Doctrine and Covenants Week 18: D&C 84, 107, Official Declaration2

1) What is priesthood? a) [SLIDE 2] Joseph Smith:

The priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with God from eternity and will to eternity, without beginning of days or end of years. The keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the Gospel is sent.1 [The Melchizedek Priesthood is] a perfect law of theocracy, holding keys of power and blessings, [and] stood as God to give laws to the people, administering endless lives to the sons and daughters of Adam.2

b) [SLIDE 3] The priesthood is composed of three separate, but interrelated parts: i) Authority: The exclusive right to act in the name of God as his authorized agent and to perform ordinances for the purpose of opening certain spiritual blessings to individuals. ii) Power: The privilege of having ones acts sanctioned and given efficacy by God. (1) One may have priesthood authority without having any power in the priesthood because of personal unworthiness or because God does not wish to sanction a specific act or ordinance. iii) Keys: The right to direct the work of the priesthood or to preside over a priesthood function, quorum, or organizational division of the Church. Keys are necessary to maintain order and to see that the functions of the Church are performed in the proper time, place, and manner. c) [SLIDE 4] The LDS doctrine of priesthood differs from other Christian views, in that i) the priesthood is not vocational or professional, ii) it is not offered for money, iii) it is not held by a group of specialists who are separated from the community, iv) and yet it is not a priesthood of all believers, as in the Protestant conception. 2) Development of the doctrine of the priesthood.3 a) [SLIDE 5] The priesthood and its offices were not revealed all at once, but over time. i) The needs of the Church in 1830 were different than those in 1835, and 1843. Additional priesthood offices were revealed and existing ones were expanded to meet the changing needs of a growing Church.

Joseph Smith, address to the Twelve Apostles, summer 1839. Words of Joseph Smith 8, spelling and punctuation modernized. Cf. History of the Church 3:386 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/3/27.html#386); Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith 157. 2 Joseph Smith, sermon in the Nauvoo Temple grove, 27 August 1843. WJS 244, spelling and punctuation modernized. Cf. HC 5:555 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/5/29.html#555); TPJS 322. 3 The most comprehensive analysis of the gradual revealing of the priesthood and its offices is Gregory A. Prince, Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1995), 2. Prince takes a rather naturalistic perspective on the development of the priesthood; a less thorough, but more faithful, treatment is John A. Tvedtnes, Organize My Kingdom: A History of Restored Priesthood (Bountiful, Utah: Cornerstone Publishing, 2000).
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(1) This revelation of priesthood organization continues to this day, most recently with the calling of additional quorums of the Seventy.4 ii) The development of the priesthood is hard to understand from just reading the Doctrine and Covenants, because Joseph Smith edited many of his early revelations to include references to priesthood offices that were revealed later.5 (1) We also see this in the development of D&C section 107: Verses 158 and 9398 were revealed in late March or early April 1835. This was merged with an earlier revelation, received 11 November 1831 and comprising verses 5992 and 99 100.6 b) [SLIDE 6] Early Church offices. i) At the founding of the Church in April 1830, there were only four priesthood offices: Deacon, teacher, priest, elder (20:3864).7 (1) At that time, there were only two elders: Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who were first elder and second elder, respectively.8 These positions were synonymous with being apostles (20:38; 21:1). (2) Additional elders began to be ordained in June 1830, with Joseph and Oliver retaining primacy as presiding elders. ii) The first bishop, Edward Partridge, was called in February 1831 (41:910).9 (1) Initially the bishops role was to be a steward over consecrated Church properties, but additional revelations expanded its duties to include sitting in judgment of transgressors (42:7882; 58:1718; 107:72, 74) and presiding over the Aaronic Priesthood (107:15). iii) The office of high priest, superior to that of elder, was revealed in October 1831.10 (1) The phrase high priesthood, as used in Josephs revelations, refers to the office of high priest, not the Melchizedek Priesthood (e.g., 107:6366). c) The two sections we are going to study tonight84 and 107describe the history, nature, and offices of the priesthood.

4 The Second Quorum of the Seventy was announced and organized at the April 1989 General Conference. The calling of area authority was announced in April 1995, and area authorities were organized into the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Quorums of Seventy in April 1997. The Sixth Quorum of Seventy was created in June 2004, and the Seventh and Eighth Quorums in May 2005. 5 See notes to lesson 1, pages 8 15 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week01). 6 Note the transition that takes place at D&C 107:58: agreeable to the revelation which says:. D&C 107:5992, 99 100 was received on the same day as D&C section 69. Printers marks in the manuscript copy in Revelation Book 1 (pages 122 23; http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/revelation-book-1?p=108) indicate that it was intended to be included in the publication of the 1833 Book of Commandments. The Mormon press was destroyed by a mob before the type could be set for this revelation. It was appended to the later revelation and published as section 3 in 1835 D&C (http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835?p=90). 7 The instructions on presiding elders, traveling bishops, high councilors, [and] high priests (D&C 20:6567) were added to D&C 20 in 1835. 8 David Whitmer also claimed that he and four others were ordained elders in the summer of 1829, but there is no contemporary account of this, only Whitmers 1887 testimony. See An Address to All Believers in Christ, 32 (http://archive.org/stream/addresstoallbeli00whit#page/32). 9 See notes to lesson 10, pages 12 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week10). 10 See notes to lesson 14, pages 6, 8 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week14); Prince, Power from On High, 2021.

