Mormon theology includes a conception of
the priesthood, or power and authority of God. The
priesthood is fundamental to Mormonism's claim as the true and restored gospel
of Jesus Christ. Mormons recognize that without the priesthood,
their Church would not be the great force for good and the great source
of truth that it is.
Jesus Christ is the original
source through which mankind has possession of the priesthood. He established
His Church while He lived on the earth, and He bestowed His authority
in leading the Church and blessing the people upon the heads of His
apostles. Yet this was not the first time that the world had received
such a boon. In previous eras God shed His light upon chosen men including
Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. These prophets each played a
role in receiving divine teachings and authority and sharing them with
others. They each gained a commission from God to establish Christ's
Church on the earth, allowing the people of their respective times to
be saved through faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Each time the Church has been thus established on the earth is
known to Mormons as a dispensation.
Mankind is fallible. People
tend to forget the Lord, especially when they have been blessed with
prosperity, and they begin to pridefully neglect and even injure one
another. They cease to keep God's commandments, they kill off anyone
who remains true to the faith, and they cause the priesthood to be lost.
In Mormonism this falling away from the truth is called an apostasy.
Such a state of human affairs necessitates, in the Lord's due time,
the eventual emergence of a new dispensation. Man is called on to awake
from his sinful sleep and reconcile himself to God, gradually regaining
the needful communion with Deity that is truly the only way to happiness
or lasting prosperity. The priesthood is granted by heavenly messengers
to the people of the earth, and they may keep and enjoy it for as long
as their humility and faithfulness endure.
Following the ascension of
the resurrected Savior came an apostasy so great, so universal, that
the world was plunged into a period known, tellingly, as the Dark Ages.
The apostles, the bearers of Christ's priesthood, were martyred, along
with many others who strove to remain true to the pure gospel. Corruption
set in, and new religious organizations emerged without divine sanction
or authority. The Church of Jesus Christ and the priesthood of God were
completely gone within the first few centuries A.D. (For a listing of
scriptural prophecies pertaining to this event, see Apostasy of the
Early Christian Church.)
The Dark Ages were fraught
with spiritual ignorance, misconception, and intolerance. Entire nations
were suppressed by wicked leaders. Yet some individuals tried to make
the best of what was available; religious reformers such as John Calvin,
Martin Luther, and John Wycliffe earnestly studied the scriptures and
arose to combat the crooked institutions of the day in an attempt to
regain divine truths. These men were inspired by God to initiate a revolution
of religious ideas. A movement—a desire for God's truth—began. This
was a necessary condition for the restoration of the Church of Jesus
Christ to be possible. Another necessary condition was eventually met
in the rather unique religious tolerance of America.
It was thus under such conditions
that Joseph Smith, Jr. found himself in the early 1800s in
upstate New York. He and his siblings were raised by deeply spiritual
parents who understood the importance of study of the Bible, prayer,
and faith in Jesus. Their community, however, was abuzz with religious
conjecture and contention. Various denominations competed for proselytes
and contradicted each other on an endless variety of doctrinal issues.
The young Joseph Smith knew not at first which way to turn, but thanks
to his faith and the miraculous appearance of his loving Heavenly Father
and the Savior Jesus Christ, he would become the newest prophet to establish
again the Church of God upon the earth. Mormons most reverently assert
that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the very vehicle
of continuing revelation and authority, of crucial blessings and salvation
for mankind. Restored in finality, Christ's "Mormon" Church
is constantly working to prepare people for the Second Coming of Jesus.
These modern times are the last epoch, the very "dispensation of
the fulness of times" (Ephesians 1:10) before the advent of the
King's glorious millennial reign.
Joseph Smith accomplished many
things in his brief life, including offering proof of his prophetic
calling by translating an ancient, sacred record now called the Book
of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. As is stated in Matthew
chapter 7, "by their fruits ye shall know them," so each person
who desires to verify Joseph Smith's claim may study and pray about
his "fruit," the Book of Mormon.
It was this new volume of scripture
itself that opened the way for the holy priesthood's return to mankind.
During the translation of the Book of Mormon record in the spring of
1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe Oliver Cowdery reviewed the words
of the Savior which He had proclaimed to inhabitants of ancient America
regarding the necessity of a proper baptism (see 3 Nephi 11). Concerned about
their own baptism, Joseph and Oliver decided to consult the Lord on
the matter. They retired to the woods near the Susquehanna River to
pray, and they were answered through the angelic ministration of John
the Baptist, now a resurrected (immortalized) being. Placing his hands
upon their heads, he ordained them with these words:
Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness (Joseph Smith—History 1:69; Doctrine and Covenants 13).
The Aaronic Priesthood, as
Mormons most frequently call it, was now restored to men on earth. This
lesser priesthood, or portion of the whole, makes correct and authorized
baptism possible. No baptism performed outside of this authority is
considered valid in Mormon theology, so any person who embraces the
true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ will understand that a new
baptism is necessary.
The Melchizedek Priesthood,
which is the greater or complete priesthood, also needed to be restored
through God's prophet. This was accomplished by the apostles Peter,
James, and John, who appeared to Joseph and Oliver and committed to
them "the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness
of times" (Doctrine and Covenants 128:20); the modern prophet and
his scribe were also ordained as apostles—special witnesses of Christ—at
this time.
A third marvelous event occurred
after the 1836 dedication of the Mormon temple in Kirtland, Ohio (see Doctrine and
Covenants 110). Kneeling in prayer in the holy edifice, Joseph Smith
and Oliver Cowdery were granted a vision of Jesus Christ, who came to
accept the House as His own. Following Him came Moses, who committed
keys (or specific authority) upon the blessed men, pertaining to the
gathering of Israel. Then Elias gave them the keys of the dispensation
of the gospel of Abraham. Finally, Elijah appeared as promised in Malachi
4:5-6, granting the keys of sealing families
together. Joseph
Smith now possessed all of the keys and priesthood authority necessary
to properly govern the Church of Christ and, before his death, this
insightful, inspired prophet and President of the Church passed his
complete power on to the contemporary Quorum of Twelve Apostles.
To this day the priesthood
of God has remained with the Mormon Church. Worthy men act in the offices
of deacon, teacher, priest, bishop, elder, high priest, patriarch, seventy,
and apostle, which offices allow individual priesthood holders to find
personal growth and development as they perform progressively increasing
duties and service for others in an organized manner.
Besides baptism, duties of the priesthood include giving the gift of the Holy Ghost; blessing the sacrament, or sanctified bread and water that represent the body and blood of Christ; performing special ordinances or rituals in Mormon temples, such as marriage for eternity; collecting fast offerings on behalf of the poor, and doing many other important acts of responsibility and service. Through the priesthood a man can even bless his family members and others to overcome sickness and to receive increased peace, strength, and direction from the Lord. Overall, the priesthood is a special gift from God designed to touch and guide the lives of all His children on earth, so long as there are individuals willing to receive His gift.