24/2/2020 The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: Priesthood, the Word of God, and the Temple

Doctrine and Covenants

e Restoration of Major Doctrines

through Joseph Smith:
Priesthood, the Word of God, and the Temple

By Donald Q. Cannon, Larry E. Dahl, and John W. Welch

Second in a series of two articles.

Since earliest times, the Lord’s Saints have looked forward to the return of Jesus
Christ and “the times of restitution of all things.” ese times would restore a
fulness of all the doctrines, covenants, promises, and blessings spoken by God
through “the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” 1 (Acts 3:21.)

Modern-day prophets have testi ed that Peter’s words have been ful lled in our
age, “the dispensation of the fulness of times.” (D&C 128:18.) e Restoration is
among the most important tasks God has ever entrusted to a man—without it, “the
whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” (D&C 2:3.)

e world’s debt to Joseph Smith is great. As prophet, seer, and revelator, he is

central in this dispensation. Last month, we examined his impact on our
understanding of God, man, and the Creation. is month, we consider three more
crucial topics about which he taught much: priesthood, scripture, and the temple.

Power and Authority: e Priesthood of God

Joseph Smith’s teachings concerning priesthood constitute a distinctive part of
Latter-day Saint religion. e term priesthood, as used by Latter-day Saints, has at
least two speci c meanings. Priesthood is both authority from God to act in his
name and actual power to accomplish God’s purposes. Joseph Smith proclaimed
that he received such authority and power directly from heavenly messengers and
that religious ordinances performed without divine authority have no binding
e ect outside this life. Baptism, for example, is valid only when someone
possessing divine authority performs it.

Joseph Smith taught that priesthood authority and power had to be restored to the
earth because it had been lost through apostasy. 2 Historical evidences of this
apostasy include denials of spiritual gifts, uncertainty about doctrines and the roles
of Church o cers, changes in covenants and ordinances, and overindulgence in
pomp and splendor. ese external manifestations re ected the internal loss of
divine authority.

As early as 1823, Moroni promised Joseph Smith that the priesthood would be
revealed to him by the hand of Elijah. (See D&C 2:1.) Priesthood restoration began
on 15 May 1829 when John the Baptist—by then a resurrected being of glory—
appeared to the young prophet and Oliver Cowdery to confer the Aaronic
Priesthood upon them. (See D&C 13; JS—H 1:68–72.) Shortly thereafter, the

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Apostles Peter, James, and John came and conferred upon them the Melchizedek
Priesthood. 3 (See D&C 27:12–13.)

In 1836 Joseph Smith received, in the Kirtland Temple, additional fundamental

priesthood keys. ese priesthood powers included the keys of the gathering of
Israel, the keys of the gospel of Abraham, and the keys of the sealing power, each
set of powers restored personally by Moses, Elias, and Elijah. (See D&C 110.) At
other times, additional keys and powers of the priesthood were also restored. (See
D&C 128:21.) ese included the keys of the kingdom pertaining to the
dispensation of the fulness of times, keys that have subsequently passed to Joseph
Smith’s successors, including President Ezra Taft Benson today. (See D&C 90:1–5.)

As this process of priesthood restoration unfolded, Joseph Smith’s understanding

of the nature of priesthood power and authority increased. Sometime in April or
May 1829, he translated the passage in Alma 13 about the high priesthood after the
holy order of the Son of God. He also learned that the priesthood is eternal, a
concept that he more fully expressed in 1839 when he said, “ e Priesthood is an
everlasting principle & Existed with God from Eternity.” 4 Soon afterward, he
received the lesser priesthood, the priesthood of Aaron. (See D&C 13; D&C 84:25–
27.) By this, he learned that two types of priesthood exist and that they would be
operative in this dispensation. In May 1829, he also learned that priesthood power
is necessary in order to baptize, to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost, and to
administer the sacrament of the Lord’s supper. (See 3 Ne. 11:22; 3 Ne. 18:37; Moro.
2–6.)