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3) [SLIDE 7] History of the priesthood. a) 84:617. Lineage of the priesthood of Moses. i) Moses line of authority goes through men not identified in biblical book of Genesis. ii) Jeremy (84:910) is the Greek form of Jeremiah,11 and Esaias (84:1112) is the Greek form of Isaiah.12 Were the later prophets named for these former, otherwise unknown, priesthood holders? iii) Is Gad (84:1011) the same as the son of Jacob/Israel? Doubtful; he would have received the priesthood from his father. iv) Abrahams ordination to the priesthood by Melchizedek is described in JST Genesis 14:2529, 3740:13 [SLIDE 8]
25 26

And Melchizedek lifted up his voice and blessed Abram.

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. 27And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch, 28it 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; 29and 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. .
37

And he [Melchizedek] lifted up his voice, and he blessed Abram, being the high priest, and the keeper of the storehouse of God; 38him whom God had appointed to receive tithes for the poor. 39Wherefore, Abram paid unto him tithes of all that he had, of all the riches which he possessed, which God had given him more than that which he had need.
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And it came to pass, that God blessed Abram, and gave unto him riches, and honor, and lands for an everlasting possession; according to the covenant which he had made, and according to the blessing wherewith Melchizedek had blessed him.

4) 107:16. There are, in the church, two priesthoods. a) The Melchizedek Priesthood. i) Why it is called the Melchizedek priesthood? (1) [SLIDE 9] Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
When the names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, are used with reverence and authority, they invoke a power beyond what mortal man can comprehend.

See KJV Matthew 2:17; 27:9. See KJV Matthew 3:3; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:14; 15:7; KJV Mark 7:6; KJV Luke 3:4; 4:17; KJV John 1:23; 12:3841; KJV Acts 8:2830; 28:25; KJV Romans 9:2729; 10:16, 20; 15:12. 13 This long excerpt is found in the appendix to the LDS edition of the Bible (1979, pp. 797 98; 2013, p. 778; http://www.lds.org/scriptures/jst/jst-gen/14).
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It should be obvious to every believer that these mighty namesby which miracles are wrought, by which the world was formed, through which man was created, and by which we can be savedare holy and must be treated with the utmost reverence. As we read in modern revelation, Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit. (D&C 63:64.) So it is that the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God is called the Melchizedek Priesthood out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name.14

ii) [SLIDE 10] Joseph Smith, in response to the question, Was the Priesthood of Melchizedek taken away when Moses died? answered:
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.15

iii) [SLIDE 11] 107:8, 1819; 84:1922. Keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood. (1) 107:8. The right of presidency. (a) The Melchizedek Priesthood holds authority over all other priesthood and auxiliary offices in the Church, and directs the work of the Church. (i) At one time, much of the work in the Church was done by auxiliary organizationsthe Relief Society, the Young Mens and Young Ladies Mutual Improvement Associations, the Sunday School, and the Primary Associationall of which began as grassroots organizations to address specific challenges in the late 19th century.16 1. While the president of each auxiliary organization was selected by the president of the Church, they functioned nearly autonomously selecting their own board members; developing and printing their own lesson materials, handbooks, and magazines; formulating their own policies; and raising and managing their own finances. 2. President Joseph F. Smith prophesied in April 1906:
We expect to see the day, if we live long enoughwhen every council of the Priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will understand its duty, will assume its own responsibility, will magnify its calling, and fill its place in the Church, to the uttermost, according to the intelligence and ability possessed by it. When that day shall come, there will not be so much necessity for work that is now being done by the auxiliary organizations, because it will be done by the regular quorums of the Priesthood.17

Dallin H. Oaks, Reverent and Clean, General Conference, April 1986. Joseph Smith, organization of a school of instruction, 5 January 1841. TPJS 18081 (http://scriptures.byu.edu/stpjs.html#180); WJS 59. 16 The Ladies Relief Society was organized under the direction of Joseph Smith in 1842, and met until 1844. After the move west, some local wards had their own independent Relief Society organizations, but a Church-wide Relief Society was not organized until 1866, when Brigham Young called Eliza R. Snow as General Relief Society President. 17 Joseph F. Smith, opening address, General Conference, April 1906 (http://archive.org/stream/conferencereport1906a#page/n3).
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3. There were some early attempts to do this, but it began in earnest when President David O. McKay began the Church-wide correlation program in 1961.18 4. Today, all the priesthood quorums and auxiliary organizations function under the direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, with coordination of finances, policies, and printed materials. (2) 107:18. Keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church. (3) 107:19. Key of the mysteries of the kingdom. (Cf. 84:19.) (a) Mystery does not refer to an unsolved problem; a better word for it would be secret, something revealed by God only to an initiated few.19 (i) Our latter-day temple ordinances are a perfect example of mysteriesthey are shared only with people who are ready to be initiated; and the method of teaching is highly symbolic, so that only those who are prepared and receive them by the Spirit will understand. (b) But there is a difference between the mysteries of godliness and vain mysteriesthose things which are unknown but have no bearing on our salvation.20 (i) [SLIDE 12] Joseph Smith:
I advise all to go on to perfection and search deeper and deeper into the mysteries of Godlinessa man can do nothing for himself unless God direct him in the right way, and the Priesthood is reserved for that purpose.21

(4) [SLIDE 13] 107:19. To have the heavens opened unto them, to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn,22 and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant. (a) These keys are those of revelation and divine visitation on behalf of the Church, and are primarily vested in the presiding quorums.

