Receiving the Priesthood of Melchizedek
I post this
because I find this subject to be of great worth. Worthy of much careful study and
pondering.
A good friend of
mine asked me this question. “Melchizedek Priesthood Restoration Date?”
My response below,
though altered a bit for this blog post.
“All Priesthood is
Melchizedek, but there are different portions or degrees of it. That portion
which brought Moses to speak with God face to face was taken away; but that
which brought the ministry of angels remained. All the prophets had the
Melchizedek Priesthood and were ordained by God himself.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
pg.180-181).
When Joseph Smith
and Oliver Cowdery went into the woods to pray concerning baptism for the
remission of sins on May 1829, John the Baptist came to them descending in a
cloud of light. He laid his hands on them and ordained them saying, “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;” (JS-H
1:69). What they received was a portion of Melchizedek Priesthood, but a
“different portion or degree of it.”
The Melchizedek Priesthood you are referring to is to be given by the
voice of God. Men cannot give it, nor can it be handled only in righteousness.
God has told us how this is to be received, and under what conditions we need
to obey to receive it. “Now Melchizedek was a
man of faith, who wrought righteousness; and when a child he feared God, and
stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire. And thus, having been approved of God,(by
his faith) he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which
God made with Enoch, It
being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor
the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor
end of years; but of God; And it was delivered unto men by the
calling of his own voice,
according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.” (JST Gen
14:25-29).
There are laws the Father lives by. If we in
turn live by the laws he has ordained, we will receive the blessings associated
with those laws. “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the
foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated – And when we
obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is
predicated.” (D&C 130:20-21). The law he has asked us to live by to receive
the higher level of Melchizedek priesthood is spelled out in plainness in these
words: “That the rights of the
priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the
powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of
righteousness.”(He goes on to tell us what those principles of
righteousness are) “That
they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the
souls of the children of men, in any
degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves;
the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen
to the priesthood or the authority of that man.” (It is gone, taken
from the man until he repents and gains these principles of righteousness) --- “No power or
influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only
by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by
love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which
shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile— Reproving betimes
with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then
showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou
hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may
know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. Let
thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the
household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly;
then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of
God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from
heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and
thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion
(this is a level on Jacob’s ladder) shall be an everlasting dominion, and
without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.” (D&C 121:36-37,41-46) WITHOUT
COMPULSORY MEANS. This is a huge statement made by the Lord. I’d like to
outline all of the laws established we must obey to receive the rights of the
priesthood connected with heaven.
The
Amen’s to priesthood are if we:
·
Undertake to cover our sins
·
Gratify our pride
·
Gratify our vain ambitions
·
Exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the
souls of men
NO POWER OR
INFLUENCE CAN OR OUGHT TO BE MAINTAINED BY VIRTUE OF THE
PRIESTHOOD!!!! It’s not about power, nor is it about having influence.
The Principles of Righteousness are:
·
Persuasion
·
Long-suffering
·
Gentleness
·
Meekness
·
Love Unfeigned
·
Kindness
·
Pure Knowledge (which comes by the Holy Ghost,
and by gaining the mind of God as spoken in the Lectures on Faith)
·
Reproving with sharpness when moved upon by the Holy Ghost
The traditional
narrative tells us that Peter, James and John came and conferred upon Joseph
and Oliver the Melchizedek Priesthood. This account Is not found in either one
of their journals. This would have been a very significant thing to write in a
journal. The only thing I have been able to find Joseph writing about Peter,
James and John is in D&C 128:20 “…The voice of Peter, James and John in the
wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville river, declaring
themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of
the fullness of times!” (reviewing D&C 27:12, The earlier revelation has
nothing said about ordination or conferral. Joseph spent all of his time
editing the Lectures on Faith while a committee edited and published the
D&C. They freelanced a bit. It is important to review the original
histories to make a true accounting.)
When did Joseph receive the greater
Priesthood? It would have been when he met all of the criteria, and heard the
voice of God proclaim to him what his rights were. In 1829, in the home of old
father Whitmer this occurred. “We now
became anxious to have that promise which conferred upon (realized to)
us, which the angel had that conferred upon us the Aaronick Priesthood upon
us. had given us, viz, that provided we continued faithful, the we
should also have the Melchesidec Priesthood, which holds the authority of the
laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost we had for some time made
this a subject of humble prayer, and at length we got together in the Chamber
of Mr. Whitmer’s house, in order more particularly to seek of the Lord information,
and if possible obtain what we now so earnestly desired. We had not been
long After some time spent in solemn
and fervent prayer, the Word of the Lord came unto us, in the chamber,
commanding us that I should ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an Elder in the Church
of Jesus Christ, and the he also should ordain me to the same office, and that
after having thus been ordained, we should proceed to ordain others to the same
office, according as it should be made known unto us, from time to time.” (JS
Papers, Histories Vol. 1: p.326, all as in original) This in my view, is when
Joseph through the voice of the Lord was given higher priesthood. He had
translated Genesis 14 already. Therefore, he understood ordination came “by the
voice of God.” Joseph recorded: “The authority of the Melchisedec priesthood
was manifested and conferred, for the first time, upon several of the elders.”
(JS Papers, Documents Vol. 1:July 1828-June 1831, p. 320. Spellings original)
Again, it comes from God Himself; “For
God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being
ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break
mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their
course; To
put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every
band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will,
according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the
will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world.” (JST
Gen 14:30-31). Did Joseph experience ANY of
these things? Because if he experienced one of these things, he held greater
priesthood. Did he stand in the presence of God? Did he
subdue principalities and powers ?(Could mean Earthly powers, but
also those who have inherited glory on Jacob’s ladder aka angels). This is
explained in the Book of Mormon. In Helaman 10:6, Nephi was given sealing power
in the presence of God’s angels. “Behold, I declare it unto thee in the
presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people, and shall
smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to
the wickedness of this people.” The angels were in the presence of God, He telling
Nephi what power was being given him. The angels were witnesses so to heed the
voice of Nephi, therefore being subdued by him.
In my studies, looking at the
characteristics and qualities of those who hold this higher priesthood, I believe
that Joseph held it. I do not believe he received this from any man or angel just as Melchizedek did not.
He received it from God’s own voice as both Enoch and Melchizedek did. So we must adhere to the laws governing
this priesthood if we wish to receive and be given this priesthood by His own
voice. Those who hold this power have been proven to do exactly as the Lord
asks. The Lord knows they will not freelance with His power. Instead, only to
act upon it when asked to act. God says, “wo unto all those who come not unto
this priesthood which ye have received.” I hope that my own state will not be
woeful when I enter into His presence. I hope to receive Him as the Lamb, and
not experience Him as the Lion.
I believe this to be an
extremely important subject. Worthy of much careful labor, time and study. What I hope to deliver here, is that each of us must go to God directly to receive this power.
“Which order came, not by man; nor the will of man; neither by father nor
mother; but of God.” He gives liberally unto all who ask, and who obey Him.
