principles that are necessary to use the priesthood are the same principles that will help a man be better at home.
A priesthood holder will learn that presiding in the home means that he serves in accordance with the doctrine of the priesthood. His life will be “founded on the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ,” and he will, with his wife as an equal partner, establish a home built on “principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activity.” He will seek to minister; he will acknowledge error and seek forgiveness; he will be quick to offer praise; he will be considerate of family members’ preferences; he will feel the great weight of responsibility to provide “the necessities of life and protection” for his family; he will treat his wife with the utmost respect and deference. He will listen to understand the challenges facing each family member and then go about helping in the manner the Savior would. He will bless his family.14
Notes
1. Handbook 2: Administering the Church (2010); section 2.0.
2. Preach My Gospel (2004), 44.
3. Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (1854–86), 15:137. Other statements by Brigham Young in this reference include:
“And when our spirits receive our bodies, and through our faithfulness we are worthy to be crowned, we will then receive authority to produce both spirit and body. But these keys we cannot receive in the flesh.
“We have not the power in the flesh to create and bring forth or produce a spirit [with all the vaunted knowledge of the experts in the world, this has not been given to man]; but we have the power to produce [with the help of God] a temporal body [for our children]. The germ of this, God has placed within us. . . . Herein, brethren, you can perceive that we have not finished, and cannot finish our work, while we live here [on the earth], no more than Jesus did while he was in the flesh.
“. . . fashion kingdoms [or] organize matter, for [that is] beyond our capacity and calling, beyond this world. In the resurrection, men who have been faithful and diligent in all things in the flesh, [who] have kept their first and second estate, and [are] worthy to be crowned Gods, even the sons of God, will be ordained to organize matter. How much matter do you suppose there is between here and some of the fixed stars which we can see? Enough to frame many, very many millions of such earths as this, yet it is now so diffused, clear and pure, that we look through it and behold the stars. Yet the matter is there. Can you form any conception of this? Can you form any idea of the minuteness of matter?”
4. 4. Spencer W. Kimball, “Our Great Potential,” Ensign, May 1977.
5. See Terryl Givens and Fiona Givens, The Crucible of Doubt: Reflections on the Quest for Faith (2014), 87.
6. Man, however, cannot take such priesthood power unto himself; it must be conferred by God through His servants (see Hebrews 5:4; Doctrine and Covenants 1:38). Unauthorized use of the priesthood is invalid, sinful, and frequently punished (see the examples of Korah [Numbers 16], Miriam [Exodus 15:20; Numbers 12], Uzza [1 Chronicles 13:10], Saul [1 Samuel 13:5–14], Uzziah [2 Chronicles 26], and Sceva’s sons [Acts 19:13–17]).
7. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 108–9.
8. Official statement released by the Church on February 29, 2012, titled “The Church and Race: ‘All Are Alike Unto God.’” Church News, March 3, 2012, 5; accessed at http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/race-church. See also www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng.
9. Ibid.
10. Dallin H. Oaks, “The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 2014.
11. Neil L. Andersen, “Power in the Priesthood,” Ensign, November 2013.
12. Russell M. Nelson, “A Plea to My Sisters,” Ensign, November 2015.
13. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, November 2010.
14. Ibid.