18 The history of correlation under President McKay is chronicled in Gregory A. Prince and William Robert Wright, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (University of Utah Press, 2005), 13959. 19 The English word mystery comes directly from the Greek (musterion). Compare Matthew 13:11 with Mark 4:11, where Jesus is explicit about contrasting the knowledge received by insiders and outsiders (KJV: them that are without). The apostle Paul frequently used the word to describe the miracle of the atonement and the adoption of the Gentile s into the house of God (see Romans 11:25; 16:25; 1 Corinthians 2:7; 4:1; 13:2; 14:2; 15:51; Ephesians 1:9; 3:34, 9; 5:32; 6:19; Colossians 1:2627; 2:2; 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Timothy 3:9, 16). According to Paul, we understand these things because we have the Spirit of God, but to the rest of the world they appear to be foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:616). 20 Things that fit into the latter category that come immediately to mind are the location of Kolob and the final state of the sons of perdition. 21 Joseph Smith, address in the Nauvoo Temple, 12 May 1844. WJS 366. Cf. HC 6:363 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/6/18.html#363); TPJS 364. 22 On the identity of The Church of the Firstborn, see notes to lesson 16, page 9 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week16).

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(5) 84:19. Key of the knowledge of God.23 (a) Joseph Smith:

[The Melchizedek Priesthood] is the channel through which all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation and every important matter is revealed from heaven.24

(6) 84:2021. The power of godliness is manifest in the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood.25 (a) Just as kindliness is the state of being kind, holiness is the state of being holy, and loneliness is the state of being alone, so godliness is the state of being like God. (i) Through the grace of God, his children can become like he is (76:58). (ii) All the ordinances of the priesthood help us to be more godly, but it is especially the ordinances of the temple, performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, that teach us how to become like God is. (7) 84:22. How did Joseph Smith see the face of God, even the Father, and live when he did not hold the Melchizedek Priesthood when he experienced the First Vision? (a) George Q. Cannon taught that this verse referred to not just seeing the Father on earth in a transfiguration experience, as Joseph did, but to entering into the presence of God in a permanent, future sense: [SLIDE 14]
Without this Priesthood, without its ordinances, without its powers, without its gifts, no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live. Therefore it is essential that, if a people should be exalted unto the presence of God, they should have this Melchizedek or greater Priesthood, and the ordinances thereof, by the means of which they are to be prepared, or they shall be prepared to enter into the presence of God the Father, and endure His presence.26

b) [SLIDE 15] The Aaronic Priesthood. i) 107:13. Called so because it was conferred upon Aaron [brother of Moses] and his seed, throughout all their generations.

23 President James E. Faust gave an address on this subject in the priesthood session of General Conference, October 2004 (http://www.lds.org/ensign/2004/11/the-key-of-the-knowledge-of-god). 24 Joseph Smith, 5 October 1840. HC 4:207 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/4/12.html#207); TPJS 16667; WJS 38. 25 The Holy Priesthood spoken of in D&C 84:6ff. originally referred to the office of high priest. The distinction between the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods had not yet been made when this section was revealed in September 1832, and so the key of the knowledge of God, the power of godliness, and other blessings were at first connected with being a high priest. As the doctrine of the priesthood gradually unfolded over the next several years, these keys became part of the Melchizedek Priesthood. 26 George Q. Cannon, 10 August 1884. Journal of Discourses 25:292 (http://en.fairmormon.org/Journal_of_Discourses/25/35#292). Brigham Young and Orson Pratt both taught that Joseph Smith could see the face of God in the First Vision because he was foreordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood (JD 7:289; 22:2930). Others have argued that this in verse 22 refers not to the Melchizedek Priesthood, but to the power of godliness referenced in verses 2021 (see

http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith%27s_First_Vision/Doctrine_and_Covenants_84_says_God_not_seen_without_pries thood).