In April 1830, Joseph organized e Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

based upon a foundation of Apostles, prophets, elders, priests, teachers, and
deacons; and in June 1830, he witnessed “glorious manifestations of the powers of
the Priesthood.” 5

In March 1835, he gained further insight into the distinctions between the Aaronic
and Melchizedek priesthoods: “ e Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of
presidency, and has power and authority over all o ces in the church” (D&C
107:8), while the Aaronic Priesthood “is called the lesser priesthood … because it is
an appendage to the greater, or the Melchizedek Priesthood” (D&C 107:14). Two
years later, the Prophet recorded, “ e higher the authority, the greater the
di culty of the station.” 6

Joseph Smith also learned that temples had to be constructed to “enable all the
functions of the Priesthood to be duly exercised.” 7 Near the end of his life, he
reemphasized to the Saints that although ministers of other faiths did not have
divine authority, he did. 8

e teachings of Joseph Smith concerning the nature of authority and the need for
a restoration di er markedly from other nineteenth-century creeds. Most
Protestants believed that the written words of the Bible constituted the only
authority necessary and saw the congregation of believers as a “royal priesthood”
in Christ. Catholics asserted priesthood authority in the traditions of the church
and through the popes, who they claimed received authority from Peter. 9

Neither Protestants nor Catholics generally recognized the need for a restoration of
priesthood authority or for an organization of priesthood o ces and functions

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similar to what existed in the early church. Early Christians, however, had
priesthood o ces and authority quite similar to those established by Joseph Smith.

e New Testament contains evidence of that view. Di erences between the

Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, for example, are outlined in Hebrews 7. e
concept “that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of
hands by those who are in authority” (A of F 1:5) is expressed in Hebrews 5:4,
which says, “No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God,
as was Aaron.” (See 1 Tim. 4:14.)

Ephesians 2:19–20 and 4:11–14 a rm that Apostles and prophets form the essential
foundation of the Church, and the New Testament contains references to bishops,
seventies, elders, priests, deacons, and other o ces. (See Luke 10:1; Acts 14:23; 1
Tim. 3:1, 8; Rev. 20:6.) Traces of this organization survived in the rst few centuries
after Christ. Clement and Ignatius, for example, mention bishops, elders, and
deacons in the local structure of church authority. 10 With the death of the Apostles,
however, priesthood keys no longer existed in the church, and apostate ideas soon
replaced these earlier teachings. rough the Prophet Joseph Smith, correct
concepts and divine authority were restored.

What Constitutes Scripture?

Unlike traditional Christianity, which remains a religion of the book (the Bible), the
restored gospel from its beginning has been a religion of books. Joseph Smith’s
contribution to the concept of scripture is important and unique.

e translation of the Book of Mormon assured from the birth of the Church an
openness to scriptural texts outside the Bible. Its appearance established that God
still speaks through prophets and that the Bible is not an exhaustive collection of
scripture. e Book of Mormon expressly cautions readers: “Because that ye have a
Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose
that I have not caused more to be written.” (2 Ne. 29:10.)

It goes even further, pronouncing a woe upon those who say, “We need no more of
the word of God, for we have enough.” (2 Ne. 28:29.)

From the writings of Nephi, Joseph Smith learned that the Book of Mormon would
be only one of many books to come forth in the last days. (See 1 Ne. 13:39; 2 Ne.
27:11.) e pages of the Book of Mormon also contain interpretations, additions,
and corrections to chapters from Isaiah, as well as quotations from heretofore
unknown prophets of ancient Israel (Zenos and Zenock, for example), together
with a precious account of the resurrected Savior’s personal ministry among
inhabitants of ancient America.

