Mormon Priesthood

In Mormon doctrine, the priesthood is the authority and power to act in God’s name. This is exactly the same priesthood that was had in the early church, which Christ gave to His apostles. However, this priesthood power was eventually lost when all the apostles died and the church itself went into apostasy. This is the “falling away” spoken of in 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, ”Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” This falling away means that authority was lost and the early Saints and leaders began to look for their own replacement for revelation, which ended up being philosophy. Through this, many truths were lost from the early church. Men made decisions not based on revelation and authority, but on their own reason and logic.

When Joseph Smith was trying to decide which church to join, he had a vision of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They revealed to Him that no church on the earth at that day (1820) had the fullness of the gospel any more. God’s plan was to restore the fullness of that gospel through Joseph Smith, and in May 1829, the keys of the Aaronic, or lesser, Priesthood were restored to the earth by John the Baptist to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey. In June of the same year, the Melchizedek, or higher, Priesthood was restored to the same men through Peter, James, and John, the last men to hold these keys in their fullness on the earth.

In the Mormon Church, the priesthood is conferred upon all worthy male members of the Mormon Church(officially The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). A worthy young man, at age 12, may receive the Aaronic Priesthood and perform certain ordinances with those keys. As he continues to progress through offices in this priesthood, he receives more responsibility and authority. A young man is usually ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood preparatory to his serving a mission at age 19. However, any worthy man may receive the Melchizedek Priesthood when he is found prepared by his bishop. Generally, if a man receives the priesthood later in life, he receives the Aaronic Priesthood and a year later, if he has served well and maintained worthiness, he may receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, though there are occasional exceptions to this practice.

The blessing of the priesthood being on the earth again cannot be overstated. Mormons believe this is the power by which Christ healed the sick, raised the dead, caused the blind to receive their sight, etc. Many such miracles have been recorded in our day through the exercise of the same power. Man does not choose how to wield this power; it is only through the will of God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that any miracle can ever be performed. But, if exercised in the name of Jesus Christ and according to the will of the Father, great blessings can be obtained through the power of the priesthood. All Saints have access to the blessings of the priesthood. In fact, it is a power which can only be used to help others, never to help oneself. The priesthood power is necessary to complete all Mormon ordinances, such as baptism, confirmation, endowment, etc.

The priesthood power is also the power by which a prophet receives revelation and exercises authority over the Mormon Church. This is what is so significant about the Mormon Church having a prophet on the earth today, just as the world had anciently. The prophet is the mouthpiece of God, and is the absolute doctrinal authority on the earth, because Jesus Christ speaks through him.

The priesthood is a wonderful gift that God has given His children. They learn to serve one another selflessly and to feel the power of God.