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ii) Origin of the Aaronic Priesthood. (1) 84:2326. The rejection of the greater priesthood by the children of Israel in the wilderness. (a) 84:2728. With regard to the authority of John the Baptist, this power (84:28) refers not to the Aaronic Priesthood, but to the powers listed thereafter (to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, etc.). c) [SLIDE 16] A third order of the priesthood. i) In a sermon given in late August 1843, Joseph Smith spoke of a third order of the priesthood, the patriarchal.27 (1) He said that this power was held by Abraham, that it was the greatest yet experienced in this church,28 one that would allow a man to talk and walk with God,29 and was to be had in its fullness in the temple.30 (2) Joseph didnt live to expound on this concept further, but it appears that he was referring to the patriarchal order of the priesthood that one enters into during the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (D&C 131:12).
The patriarchal order of the priesthood is therefore the basis of an eternal family organization, one that can continue in the highest portion of the celestial kingdom, where God is the Father of all.31

5) 84:3342. The oath and covenant of the priesthood. a) An oath is a solemn affirmation or declaration; one made with implications of a penalty if one does not act truthfully and carry out the stated intent. i) So what is the oath of the priesthood, and who makes it? 84:40 indicates that it is the Father who makes the oath. The content of this oath may possibly be found in the same passage from Joseph Smiths translation of the Bible that we read earlier. JST Genesis 14:3036: [SLIDE 17]
30

For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order [i.e., a high priest after the order of Melchizedek] 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; 31to 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. 32And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven.

Joseph Smith, sermon in the Nauvoo Temple grove, 27 August 1843. WJS 24348. Accounts of this sermon were written by Willard Richards, Franklin D. Richards, James Burgess, William Clayton, and Levi Richards. Their records were compiled into the edited account in HC 5:555 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/5/29.html#555); TPJS 323. Josephs text for the sermon was Hebrews chapter 7. To understand the theological and historical context of Josephs remarks, see Andrew Ehat and Lyndon Cooks lengthy analysis at WJS 303, fn. 21. 28 Per Franklin Richards account. WJS 245. 29 Per James Burgess account. WJS 246. 30 Patriarchal authority: Finish that temple [i.e., the Nauvoo Temple] and God will fill it with power. Willard Richards account. WJS 245. 31 John A. Tvedtnes, The Patriarchal Order of Priesthood, Meridian Magazine, 19 April 2005 (http://www.ldsmag.com/article/1/201).
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And now, Melchizedek was a priest of this order; therefore he obtained peace in Salem, and was called the Prince of peace.34And his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken, separating it from the earth, having reserved it unto the latter days, or the end of the world; 35and hath said, and sworn with an oath, that the heavens and the earth should come together; and the sons of God should be tried so as by fire. 36 And this Melchizedek, having thus established righteousness, was called the king of heaven by his people, or, in other words, the King of peace.

(1) If this is the oath of the oath and covenant of the priesthood, then it is God himself who swears that those who obtain the priesthood and exercise faith will have power to perform great miracles and to stand in the presence of God [and] do all things according to [Gods] will. b) [SLIDE 18] A covenant is a mutual promise, where each party agrees to specific obligations. In the case of a covenant with God, God sets the terms of the covenant and the promised blessings for being faithful to it. i) 84:33a. Requirements of the covenant of the priesthood: (1) Obtain the priesthood. (2) Magnify ones calling (cf. Jacob 1:19). ii) 84:33b38. Blessings of the covenant: (1) Be sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. (a) I take this to mean that the Spirit of God will make us clean spiritually and give us the physical ability to carry out our priesthood duties. (2) Become the sons of Moses and of Aaron. (3) Become the seed of Abraham. (a) This is fulfilled in the temple sealing. (4) Be of the church and kingdom. (a) Possibly referring to the Church of the Firstborn, Gods heavenly assembly.32 (5) Become the elect of God. (a) The elect are Gods chosen people (many are called, but few are chosen, etc.). (6) All they who receive this priesthood, through his servants, receive the Lord. (7) They who receive Christ receive his Father. (8) They who receive the Father receive the Fathers kingdom. (9) Therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. (a) 76:5859. Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christs, and Christ is Gods. iii) 84:4142. These concluding verses are a warning to those who enter the covenant and then break it, and to those who reject it without entering into it in the first place.
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(1) If we want exaltation, the only path to it is through obtaining and magnifying ones priesthood. There are no back doors or shortcuts. 6) The presiding quorums and offices of the priesthood. a) [SLIDE 19] The First Presidency. i) 107:22. These are three Presiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and upheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church and they form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church. (1) Notice here that the members of the First Presidency serve in their callings as high priests, not as apostles. (a) While counselors in the First Presidency have traditionally been selected from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the president of the Church can choose any worthy priesthood holders he wishes.33 ii) This quorum holds the keys of the kingdom (81:2) and has a right to officiate in all the offices in the church (107:9). iii) The President of the Church is also the president of the high priests of the Church (107:6566) and presides over the whole Church (107:91). (1) In November 1831, when this portion of section 107 was written, the Church was relatively small, and the Church President served as the president of the one and only quorum of high priests. (a) As the Church has grown, the office of presiding high priest has been extended to stake presidents, who each of whom are the president of the high priest quorum in their stake, with high priest group leaders functioning under themwithout keysat the ward level. (b) The President of the Church is still the Presiding High Priest over all the priesthood in the Church. (2) Joseph Smith was ordained President of the High Priesthood [i.e., high priests] by Sidney Rigdon on 24 January 1832.34 Six weeks later he chose Jesse Gause35 and Sidney Rigdon as his counselors. iv) 107:8284. The President of the Church is not above the laws of the Church, and if he transgresses, he would be tried before a common council of the church, composed of the Presiding Bishop of the Church, his two counselors, and twelve high priests especially chosen for the purpose. b) [SLIDE 20] The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. i) 18:2627, 3740. In a revelation given in June 1829, Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer were called to search out the Twelve.