From the Book of Mormon, Joseph had his concept of scripture greatly expanded.
e translation of the Nephite scripture gave concrete evidence that the Lord had
spoken to “all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the
south,” and that they had written God’s words by which he “will judge the world.”
(2 Ne. 29:11.) New scripture promotes faith in other sacred texts. Mormon 7:9 adds
that the Nephite records were “written for the intent that ye may believe [the
Bible].” [Morm. 7:9]

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Between the time the Book of Mormon was published and the Kirtland Temple
was dedicated, Joseph Smith learned that God had given power and knowledge to
man in a series of dispensations. (See D&C 27:12–13; D&C 110:12, 16.) Beginning
with Adam, each dispensation had been given holy scripture “according to their
language, unto their understanding.” (2 Ne. 31:3.) Restoring lost knowledge from
those earlier dispensations was a part of the restoration of all things, as the receipt
of the Book of Moses in 1830 richly illustrated. 11

In none of these things, however, did Joseph Smith think any less of the Bible as far
as it was translated correctly. (See A of F 1:8.) Indeed, as early as 1830, Joseph
devoted great energy to improving our understanding of the King James Bible. He
considered this work a “branch of [his] calling,” 12 and he spent many hours
studying and restoring proper meaning to many passages. In all, Joseph Smith
altered about 3,400 verses in the Bible—about 10 percent of the total. Because this
task was not completed—and for other reasons—we use the King James Version. 13

In addition to restoring ancient principles, Joseph Smith added new revelations to

the body of scripture: the volume of sacred writ was not to be closed. Many of
these revelations were communicated during regular conferences, then printed in
o cial reports. Signi cantly, these revelations stand as scripture itself: “What I the
Lord have spoken, I have spoken, … my word shall not pass away, but shall all be
ful lled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
(D&C 1:38.)

us, by experience and revelation, Joseph learned and taught (1) that scripture is
nothing more or less than the word of the Lord, (2) that the book of God’s word is
not closed, (3) that God speaks to all dispensations, (4) that scripture must be
correctly understood through the spirit of truth, and (5) that the words of the
Lord’s servants when moved upon by the Holy Ghost are scripture, too. (See 2 Pet.
1:20–21; D&C 68:4.)

ese doctrines came into Joseph Smith’s world as radical ideas. Joseph’s Christian
contemporaries accepted as scripture only the books of the Bible. ey considered
that volume to be a single, complete, and absolute source to be understood quite
literally. us, the laws of the Massachusetts Bay Colony described the Old and
New Testaments as “containing in them the infallible and whole Will of God, which
he purposed to make known to Mankinde,” the denial of which was punishable by
nes, whippings, banishment, or death. 14

To people of such persuasion, the ideas of continuous revelation, additional

scripture, dispensations, inspired versions, and gifts of prophecy evoked sharp
reactions. For example, two months after the publication of the Book of Mormon,
the Palmyra Re ector warned Oliver Cowdery that he might be sent as a convict to
the Simsbury Mines if he dared to proclaim its message in “the principal cities of
the Union.” 15

e rejection of new revelation in the 1830s was similar to the rejection of new
revelation by the Jews at the time of Christ. Many Jews whom Jesus encountered
insisted that the receipt of new scripture was impossible, that the law was complete
(as they interpreted Lev. 27:34 to say), and that prophecy had ceased after the
second century B.C. 16

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For the early Christians, however, the oodgates of revelation had just opened
again. e Epistle to the Hebrews begins with a bold declaration of new revelation:
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.” (Heb.
1:1–2.)

John declares likewise: “ e Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him,
to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.” (Rev. 1:1.)

To these early followers of Jesus, the scriptures were not a closed set of writings. To
the Apostle Paul, for example, all writings 17 inspired by God were good for
doctrine and the promotion of righteousness. (See 2 Tim. 3:16.)

In Paul’s day, there was no xed collection of books, even among the Jews, that
exclusively counted as scripture. us, Jude 1:14–15 quotes without reservation the
nonbiblical book of Enoch as scripture. Indeed, not until the fourth century did
the New Testament canon become xed, and not until the Reformation in the
sixteenth century did the church regard the Old Testament as Jerome did—that is,
as the Hebrew canon. 18

Matthew, Paul, and Jesus himself led the way in showing, as Joseph Smith did, the
need for expounding, searching, and interpreting the scriptures in light of current
conditions and true perceptions (see Matt. 22:23–33; Matt. 24:27; John 5:39), and in
issuing new commandments (see John 13:34; 1 Cor. 6:7–8). ey recognized the
impossibility of restricting their spiritual knowledge to a nite number of pages. 19
(See John 21:25.) us we see an open and complex idea of scripture in the early
Christian movement that is comparable to the expanding view of scripture
understood by Joseph Smith. 20

