"Ye Are A Chosen Generation, A Royal Priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9)

I think the best place to start in a discussion of the priesthood is at the beginning. That is, the Old Testament. The word for priesthood in Hebrew is “cahona” and comes from the root “cahan” which means “is divine’ (Brown-Driver-Briggs English-Hebrew Lexicon). With the realization that the origin of the very word is connected with divinity let us dive into a closer analysis of the priesthood of the Old and New Testaments in order to more fully understand the nature and roll of the priesthood in the LDS Church.

As mentioned in a previous post the functions of priests in this time was to act as mediators between the people and God. By virtue of their office they were able to draw closer to God, while the people, as a result of their sins, could not pass beyond a certain point. The priests of the Old Testament mainly exercised their office at the altar by offering sacrifices and incense. In Numbers 18:5 the Lord instructs Aaron and his sons “And ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar; that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Israel.” Yet their other duties included; teaching the people of the law by communicating to them the will of God and blessing them in the name of the Lord.

It is important to note that the priests did not (nor does they today by LDS standards) take their office upon themselves. Rather they were and are chosen of God.  Earlier in the book of Numbers a man by the name of Korah along with 250 rebels try to seek priestly offices for themselves. In section 16 Aaron declares: “the Lord will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him” (Numbers 16:5). In a sense the priest belonged to God and was Holy to him. If you would like to learn more about the priests of the Old Testament please let me know and I will gladly dedicate a post completely to that.

An important aspect of the priests and priesthood in the Old Testament is the practice of the laying on of hands from the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the laying on of hands was used in ceremonies which carried with it a specific meaning. An illustration is found in Genesis 48. After telling Joseph about the promise of blessing God had given him (Genesis 48:4), Jacob said that Joseph's sons would become his sons, just as Reuben and Simeon were his sons (Genesis 48:5). As far as Jacob was concerned, together with God' s approval these two sons of Joseph  were now legal  sons of Jacob and heirs of the blessings God had promised him. All this would   become more specific with the ceremony of the laying on of hands on these two individuals - Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen. 48:13-16) Notice that Jacob deliberately crossed his hands during the ceremony  so that Ephraim,  the younger brother received the  greater blessing, and Manasseh the older brother, received a lesser blessing.  The laying on of hands here illustrates a special ceremony within the context of a divine purpose.

So we’ve discussed the function of priests, priesthood and the practice of laying on of hands in the Old Testament. What about the New Testament?  With the advent of Christ, the priesthood of the Old Testament was elevated to the height it had never before possessed. It also became the cornerstone of the Christian religion so much so that we might almost define true Christianity as the religion of a divinely revealed priesthood. Christianity is indeed priestly and the priesthood is of its essence:. So when Christ died on the cross and atoned for all of us, thus opening the way for men to find their way back to God, the Old Priesthood (not the Priesthood itself but the Priesthood in its Old Testament form was done away with).

If we’ll remember the purpose of a priest in Old Testament times was to act as a mediator between man and God. Christ was the ultimate mediator through the shedding of his blood. Indeed Christ proclaimed “No man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). Yes Christ became our ultimate mediator, our advocate with the Father, yet that was not the end of the priesthood. In John 20:21 Christ admonishes His disciples “as my Father hath sent me even so send I you” Previous to His death Christ had ordained the priesthood upon his apostles when he said “ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name he may give it you” (John 15:16). This verse brings back two familiar ideas of the priesthood and priests. First, that they must be chosen by God, and second that they act as mediators of sorts with the ability to act in Christ’s stead, essentially they were to do what Christ would have done if He were upon the Earth.

There are numerous branches of Christianity that believe the priesthood ended with the death of Christ and the tearing of the veil. However, after Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven many of the Apostles (Paul, Timothy, etc..) laid their hands upon the heads of new believers and conferred the Holy Ghost upon them. This is the priesthood. In Acts 8 the Apostles go to Samaria when they hear that the people have received the word of God but have not yet received the Holy Ghost. Verse 17 says “then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” Just as Christ acted as a mediator to confer the Holy Ghost on his Apostles from the Father, the Apostles act as a mediator of sorts for the new members of the Church to receive the Holy Ghost as well. Another example of the exercising of the priesthood used as mediation between man and God is seen in Acts 19 when Paul passes through Ephesus and runs into a group of people that have only been baptized with “John’s baptism” (Acts 19:3) and Paul asks them “Unto what end were ye baptized?” (Acts 19:2) and the record goes on “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”(Acts 19:6). The bottom line is to show that the laying on hands and the priesthood was continued from Old Testament times to New Testament times and continues beyond that into modern times.

