High Priesthood

The Holy Order conferred upon those who exercise exceeding faith, repentance, and righteousness before God, choosing to repent and work righteousness. “Ordination to the high priesthood reckons from before the foundation of the earth. Power in that priesthood is derived from heaven. These powerful doctrines are not even imagined by other faiths or traditions. Among us it is hardly understood, and we possess the scriptures that teach it.”¹

Now this is how they were ordained: having qualified to receive a holy calling, they were ordained with a holy ordinance which confers upon them the High Priesthood of the Holy Order — which calling, ordinance, and High Priesthood has no beginning or end (Alma 9:10 CE). “It may just be that God’s control over and involvement with the ‘holy calling’ and ‘holy ordinance’ of having the ‘high priesthood after the Son of God’ is immediate and direct. It may be that this ‘holy ordinance’ will only come from that God who employs no servant at the gate, but is Himself the gatekeeper. Wouldn’t that be wonderful. Think about it — no flawed process.”²

The High Priesthood in Joseph Smith’s day was restored in a meeting of elders in June 1831 and was only later called the Melchizedek Priesthood. At the time of the conference, it was correctly called the High Priesthood. This event has been misinterpreted by the LDS Church and re-characterized as restoring the office of High Priest, which is incorrect. The office of High Priest has always been an Aaronic Priesthood office, held throughout the Dispensation of Moses by the eldest sons of Aaron in a line of succession. By New Testament times, it was a political office that was bought and sold by Roman influence and belonged to the house of Caiaphas. This Aaronic Priesthood office had one occupant at a time, and he presided over all the Aaronic and Levitical priesthood holders and ran the Temple at Jerusalem. During the time of the Restoration by Joseph, the office of High Priest was much desired by Sidney Rigdon. According to David Whitmer, Sidney persuaded Joseph to incorporate it into the church as an office which could be held by many, not just the presiding Aaronic Priesthood official. Today there are numerous “High Priests” in the LDS Church, all claiming they are of the Melchizedek Priesthood order, completely contrary to the Old and New Testaments. When the High Priesthood (later called “Melchizedek Priesthood”) was restored, Joseph Smith recorded: “The authority of the Melchizedek priesthood was manifested and conferred, for the first time, upon several of the elders”³ at the June 1831 conference. This also clarifies that “elder” is a church office (not related to the High Priesthood, because these church “elders” were already serving in their church offices before the High Priesthood was restored). In the June 1831 conference, Joseph Smith ordained five, and Lyman Wight ordained eighteen, for a total of twenty-three. The results that followed were not altogether satisfactory. Subsequent performance by the ones ordained did not prove to mirror Melchizedek or Enoch. Of the five Joseph ordained, all were excommunicated (with one reinstated). Of the eighteen Lyman Wight ordained, four were excommunicated, one died nine years later, and four left the Church. It is apparent that “ordination” to even the High Priesthood cannot guarantee a recipient will have faith sufficient to gain power in the priesthood. For that, like every other blessing, it is always required for the man to obtain it directly from Heaven. The priesthood is predicated on a relationship with “the Powers of Heaven.” If the one ordained does not secure such a relationship with the Powers of Heaven, then the ordination will not produce the expected results. Brigham Young was not among those who received this authority. The High Priesthood had been forfeited by the LDS Church (but not by Joseph Smith) as of January 1841.⁴See also HOLY ORDER; MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD; PRIESTHOOD.