Temples and Eternal Marriage

Also unique among the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith in his day were
those regarding temple covenants, baptism for the dead, and the eternal sealing of
families. No other religion o ered people then, nor do any o er today, the
opportunity to receive these rich and wonderful blessings. Joseph Smith taught
that while resurrection from death is a gift of God to all mankind through the
death and resurrection of Christ (see 1 Cor. 15:21–22), exaltation through the
power of the priesthood comes only to those who are sancti ed through the Spirit
and who keep sacred covenants (see D&C 84:19–24, 33–41.) e most important of
these covenants are made in holy temples.

Early in his ministry, Joseph Smith learned the importance of temples in the Lord’s
plan of salvation. Before his martyrdom, the Saints had built temples at Kirtland
and Nauvoo and dedicated sites in Independence, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and Far
West.

In this dispensation, the pattern of temple building was rst revealed through the
Book of Mormon. is ancient record indicates that in the lands of Nephi,
Zarahemla, and Bountiful, the righteous Nephites constructed temples to perform
their ordinances. (See 2 Ne. 5:16; Mosiah 2:1; 3 Ne. 11:1.) With the coming of
Christ, the Nephite temple remained signi cant, as Jesus appeared and taught

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there, instructing his people to keep certain commandments (see 3 Ne. 12:20–13:24)
and entering into a covenant with them (see 3 Ne. 18:6–10).

In January 1831, the Lord commanded Joseph Smith to go to Kirtland, where he

would be “endowed with power from on high.” (D&C 38:32.) Shortly thereafter, a
temple site was selected there. In July and August 1831, the word of the Lord
instructed the Saints that another temple site should be dedicated in
Independence, Missouri. (See D&C 57:3; D&C 58:57.) In the ordinances of these
sacred houses, the Lord said, the “power of godliness” and “the mysteries of the
kingdom” (D&C 84:19–21) would be made manifest. ere the Saints could
worship, give thanks, receive counsel, and be endowed with power. (See D&C
95:7–17.)

Joseph’s understanding of speci c temple ordinances grew from these concepts in

1831 to a crescendo in 1844. In 1834, the need for a restoration of all the ordinances
of the gospel was revealed: “We all admit that the Gospel has ordinances, and if so,
had it not always ordinances, and were not its ordinances always the same?” 21

e Lord promised that ordinances would be performed in the temple, where “a

great endowment and blessing [will] be poured out.” (D&C 105:12; see also D&C
105:18, 33.) In 1835, the Saints learned that they needed an endowment to “be
prepared and able to overcome all things.” 22 After the completion of the Kirtland
Temple in 1836, washing, anointing, and sealing the anointing were performed
there. 23

During the Nauvoo period, Joseph Smith taught more about the keys of the
kingdom necessary to be born again, to be sealed unto eternal life by the holy
spirit of promise, and to recognize Satan. He also revealed that the early Apostles
Peter and Paul knew these things. 24 He explained that Adam “was the rst to hold
the spiritual blessings” and knew “the plan of ordinances for the Salvation of his
posterity unto the end.” 25 rough the priesthood in the temple, the Prophet
explained, eternally vital matters are to be revealed from heaven.

On 15 August 1840, at the funeral sermon for Seymour Brunson, Joseph Smith
gave the rst discourse on baptism for the dead. 26 is ordinance was being
performed in the font at the Nauvoo Temple by November 21 of the next year. 27

Also, toward the end of 1840, the Lord promised that certain keys and names by
which one may ask and receive would be taught. (See D&C 124:95, 97.) 28

In 1842, the women of the Relief Society learned of the vital role they would play in
the kingdom. 29 Joseph Smith further taught that there existed “certain signs and
words by which false spirits and personages may be detected from true, which
cannot be revealed to the Elders till the Temple is completed.” 30

By 1843, the temple’s full import and design seem to have crystallized in the
Prophet’s teachings. e doctrines of sealing and of becoming kings and queens,
priests and priestesses were often discussed. Joseph Smith taught that “except a
man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity,
while in this probation, by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, they
will cease to increase when they die; that is, they will not have any children after the
resurrection,” 31 nor can they obtain the highest degree of the celestial glory. (See
D&C 131:1–4.)