33 In this dispensation ten men have been called to the First Presidency without having been ordained previously as apostles: Sidney Rigdon (served 183244); Jesse Gause (1832); Frederick G. Williams (183337); John Smith (183744); Joseph Smith, Sr. (183740); William Law (184144); John C. Bennett (184142); John R. Winder (190110); Charles W. Nibley (192531); and Thorpe B. Isaacson (196570). 34 This was done at a conference held at Ahmerst, Ohio. See the heading to section 75. 35 By the end of 1832 Jesse Gause had apostatized and was excommunicated. See lesson 17, pages 2 3 (https://sites.google.com/site/hwsarc/home/dc/week17).

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(1) In a Kirtland High Council meeting on 18 January 1835, Joseph Smith announced that the time had come to choose the Twelve Apostles. (2) A special conference was called on 14 February 1835, to be attended by the participants of Zions Camp.36 In that meeting, the First Presidency laid their hands on Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, blessing them and empowering them to select the Twelve from those assembled at the meeting. (3) [SLIDE 21] They chose Thomas B. Marsh, David W. Patten, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, William E. McLellin, Parley P. Pratt, Luke S. Johnson, William Smith, Orson Pratt, John F. Boynton, and Lyman E. Johnson. (4) These men were ordained by the Three Witnesses and placed in seniority within the quorum by order of their age.37 (a) Men ordained to the quorum since then have entered at the bottom in seniority, and then moved up upon the deaths of more senior members. ii) [SLIDE 22] 107:23. The Twelve are called to bespecial witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world (cf. 27:12). iii) 107:24. As a quorum they are equal in authority and power to the First Presidency. (1) This means that they unitedly hold all the same keys as a group that the First Presidency does. (2) 107:33. However, they still act under the direction of the Presidency of the Church until such presidency is dissolved at the death of the Church president. iv) 107:33. They are a Traveling Presiding High Councilseparate from the standing high councils in the stakes of the Churchcalled to build up the church and regulate all [its] affairsin all nations. v) 107:58. They are to ordain and set in order all the other officers of the church. vi) 107:27. Every decision made by the Twelve must be unanimous. (1) [SLIDE 23] Elder Boyd K. Packer:
When a matter comes before the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in a temple meeting, one thing that is determined very quickly is whether it is of serious consequence or not. One or another of us will see in an apparently innocent proposal issues of great and lasting consequence.

Well discuss Zions Camp in our next lesson. This move would later play a pivotal role in the history of the Church: In June 1875 Brigham Young ruled that if an apostle had been removed from the quorum and then later readmitted, his seniority would be based on his date of readmission to the quorum. Orson Pratt was briefly disaffected from the Church in 1841 and 42, but retained his original seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve until 1875, when Brigham moved him down to where he would have been if he had joined in 1842. This meant that John Taylor then had more seniority than Orson Pratt, and it was John Taylor who became President of the Quorum of the Twelveand later President of the Churchafter Brigham Youngs death in August 1877. If Brigham had not realigned the Quorum of the Twelve, Orson would have become its president, and possibly President of the Church, until his own death in October 1881. See Gary James Bergera. Conflict in the Quorum: Orson Pratt, Brigham Young, Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2003), 26180.
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It is clear from the revelations that the decisions of the presiding quorums must be by the unanimous voice of the same. Unless this is the case, their decisions are not entitled to the same blessings (D&C 107:27, 29). In order to ensure that to be the case, matters of consequence are seldom decided in the meeting where they are proposed. And, if the proposal is a part of a larger issue, sufficient time is taken to bring us all along so that it is clear that each of us has either a clear understanding of the issue or, as is often the case, has a very clear feeling about it. . [SLIDE 24] It would be unthinkable to deliberately present an issue in such a way that approval depended upon how it was maneuvered through channels, who was presenting it, or who was present or absent when it was presented. Often one or more of us is away during regular meetings. We all know that the work must proceed and will accept the judgment of our brethren. However, if a matter has been studied by one of the Quorum in more detail than by the others or he is more familiar with it either by assignment, experience, or personal interest, the matter is very often delayed until he can be in on the discussion. And, always, if one of us cannot understand an issue or feels unsettled about it, it is held over for future discussion. [SLIDE 25] I remember occasions when a delegation was sent to the hospital to discuss with a member of the Council who was ill some urgent matter that could not be delayed but which needed that unanimous consent. There are occasions, as well, when one of us will leave the meeting temporarily to call one of our number who is abroad to get his feelings on a matter under discussion. There is a rule we follow: A matter is not settled until there is a minute entry to evidence that all of the Brethren in council assembled (not just one of us, not just a committee) have come to a unity of feeling. Approval of a matter in principle is not considered authority to act until a minute entry records the action takenusually when the minutes are approved in the next meeting. [SLIDE 26] Sometimes an afterthought keeps one of us restless over a decision. That is never dismissed lightly. It cannot be assumed that that restless spirit is not in fact the Spirit of Revelation. That is how we functionin council assembled. That provides safety for the Church and a high comfort level for each of us who is personally accountable. Under the plan, men of very ordinary capacity may be guided through counsel and inspiration to accomplish extraordinary things.38

vii) [SLIDE 27] 107:7981. In matters of authority, doctrine, policy, and discipline, the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are collectively the highest council in the Church, and there is no higher council to which one can appeal.

