Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)

Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)

Within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, priesthood is described as "the power and authority delegated by God to act in His name for the salvation of His children" [1], including the performance of sacred rites and ordinances, and the performance of miracles. A body of priesthood holders, usually of the same office, is referred to as a quorum.

The term priesthood denotes elements of both power and authority. As a power, priesthood includes the power to perform miracles. Latter Day Saints believe that the Biblical miracles performed by prophets and apostles were performed by the power of the priesthood, including the miracles of Jesus, whom Latter Day Saints believe is the source and head of the eternal priesthood order.

As an authority, priesthood is the legitimizing stamp by which a person may perform ecclesiastical acts in the name of God, or to hold clerical positions in the church. Latter Day Saints believe that acts (and in particular, Ordinances) performed by one with the priesthood are recognized by God and are binding in heaven and in the afterlife. In addition, Latter Day Saints believe that leadership positions within the church are legitimized by the priesthood authority.

Orders of Priesthood

Various forms of Latter Day Saint theology have recognized at least three orders of priesthood: (1) the Aaronic, (2) the Melchizedek; and (3) the Patriarchal Priesthood. Although these are different orders, they are, in reality, all subsumed under the priesthood held by Jesus Christ, that is, the Melchizedek Priesthood.

The Aaronic Priesthood (also called the Levitical Priesthood), is considered to be a lesser priesthood tracing its roots to Aaron the brother of Moses through John the Baptist. In Latter Day Saint theology, it derives from the original Holy Priesthood which Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery received on May 15, 1829, when they were ordained by an angel identifying himself as John the Baptist. [2] In 1835, Smith and Cowdery clarified that this authority was the "Aaronic, or Levitical priesthood".[3]

By early 1831, Latter Day Saint theology also recognized a higher order of priesthood, or the high priesthood. This high priesthood had been foreshadowed in the Book of Mormon, which referred to men holding the unique position of high priest in the church organization described in that book, holding the "high priesthood of the holy order of God" (Alma 4:20, Alma 13:8); however, the office of high priest was not implemented in early Mormonism until some days after Joseph Smith, Jr. was joined in his ministry by Sidney Rigdon, a newly-converted Church of Christ minister from Ohio, who merged his congregation with Smith's Church of Christ. Rigdon believed the teachings of the early Mormon missionaries who converted him, but thought the missionaries were lacking in heavenly power. [4] Therefore, the church's first High Priests were ordained at a special conference held on June 1831. [5]

By 1835, Latter Day Saints began referring to this High Priesthood as the Melchizedek Priesthood, or, the "Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God" [6]. This priesthood was so named, according to a revelation, because Melchizedek "was such a great high priest" and "..out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name..." [7] This priesthood was thought to be the order of priesthood held by Jesus, and a distinction was made between the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, which derives in part from the Epistle to the Hebrews, whose author argues that Jesus arose "after the order of Melchizedec, and not...after the order of Aaron." (Heb. 7:11).

Although there were generally considered to be only two orders of priesthood during most of life of Joseph Smith, Jr., toward the end of Smith's life on August 27, 1843, he referred to a third order of priesthood called the Patriarchal Priesthood.[8] This one of the "3 grand orders of priesthood” was second in greatness between the lower Aaronic and the higher Melchizedek.[9] The priesthood included, according to Smith, the "keys to endowment—tokens, etc.", the ability to "walk with God", and the authority of the "order of prayer".[10] Smith taught that this order of priesthood was passed from father to son, and held by Abraham and the biblical patriarchs.[11]. However, Smith provided little further information about this third order. Although Smith instituted an office of Patriarch in the church, most modern Latter Day Saint denominations classify the Patriarchal priesthood as an office within the Melchizedek Priesthood, rather than a separate order.

Calling and ordination

According to Latter Day Saint doctrine, to exercise priesthood power or authority, a person must (1) be called by God, (2) be ordained or endowed with priesthood power, and (3) receive the necessary priesthood keys, either through ordination to an office or through delegation or setting apart.

Calling to the priesthood

Latter Day Saints believe that as a prerequisite to receiving the priesthood, a person must be called to the priesthood. When a person is called, it is the person's opportunity or destiny to hold the priesthood. See Matthew 22:14 ("Many are called but few are chosen"). There is some disagreement among the various Latter Day Saint sects as to the manner by which a person may be called to the priesthood; however, there are at least four possibilities expressed in Mormon scripture: (1) calling by prophecy, (2) calling through lineage, (3) calling by foreordination, or (4) calling through faith and good works. In addition, a person's calling through lineage or foreordination may be revealed by prophecy, and a person's faith and good works may identify him as one who was foreordained; thus, these categories are far from mutually exclusive.

Calling by prophecy

Despite the existence in Mormon doctrine of other means by which a person could be called to the priesthood, the most common and standard means by which a person is said to have been called to the priesthood is "by prophecy". In his The Wentworth Letter, Joseph Smith, Jr. stated, "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy...to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof." (See also Fifth Article of Faith.)

In the early church, many callings came as direct scriptural revelations by Joseph Smith, Jr.. Since Smith's death, most Mormon denominations consider a person to have been called by prophecy when someone within the church hierarchy, who holds the priesthood, is inspired by the Holy Spirit that the person should hold the priesthood.

