"The power by which the heavens & Earth were created is the priesthood"
--- M. Russell Ballard (Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; 1928 - Present)
Again, if you were to ask "What makes the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints unique?", the answer could boil down to the priesthood. In a world with innumerable religions and philosophies, there is only one path between heaven and Earth and that is through the priesthood --- in other words, God's power and authority. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints claims unique heavenly authority on the Earth which was absent following the death of the Apostles and restored again through angelic messengers in the early 1800s. Without the priesthood, no religious belief or ceremony would be sufficient to return to the presence of God. Man could do nothing of himself to prevail in spiritual things without God's intervention. If the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is in fact the only church with the priesthood, it is the only church by which we can return to Heavenly Father.
Note: If you'd like to get in contact with missionaries of the Church and learn more, either online or in-person, you can do so for free at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/missionary-visit
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9.1 --- ETERNAL PRIESTHOOD
The priesthood is the power and authority of God which He shares with man to act in all things necessary for the salvation of God's children. This priesthood is necessary to baptize and perform other ordinances. But I will also remind you, as I said before, that the first principle of the gospel is faith. Faith is a hope for things that are not seen but which are true (Alma 32:21) and has a real effect. It was because of faith that Christ was able to perform so many wonders but when there was no faith to be found, He could do nothing (Matt 13:58). But it was through the priesthood that the wonders were performed.
The priesthood is not new. It's not an invention. It's not a philosophy or mental construct. It is something real that has always existed because it's God’s authority and power, without beginning or end (Heb. 7:3; Alma 13:7-8; D&C 84:17-18). Jesus Christ is the best example of how to use the authority and power of the priesthood to serve and bless others. The priesthood is the power by which the heavens and the earth were created, but it is also the power the Savior used to perform miracles, to bless and heal the sick, to bring the dead to life, and, as our Father's Only Begotten Son, to endure the unbearable pain of Gethsemane and Calvary and providing an infinite Atonement and overcoming physical death through the Resurrection. (See "Christ's Mortal Ministry" and "The Plan of Salvation and Happiness")
9.2 --- THE LOSS & RESTORATION OF THE PRIESTHOOD
However, the priesthood was lost from the earth in the Great Apostasy when there were no more worthy priesthood holders following the persecution and death of the Apostles and the absence of prophets and authorized priesthood leadership but it was through heavenly messengers of God that the priesthood was restored (See "The Return of the King -- Part 4.2"). An angelic John the Baptist (Him who baptized Jesus and who had been beheaded in Matt. 14:10 and Mark 6:27) came and restored the Aaronic Priesthood (D&C 13; JSH 1:68-69) and in May of 1829, three of Christ’s Apostles in the Old World: Peter, James, and John also appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, laid their hands on their heads and restored to them the Melchizedek Priesthood. With time, Joseph Smith by commandment from God also laid his hands on the heads of others who continued to "spread" the Priesthood throughout the growing church. It is only by the “laying on of hands” by those who already have priesthood authority that another person can receive the priesthood. That’s the way it has always been and always will be. The procedure of laying on of hands has always been used by priesthood holders. (D&C 107: 40-50; Gen. 48:14-19; Alma 6:1; Acts 8:14-17)
9.3 --- THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
I received the priesthood this way. I received the Aaronic Priesthood, occasionally referred to as the "preparatory priesthood", when I was 12 years old to minister in things like the sacrament (which is an ordinance). The Aaronic Priesthood has the power to administer outward ordinances (namely Baptism and the Sacrament). It’s named "the Aaronic Priesthood" after Aaron who was Moses’ elder brother and was appointed of the Lord to assist Moses (Exo. 4:14-16). Aaron and his four sons were appointed to act in the duties of the priesthood (Exo. 28:1-4; 40:15), in ways that no one else was authorized to do under penalty of death relating to the functions of the tabernacle (Lev. 10:1-2). Anciently, only Aaron and his posterity throughout all their generations could have the Aaronic priesthood. You can read more about all this in the Old Testament in your own time as you wish.