Boyd K. Packer, I Say unto You, Be One, devotional address given at Brigham Young University, 12 February 1991 (http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=373).
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c) [SLIDE 28] The Seventy. i) The First Quorum of Seventy was organized by Joseph Smith on 28 February 1835, two weeks after the Quorum of the Twelve was called. They were also chosen from among those who had served in Zions Camp. ii) 107:25. The Seventy are called to preach the gospel, and to be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world. (1) Is there an important word difference between Twelves commission as special witnesses and the Seventys as especial witnesses? Not really; theyre variations of the same word: (a) Special: Particular; peculiar; different from others. Designed for a particular purpose.39 (b) Especial: Distinguished among others of the same class or kind; special;principal; particular.40 iii) 107:26. As a quorum they are equal in authority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or Apostles. (1) Just as the Twelve collectively hold the all the keys, so do the Seventy. (2) 107:34. However, they act under the direction of the Twelve, and would only be empowered to use these keys if both the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve ceased to exist. d) [SLIDE 29] The standing high councils. i) 107:36. The stake high councils of the Church form a quorum equal in authority to the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. (1) Keep in mind that, at the time this revelation was written in 1835, there were only two standing high councilsone in Kirtland and another in Zion (Missouri). (a) Even so, if the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and the quorums of Seventy all theoretically ceased to exist, the Church leadership could be reconstituted through a special conference of stake high councils. e) [SLIDE 30] The bishop. i) The description of the office of bishop in these sections refers to what we call today the Presiding Bishop. The Presiding Bishop holds the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood for the entire Church, under the direction of the First Presidency. ii) 107:16. The office of Presiding Bishop belongs to the Aaronic Priesthood, but only a literal descendant of Aaron has a legal right to it (cf. 68:1521). (1) 107:1517; 6971. If no literal descendant can be found,41 then a high priest of the Melchizedek Priesthood may officiate in this office. (a) 107:76. A literal descendant of Aaron may also serve as Presiding Bishop without counselors, if he chooses.
39 40 41

dictionary.com/d/word/special).

Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828 ed., s.v. Special, defs. 2 and 3 (http://www.1828-

Webster, s.v. Especial, def. 1 (http://www.1828-dictionary.com/d/word/especial). And one never has, to the best of my knowledge. Considering the limitations of genealogical research, Im not even certain if such a lineage could be conclusively established. 2013, Mike Parker http://bit.ly/ldsarc For personal use only. Not a Church publication.

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f) [SLIDE 31] Patriarch. i) 107:39. One of the duties of the Twelve is to ordain evangelical ministers within the Church. ii) Joseph Smith taught that
An Evangelist is a Patriarch, even the oldest man of the blood of Joseph or of the seed of Abraham. Wherever the Church of Christ is established in the earth, there should be a Patriarch for the benefit of the posterity of the Saints, as it was with Jacob in giving his patriarchal blessing unto his sons.42

iii) 124:124. Along with the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, the Patriarch to the Church holds the sealing keys. iv) 107:4057. Unlike other priesthood offices, the office of Patriarch is handed down from father to son. v) [SLIDE 32] 124:9192. In this dispensation, this office has been held by descendants of Joseph Smith, Sr., through his son Hyrum Smith.43 (1) The title of this office was known either as Patriarch to the Church or Presiding Patriarch, depending on the preference of the serving President of the Church.44 (2) The Patriarch met with the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in their weekly meetings in the Salt Lake Temple, as was a member of their council. (3) This office was discontinued in October 1979, when the last serving Patriarch, Eldred G. Smith, great-great grandson of Hyrum Smith, was honorably relieved of all duties and designated Patriarch Emeritus.45 7) [SLIDE 33] Official Declaration2. a) This addendum to the Doctrine and Covenants was added following a revelation on the priesthood that was received by President Spencer W. Kimball and sustained by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve on 1 June 1978. i) This revelation reversed the Churchs long-standing policy of not ordaining men with African ancestry to the priesthood.

