In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is the power and authority of God given to humans, including the authority to perform ordinances and to perform as a leader in the church. A group of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.
Priesthood denotes elements of both power and authority. The priesthood includes the power Jesus gave the Twelve apostles to perform miracles such as the casting out of devils and the healing of the sick (Luke 9:1). Latter Day Saints believe that the biblical miracles performed by prophets and apostles were done by the power of the priesthood, including the miracles of Jesus, who holds all of the keys of the priesthood. The priesthood is formally known as the "Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God", but to avoid the frequent use of the name of a deity, it is referred to as the Melchizedek priesthood (Melchizedek being the high priest to whom Abraham paid tithes).
As an authority, the priesthood is the authority by which a bearer may perform ecclesiastical acts of service in the name of God. Latter Day Saints believe that acts (and in particular, ordinances performed by one with priesthood authority) are recognized by God and are binding in heaven, on earth, and in the afterlife. In addition, Latter Day Saints believe that the authority of the priesthood legitimizes leadership positions within the church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest denomination in the movement, restricts its priesthood to men, as do most of the other Latter Day Saint denominations. An exception is the Community of Christ, the second-largest denomination of the movement, which began ordaining women to all its priesthood offices in 1984.
Orders of priesthood Latter Day Saint theology has recognized at least three orders of priesthood: the Aaronic priesthood, the Melchizedek priesthood, and the Patriarchal priesthood. Although these are different orders, they are, in reality, all subsumed under the priesthood held by Jesus (i.e., 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 and Oliver Cowdery received on May 15, 1829, when they were ordained by an angel identifying himself as John the Baptist.Messenger and Advocate, 1(1), October 1, 1834. In 1835, Smith and Cowdery clarified that this authority was the "Aaronic, or Levitical priesthood".Doctrine and Covenants 1835 ed., sec. III, v. 2.
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" (, ); however, the office of high priest was not implemented in early Mormonism until some days after Smith was joined in his ministry by Sidney Rigdon, a newly-converted Campbellite minister from Ohio, who merged his congregation with Smith's Church of Christ. Rigdon believed the teachings of the early Latter Day Saint missionaries who taught him, but thought the missionaries were lacking in heavenly power.Prince, Gregory A. (1995). Power From On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood, p. 116. Signature Books, Salt Lake City, Utah. . excerpt In response to Rigdon's concern, the church's first high priests were ordained at a special conference held in June 1831.Cannon, Donald Q., and Cook, Lyndon (1983). Far West Record, pp. 6-7, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, Utah.
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".Doctrine and Covenants (1835) sec. III 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".Doctrine and Covenants (LDS Church ed.) sec. 107, v. 1–4 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" (Hebrews 7:11).
Although it was generally considered that there were only two orders of priesthood during most of Smith's life, about a year before his death, on August 27, 1843, he referred to a third order of priesthood, the Patriarchal priesthood.Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, § 6, pp. 322–23. This one of the "3 grand orders of priesthood", Smith said, was second in greatness between the lower Aaronic and the higher Melchizedek.James Burgess notebook, August 27, 1843; Franklin D. Richards, "Scriptural Items", undated entry concerning Smith's lecture of August 27, 1843, Archives of the Historical Department of the LDS Church, MS d4409. 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".Joseph Smith Diary, August 27, 1843. Smith taught that this order of priesthood was passed from father to son, and held by Abraham and the biblical patriarchs.Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, § 1, pp. 38–39. 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 authority, a person must (1) be called by God, (2) be ordained or endowed with priesthood authority, and (3) receive the necessary priesthood keys, either through ordination to an office of the priesthood or through delegation or setting apart by someone who does hold the appropriate keys.
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 ("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 scripture used by the movement: (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 not mutually exclusive.
Calling by prophecy Despite the existence in Latter Day Saint 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 Wentworth letter, Smith stated, "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by one who is in authority... 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 Smith. Since Smith's death, most Latter Day Saint 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 to confer 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, a revelation given to Smith 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."Doctrine and Covenants (LDS Church ed.) 68:16–21. In a revelation to Smith, he was promised his lineage would have the priesthood: "Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you, with whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers—For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God—Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began."Doctrine and Covenants (LDS Church ed.) 86:8-10. In addition, Smith taught that the Patriarchal priesthood descended from father to son. 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." (). In the 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 nullify 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". (). 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." (). 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"Doctrine and Covenants (LDS Church ed.) 4:3. and "whosoever will thrust in his sickle and reap, the same is called of God".Doctrine and Covenants (LDS Church ed.) 6:4.
The gift of the priesthood and ordination to a particular priesthood office