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Accordingly, Joseph and Emma Smith were sealed for time and eternity on 28 May
1843. 32 Sometime between 29 August 1842 and 16 July 1843, Joseph Smith
discussed the full concept of temple ordinances with Hyrum Smith, Brigham
Young, Willard Richards, and others of the Twelve. 33 He explained how Abraham’s
endowment was the patriarchal order of marriage for time and eternity. 34 e
members of the Quorum of the Twelve then received both the Aaronic and
Melchizedek portions of the endowment, and within a year they and their wives
had been sealed for eternity.

Finally, in his last year, Joseph completed his doctrinal instruction about the
temple. He taught that Jesus received the fulness of the priesthood on the Mount of
Trans guration. 35 He said that knowledge of “our condition and true relation to
God … can only be obtained by experience through the ordinances of God set
forth for that purpose.” 36

He also explained the power of Elijah in connection with the sealing of parents to
children. 37 He stated that ordinances are to be performed for the living and for the
dead, in “a place where all nations shall come up from time to time to receive their
endowments.” 38

In Joseph’s own day, these ideas met with resistance and disdain. 39 Nevertheless,
the idea of sacred temple worship was indigenous to early Christianity. e early
Saints in Jerusalem did not repudiate the temple but worshipped there daily. (See
Acts 2:46.) Paul brought alms to the Jews—such o erings were traditionally o ered
in the temple. (See Acts 24:17–18.) In John’s vision of Jesus Christ, the temple was
featured prominently. (See Rev. 3:12, Rev. 7:15, Rev. 11:1.) In early Christianity, a
considerable “envy of the temple” lingered long after the loss of the temple. 40

Since we know almost nothing for certain about Christ’s con dential teachings to
his Apostles, it is impossible to know, except through revelation, the esoteric
doctrines he taught anciently. We are also not sure what “the mysteries of the
kingdom” were that Jesus and the Apostles occasionally referred to. Most traces of
this aspect of early Christianity were systematically eradicated in the third and
fourth centuries. 41

Increasingly, however, scholars are accepting the idea that early Christians knew
sacred teachings and observed sacred rites necessary for the perfecting of the
Saints. 42 What those teachings and rites might have been anciently can be partially
pieced together from disparate fragments and scattered clues that, against the
odds, have survived: We know, for example, that the early Saints performed
baptisms for the dead. 43 (See 1 Cor. 15:29.) Some writings mention a secret and
sacred ordinance of the “mirrored bridal chamber” associated with “the Holy of the
Holies.” 44 A few texts speak of the Apostles and their wives forming a circle so that
Jesus could teach them “the ordinances of the treasury of light, they being
conducted by him through all the ordinances and thereby learning to progress in
the hereafter.” 45

us, a body of Christian texts attests that secret teachings and sacred rites had
formerly existed but had been lost to the main church early in its history. 46 While
conventional scholarship is unable to reconstruct with any con dence the nature of
early Christian liturgy and ordinance work, we can see enough in the dim records

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of the past to appreciate that Joseph Smith indeed restored eternal truths regarding
temples and ordinances.

As these doctrines and the others we have discussed show, the Prophet Joseph
Smith’s greatest contributions to the welfare of mankind came in the divine truths
and power he restored. ese truths were not given him all at once, however; his
knowledge grew line upon line, precept upon precept, and he shared his new
understandings with the Saints as they were prepared to receive them. In many
respects, these teachings were di erent from the teachings of his day. Even so, some
of these most distinctive doctrines of the church he organized are demonstrably
similar to speci c teachings of early Christianity.

e world owes a great debt to Joseph Smith—a debt not yet completely
understood. Our present studies point toward horizons that extend far beyond
what we have glimpsed here. rough Joseph Smith indeed has come “the times of
restitution of all things” and “the times of refreshing … from the presence of the
Lord.” (Acts 3:19–21.)

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