42 Joseph Smith, instruction to the brethren at Commerce, Illinois, 27 June 1839. HC 3:381 (http://byustudies.byu.edu/hc/3/26.html#381); TPJS 151; WJS 6. 43 Those who held the office were Joseph Smith, Sr. (183340); Hyrum Smith (184044); William Smith, son of Joseph Sr. (1845); Uncle John Smith, son of Joseph Sr. (184954); John Smith, son of Hyrum (18551911); Hyrum G. Smith, son of latter John (191232); Acting Presiding Patriarch Nicholas G. Smith, great-grandson of Uncle John (193234); Acting Presiding Patriarch Frank B. Woodbury, no relation to the Smith family (193437); Acting Presiding Patriarch George F. Richards, no relation to the Smith family (193742); Joseph Fielding Smith (not the apostle), great-grandson of Hyrum Smith (194246); Eldred G. Smith, son of Hyrum G. Smith (194779). 44 For a thorough history of this office and the men who held it, see Irene M. Bates and E. Gary Smith, Lost Legacy: The Mormon Office of Presiding Patriarch (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1996). Co-author Gary Smith is the son of Eldred G. Smith, the last serving Church Patriarch. 45 The First Presidencys stated reason for this was because of the large increase in the number of stake patriarchs and the availability of patriarchal service throughout the world. Conference Report, October 1979, 25 (http://archive.org/stream/conferencereport1979sa#page/n27).

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b) [SLIDE 34] A brief history of blacks and the priesthood is in order here.46 i) During his lifetime, the Prophet Joseph ordained or authorized the priesthood ordinations of several black men. (1) The best known individual was Elijah Abel (180884), who was ordained an elder in March 1836 and a seventy in December 1836.47 (2) To the best of our knowledge, Joseph never taught that blacks were to be excluded from the priesthood.48 ii) After the exodus from Nauvoo, there was some discussion among the members of the Twelve about the propriety of ordaining blacks to the priesthood.49 iii) Sometime between 1847 and 1850 ordinations of black men to the priesthood ended. (1) As the new (2013) introduction to OD2 puts it, Church records offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice. (2) Brigham and the other brethren never claimed that the ordinations were stopped because a specific revelation had directed them to do so, and no documentation of a revelation instituting the ban has ever been produced.50 iv) The ban appears to have its origin in the common belief in America that blacks were the descendants of Cain, who was cursed and marked for killing his brother Abel (Genesis 4:915), through the lineage of Noahs son Ham (Genesis 9:2025).51

46 The most important and influential study on this subject is Lester E. Bush, Jr., Mormonisms Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview, Dialogue 8/1 (Spring 1973), 1168 (https://www.dialoguejournal.com/wpcontent/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V08N01_13.pdf). Bush later wrote a retrospective on this paper and its impact: Writing Mormonisms Negro Doctrine: An Historical Overview (1973): Context and Reflections, Journal of Mormon History 25/1 (Spring 1999), 22971 (http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=mormonhistory). Another informative work is Armand L. Mauss, All Abrahams Children: Changing Conceptions of Race and Lineage (Urbana and Chicago, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2003). 47 Others include Joseph T. Ball, who held the priesthood and served as president of the Boston Branch from 1844 to 1845; Walker Lewis, ordained an elder in 1844; and William McCary, who was baptized and ordained to an unknown priesthood office in 1846. A handful of authorized ordinations also took place while the priesthood ban was in force: Elijah Abels son, Enoch, was ordained an elder in 1900, and his grandson, also named Elijah, was also ordained an elder in 1935. 48 Ronald K. Esplin has attempted to draw a connection between Joseph Smith and the priesthood ban, in Brigham Young and Priesthood Denial to the Blacks: An Alternate View, BYU Studies 19/3 (Spring 1979), 394402. Esplins argument can be summarized thus: The earliest documentation we have about discussions about the priesthood ban immediately follow the Nauvoo period. Brigham Young listened carefully to everything Joseph Smith taught. We dont have a complete record of everything Joseph taught. Therefore, Brigham must have received instructions from Joseph instituting the ban. Unfortunately for Esplin, he is arguing from conjecture, and has no documentation to back up his assertions. 49 The earliest statement appears to come in an offhand remark made by Apostle Parley P. Pratt on 25 April 1847 at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. In an address to the Saints there, he denounced those who followed offshoot Mormon groups, including those who want to follow this Black man who has got the blood of Ham in him which lineage was cursed as regards the Priesthood. Esplin, 395. Pratt did not identify who this Black man was. 50 Although there is no specific revelation instituting the ban, Brigham Young did believe that the ban was Gods will. In his first public statement on the spiritual status of blacks, given in an address before the Utah territorial legislature on 5 February 1852, he affirmed that blacks were the descendants of Cain, and declared, Now then in the kingdom of God on the earth, a man who has the African blood in him cannot hold one jot nor tittle of priesthood: Why? because they are the true eternal principles the Lord Almighty has ordained, and who can help it, men cannot, the angels cannot, and all the powers of earth and hell cannot take it off, but thus saith the Eternal I Am. Elden Watson, Brigham Young Addresses, vol. 2; Esplin, 400. Brigham did, however, follow this statement with a prophecy that, That time will come when they [blacks] will have the privilege of all we have the privilege of and more. 51 Several important books by non-LDS scholars have been written on this subject, including Stephen R. Haynes, Noah's Curse : The Biblical Justification of American Slavery (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002); David M. Goldenberg, The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2003); Sylvester Johnson, The Myth of Ham in Nineteenth-Century American Christianity: Race, Heathens, and the People of God (New York, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004).