Right to the priesthood through lineage

In some situations, Latter Day Saints believe that a person may also be called through their lineage, so that they have a legal right to a priesthood office by lineal succession. For example, Doctrine and Covenants 68:16-21 states, "And if they be literal descendants of Aaron, they have a legal right to the bishopric, if they are the firstborn among the sons of Aaron." In addition, Joseph Smith believed in a Patriarchal Priesthood (or Abrahamic priesthood) that descended from father to son, and was held by Joseph Smith, Sr. See, e.g., Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sec. 6, pp. 322-323. One who has the right and calling to hold these positions through lineage must still be ordained by the church hierarchy before officiating in the office.

Calling by foreordination

Latter Day Saints also believe that a person may be called to the priesthood by foreordination. The Book of Mormon refers to priests that were "called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works." (Alma 13:3). In Joseph Smith's Book of Abraham, Abraham was said to be called to the priesthood in this way:

Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born. (Abraham 3:22-23.)

It is generally believed that those who were foreordained to the priesthood earned this right by valiancy or nobility in the Pre-mortal life. It is by prophecy that a person's foreordination is thought to be revealed. Latter Day Saints, however, do not believe in predestination, and therefore believe that foreordination is a destiny, but not an immutable destiny. A person can lose their foreordination through sin.

Calling by faith and good works

Many Latter Day Saints believe that a person may be called to the priesthood through their faith and good works. This view is based primarily upon the Book of Mormon, which states that "it was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God". (Ether 12:10). Similarly, in the Book of Mormon's first detailed discussion concerning the calling and ordination of high priests, the scripture states, "And this is the manner after which they were ordained—...they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling.... And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith." (Alma 13:3-4). In a similar vein, the earliest sections of the Doctrine and Covenants contain statements such as "if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work" (LDS D&C 4:3) and "whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God" (LDS D&C 6:4).

The gift of the priesthood and ordination to a particular priesthood office

In addition to being called by God, Latter Day Saint theology holds that a person must be given the priesthood power by one who previously holds it. While calling represents a general call to exercise priesthood authority or power, a person is not thought to actually possess the priesthood to which they have been called until it is formally conferred or endowed to that person through a sacred ceremony.

Mormons generally understand priesthood power to be given in one of two ways: (1) as part of an ordination ceremony, or (2) through the Endowment ceremony (a minority view). After a person has received the priesthood power a person may be ordained numerous times to various particular offices within the church.

The requirement of priesthood succession

Very early in his ministry, Joseph Smith, Jr. began to advocate the position that priesthood does not come directly from God through the Holy Spirit, as many Protestants believe, but through a line of direct or apostolic succession. Thus, Latter Day Saints generally believe that priesthood originates with Jesus, and is passed to others through a line of succession. Only one who holds the priesthood can pass it to another. Thus, in 1829, Smith and his associate claimed that the Aaronic Priesthood was given to him by John the Baptist, who was thought to have authority through the lineage of his father Zacharias, who was an Aaronic priest. Later, Smith also claimed to have received the Melchizedek Priesthood from the Apostles Peter, James, and John, who were given their authority by Jesus.

Gift of the priesthood through an ordination ceremony

The most common and well-recognized manner through which a Latter Day Saint receives the priesthood is as part of an ordination ceremony. Typically, in an ordination ceremony, before a person is ordained for the first time to a particular office such as elder, teacher, or priest, the person performing the ceremony will "confer upon them" the Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood.

Gift of the priesthood through the Endowment ceremony

While most Latter Day Saints recognize that priesthood may be conferred as part of an ordination ceremony, some feminist Mormons understand the Endowment ceremony to be an endowment of priesthood power. In the washing and anointing portion of the Endowment ceremony, men are washed and anointed (by men) "to become kings and priests", while women are washed and anointed (by women) "to become queens and priestesses". Later in the ceremony, both men and women are clothed in the "robes of the priesthood" and "prepared to officiate in the ordinances of" the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods. Thus, it has been suggested that the Endowment ceremony was recognized as an endowment of priesthood power to both men & women, although not an ordination to a specific priesthood office. (Hanks, 1992). This view was expressed in 1884 by Eliza Snow, president of the Relief Society, who stated:

Is it necessary for sisters to be set apart to officiate in the sacred ordinances of washing, anointing, and laying on of hands in administering to the sick? It certainly is not. Any and all sisters who honor their holy endowments, not only have right, but should feel it a duty, whenever called upon to administer to our sisters in these ordinances, which God has graciously committed to His daughters as well as to His sons; and we testify that when administered and received in faith and humility they are accompanied with almighty power. (Snow, 1884).

Ordination to particular priesthood offices in the church through the laying on of hands

After a person has received the priesthood, they may be ordained numerous times to various particular offices within the church. This takes place by the laying on of hands. The ordination to a particular office, such as priest, teacher, or elder, represents a more specific call to perform a particular priesthood duty within the church, and a person may be ordained to numerous offices during their lifetime, depending on the needs of the church.