9.4 --- THE MELCHEZIDEK PRIESTHOOD
But it was about a month before I became a missionary that I also received the Melchezidek Priesthood (Heb. 5:4, 6, 10) which is needed for missionary work among other things pertaining to "inward ordinances", including the sacred ordinances of the temple like eternal marriage. (See "Temples -- Holy Houses of the Lord", and "Eternal Family")
The Melchezidek Priesthood is so nicknamed reverently. It's in reference to the righteous man who was named Melchizedek referenced in the Old Testament (Gen. 14:18; Psalms 110:4), as well as the New Testament (Heb. 5:6, 10; 7). Melchezidek was a high priest to whom Abraham gave a tithing. The name Melchezidek was most likely a symbolic title that means “King of Righteousness” since Melchezidek was the king of Salem (Jerusalem). Sometimes the Melchezidek Priesthood is referred to as the High Priesthood although it is technically “the Holy Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God” (Alma 13; D&C 107:3) although we don’t call it that. It's instead simply called the Melchezidek Priesthood out of respect to avoid too frequent repetition of the name of God.
9.5 --- LINE OF AUTHORITY
I can trace my line of priesthood authority in a chain person by person back to Jesus Christ. It didn’t come out of thin air. It didn't come from an educational institute. It didn't come from scriptural study. It came from the laying on of hands by one who already had the authority from God, just as it has always been. I know that the priesthood which I have is a real and sacred trust from God. I have seen the priesthood in action and I know that the blessings are real and given to us to be shared in service.
Ponder Question: Consider God's authority and the authority of the world. Why might the priesthood more important than religious studies when it comes to spiritual authority?
Shortly after I received the Melchezidek priesthood, my dad was rear-ended while waiting at a red light in heavy traffic. He was taken to the hospital. I freaked out when we got the phone call and were told what happened. When we got to the hospital, my dad was in so much pain he could hardly move. But because I held the Melchizedek priesthood to give blessings to the sick and afflicted, I got to help lay my hands on his head and give him a priesthood blessing. It was my first time. I was so nervous but after the blessing, I felt a calm peace come over me and I knew that my dad would be okay. Thankfully, the doctors gave us the good news that there was no serious damage and dad got to come home with us a few hours later.
I'm so grateful for the priesthood in my life and I know that it is real. I also know that faith makes the priesthood effective and without it, the priesthood can do nothing. That was the first time I got to use the Melchezidek priesthood but it most certainly was not the last.
9.6 --- THE PURPOSE OF PRIESTHOOD
The Priesthood exists to serve. It is not self-serving. Having the priesthood does not make one person better than another. In truth, everyone, male and female, young and old, has access to the blessings and promises of the priesthood. The priesthood opens the doors to more blessings of salvation and must be used in the proper way that God has instructed because it comes from Him. Before His last night of mortality, Jesus talked with the remaining Apostles whom He had called. None of them applied for the position or had a job interview. The Lord chose them because He knew the good within them and they responded obediently to His call:
“I am the true vine…Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”(John 15:4-5)
We who have been given the priesthood are referred to as “priesthood holders”; however, the priesthood comes to us from "the vine”. It's not our own authority or power that we operate with. We are only conduits, that inasmuch as we live righteously, our priesthood power will be magnified, and if we are unrighteous, our priesthood power diminishes. We are taught in the church that:
“No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering (patience), by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge…without hypocrisy and without guile…” (D&C 121:41-42)
Should one willingly disobey God, become self-serving, or assume unrighteous dominion or an attitude of superiority, his priesthood authority and power ceases like a branch being cut from the vine. That is why the way we live our lives is just as important as the responsibilities we assume. Priesthood authority comes from ordination. Priesthood power comes from personal righteousness.
9.7 --- PRIESTHOOD KEYS
The keys of the priesthood are the right to preside and direct the affairs of the Church within a jurisdiction (See "Church Organization"). Jesus Christ holds all the keys of the priesthood pertaining to His Church. He has conferred upon each of His Apostles all the keys that pertain to the kingdom of God on earth. The senior living Apostle, the President of the Church (President meaning, "He who presides"), is the only person on earth authorized to exercise all priesthood keys. Following Christ's resurrection and ascension, the Apostle Peter, who was the senior Apostle, held those keys; when he was killed and there were no Apostles to carry on those keys, they were absent until they were restored as mentioned above. That is what makes the prophet unique from all other self-proclaimed preachers in the world. Those keys were restored in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by angelic beings, for the Lord's church, for the Lord's purposes, and in the Lord's timing (See "The Return of the King -- Part 4.2"). Again, that is why the Church of Jesus Christ is the only church with the fullness of the gospel.
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