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(1) This was the conventional explanation for the existence of the black race employed by many Protestant whitesparticularly by religious American slave ownersand was used as the justification for black slavery. (2) Mormon explanations that added Egyptus, the daughter of Ham (Abraham 1:21 27) to the stories of Cain and Ham began to appear in the late 19th century, beginning with the writings of Seventy B.H. Roberts. v) The priesthood ban, along with its explanations, was considered both a policy and a doctrine.52 c) [SLIDE 35] As race and black civil rights became more of a pressing issue in post-World War II America, the First Presidency began to be confronted with questions and concerns about the ban.53 i) The gospel also began to spread among blacks in Africa in the 1950s, causing concerns about how to provide for local priesthood leaders. ii) President David O. McKay first made priesthood ordinations of blacks a matter of prayer in 1954.54 iii) Elder Marion D. Hanks of the Seventy recalled that President McKay told him in the late 1960s that he had prayed and prayed and prayed [about the priesthood ban], but there has been no answer.55 iv) The issue became even more difficult with the growth of the Church in Brazil. Virtually every native Brazilian male has some African ancestry, and it became nearly impossible to find local leaders who could be ordained. d) President Spencer W. Kimball made the issue a matter of intense fasting and prayer, and, on 1 June 1978, received a revelation reversing the ban.56 i) The revelation was received during an extended meeting of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve in the Salt Lake Temple.57 The brethren had extended their fast into the afternoon, discussed the ban at length, and were then gathered in a prayer circle when the revelation came.58 ii) Many of those who were there later testified of the great power that came upon them at that moment. They described it as being similar to the day of Pentecost or the dedication of the Kirtland Temple.

Despite the lack of a specific revelation authorizing the priesthood ban or evidence that it originated with Joseph Smith, the First Presidency declared in a statement made 17 August 1949, The attitude of the Church with reference to Negroes remains as it has always stood. It is not a matter of the declaration of a policy but of direct commandment from the Lord, on which is founded the doctrine of the Church from the days of its organization, to the effect that Negroes may become members of the Church but that they are not entitled to the priesthood at the present time. (Italics added.) Similar stateme nts were issued on 17 July 1947 and 17 August 1951, demonstrating how entrenched the ban and the scriptural justifications for it were, one hundred years after the ban was instituted. 53 A documentary history of how this issue was dealt with during the administration of President David O. McKay (1951 69) can be found in Gregory A. Prince and William Robert Wright, David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 2005), 60105. 54 Prince and Wright, 103. 55 Ibid. 56 A history of how the priesthood ban was addressed and revelation sought and received by President Kimball can be found in Edward L. Kimball, Lengthen Your Stride: The Presidency of Spencer W. Kimball (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 2005), 195245. 57 The only two not in attendance were apostles Delbert L. Stapley, who was hospitalized, and Mark E. Petersen, who was in South America on assignment. Both men sustained the revelation when they were informed about it immediately afterward. 58 Kimball, 22022.
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(1) [SLIDE 36] President Gordon B. Hinckley related:

There was a hallowed and sanctified atmosphere in the room. For me, it felt as if a conduit opened between the heavenly throne and the kneeling, pleading prophet of God who was joined by his Brethren. The Spirit of God was there. And by the power of the Holy Ghost there came to that prophet an assurance that the thing for which he prayed was right, that the time had come, and that now the wondrous blessings of the priesthood should be extended to worthy men everywhere regardless of lineage. Every man in that circle, by the power of the Holy Ghost, knew the same thing. It was a quiet and sublime occasion. There was not the sound as of a rushing mighty wind, there were not cloven tongues like as of fire (Acts 2:23) as there had been on the Day of Pentecost. But there was a Pentecostal spirit, for the Holy Ghost was there. [SLIDE 37] No voice audible to our physical ears was heard. But the voice of the Spirit whispered with certainty into our minds and our very souls. It was for us, at least for me personally, as I imagine it was with Enos, who said concerning his remarkable experience, And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind. (Enos 1:10.) So it was on that memorable June 1, 1978. We left that meeting subdued and reverent and joyful. Not one of us who was present on that occasion was ever quite the same after that. Nor has the Church been quite the same. All of us knew that the time had come for a change and that the decision had come from the heavens. The answer was clear. There was perfect unity among us in our experience and in our understanding.59

e) [SLIDE 34] With regard to this change in Church policy, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, only two months after the revelation was announced, said:
Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Youngor whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation [on the priesthood given in 1978]. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world. We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They dont matter any more. It doesnt make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the Negro matter before the first day of June of this year [1978]. It is a new day and a new arrangement, and the Lord has now given the revelation that sheds light out into the world on this subject.60

8) [SLIDE 35] Next week: a) D&C 87, 90, 100101, 103, 105.

59 Gordon B. Hinckley, Priesthood Restoration, Ensign, October 1988, 70 (http://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/10/priesthood-restoration). 60 Bruce R. McConkie, All Are Alike unto God, address in the Second Annual CES Symposium, 18 August 1978 (http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1570).

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