Much like the apostles going forth, baptizing and conferring the Holy Spirit upon new members with the laying on of hands, the practice also exists in the pages of the Book of Mormon and in the LDS Church today. In the Book of Alma, the prophet Alma while preaching to the people (much as the apostles of Christ did after his ascension into heaven) Alma came upon the city of Zarahemla and “ordained priests and elders by laying on his hand according to the order of God, to preside and watch over the Church” (Alam 6:1). Another example takes us to 3 Nephi where Christ makes his visit to the American continent after He is crucified and resurrected. The scriptures record “And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, he touched with his hand the disciples whom he had chosen (chosen by God), one by one, even until he had touched all, and spoke unto them as he touched them” (3 Nephi 18:36) The chapter goes on to say “the disciples bare record that he gave them power to give the Holy Ghost” (3 Nephi 18:37).

So the priesthood and the practice of laying on of hands was present in the Old Testament, New Testament and the Book of Mormon. But perhaps the white elephant in the room is the functions of priests and the priesthood in the LDS church today. First of all, within the Church there are two kinds or levels of Priesthood. The Aaronic Priesthood, it is the “lesser” of the two priesthood and contains the offices of deacon, teacher, priest, and bishop. It is known by other names as the Levitical Priesthood, the Preparatory Priesthood, the Lesser Priesthood, the Second Priesthood, and the Priesthood of Aaron. The other branch of the Priesthood is the Melchizedeck Priesthood it is the “higher” of the two priesthood and contains the offices of Elder, High Priest, Patriarch, Seventy, Apostle, and Prophet. The greatest reference for the duty of priesthood holders (remember they must be called of God, ordained to the office by one who is in authority [or who has also been called of God through the laying on of hands], and live worthy of their office.) can be found in D&C 20, often nicknamed the foundation of the Church because it outlines its structure and the function of all the difference offices. The duties of priesthood holders are as follows:

Apostles (an elder)-verse38 

• To baptize (38)
• To ordain other elders priests, teachers, and deacons (39)
• To administer bread and wine (we use water)- the emblems of the flesh and blood of Christ-
• Confirm those who are baptized into the Church, by the laying on hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost (41)
• To teach, to expound, exhort, baptize, and watch over the Church
• To take the lead of all meetings

Elders

• Conduct the meetings as they are led by the Holy Ghost, according to the commandments and revelations of God (45)

Priests 

• To preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament (46)
• Visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties (47)

•  May also ordain other priests, teachers and deacons (48)
•  Take the lead of meetings when there is no elder present (49)
• In these duties assist the Elder if the occasion requires (52)

Teachers and Deacons 

• To watch over the Church always and be with and strengthen them (53)
• See that there is no iniquity in the Church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, back biting, nor evil speaking. (54)
• See that the Church meet together often, and all that all the members do their duty (55)
•  Take the lead of meetings in the absence of the elder or priest (56)
• And is to be assisted always in all his duties in the church, by the deacons if occasion requires (57)
• DO NOT have authority to baptize, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands (58)
• Both Teachers and Deacons are to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite all to come unto Christ.

So there you have, a list of duties (roughly) that each office of the priesthood performs. If you are interested in a post on the complete organization of the Church just let me know and I will gladly get one up for you. It has been a pleasure my dear readers sharing this information with you. Latter Day Saints take very seriously the reminder from Peter “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). To wield the power of God, to act in His name, to use such a responsibility to bless others and edify the Church, that is true meaning of being a Priesthood holder of God. May God bless you all, man and women alike, until you read again.

(I strongly encourage anyone who is interested in learning more to search "the priesthood" on lds.org or ask any question you would like in a comment, I promise to do my best to answer it).