Sign 23 – Melchizedek Priesthood Restored

Year:1829

Scriptures:

Doctrine and Covenants 27:12

12 And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them;

“John told Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery that the priesthood which he gave them did not include the authority to lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost; that would come later.  (JS-H 1:70) He also told them that he was acting under the direction of the ancient apostles Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the priesthood of Melchizedek. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery would receive that authority ‘in due time’. (JS-H 1:72) The Melchizedek Priesthood is the highest order of priesthood that God grants to his children on earth. In a later revelation, Joseph Smith learned that its original name was ‘the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood’. (D&C 107:3-4) This priesthood encompasses every authority in the Church, presides over all of its functions, and empowers men to speak and act in the name of God.

“We do not know the date when Peter, James, and John appeared on the earth to restore the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Prophet's writings and sermons are silent concerning the exact date, as also are the records of Oliver Cowdery. We do know that the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood happened after 15 May 1829 and before the Church was organized on 6 April 1830. (D&C 20:2-3, 38) Circumstantial evidence places the event within two weeks of the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. On 1 June 1829, the Prophet and his scribe arrived in Fayette, New York, to complete the translation of the Book of Mormon at the Whitmer home. It appears that the restoration of the higher priesthood had happened before that date. In 1842 Joseph Smith stated that the event took place ‘in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county [Pennsylvania], and Colesville, Broome county [New York], on the Susquehanna river’. (D&C 12:208) That would place the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood near the Pennsylvania-New York border, some miles upstream from the place where the Aaronic Priesthood had been restored.

“With the restoration of the higher priesthood by those who held it anciently came also the restoration of the keys to preside over the Lord's work on earth. The keys of the priesthood belong to the apostleship. They are the ‘keys of the kingdom’ (D&C 128:20) which Jesus had given his Twelve anciently and by which they, and now Joseph Smith and his successors, were authorized to speak and act in the name of Christ. The restoration of the apostleship also restored the keys of revelation. Joseph Smith taught that the Melchizedek Priesthood ‘is the channel through which all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation and every important matter is revealed from heaven.’ It is ‘the channel through which . . . he has continued to reveal himself to the children of men to the present time and through which he will make known his purposes to the end of time.’ (Ehat and Cook, Words of Joseph Smith, 38-39) ‘The apostles in ancient times held the keys of this priesthood—of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and consequently were enabled to unlock, and unravel all things pertaining to the government of the church, the welfare of society, the future destiny of men, and the agency, power, and influence of spirits. (Times and Seasons 3, no. 11 (1 April 1842): 745) This priesthood ‘administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.’ In its ordinances, ‘the power of godliness is manifest’. (D&C 84:19-20) Now those powers were restored to earth, into the hands of men who, like their fellow apostles anciently, would carry on the work of Christ.

“One great blessing of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood was the restoration of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Perhaps before the Prophet fully knew what it was, he was told about this gift by John the Baptist. (JS-H 1:70) The gift of the Holy Ghost is a special blessing for those who through the covenant of baptism have taken upon themselves the name of Christ. It is their promise of the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit, provided they live their lives worthy of it. Many good persons outside Christ's church have received the influence of the Spirit in their efforts to serve the Lord according to the knowledge they have possessed. That influence is especially present among those who are searching for truth, and missionaries can attest that it is that influence of the Spirit and not their own skill that brings people to conversion. But the gift of the Holy Ghost promises more than the sometimes temporary promptings felt by seekers after truth. As Joseph Smith taught:

“‘There is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Cornelius [a convert in Acts 10] received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the truth of the gospel. But he could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he was baptized. And had he not taken this sign [or] ordinances upon him, the Holy Ghost, which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him until he obeyed those ordinances and received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, according to the order of God.’ (Times and Seasons 3, no. 11 (1 April 1842): 745)

“Thus the gift of the Holy Ghost is not only a special blessing but also a saving ordinance that signifies a covenant between God and individual Saints. Like baptism, it is required of those who would inherit the celestial kingdom. It gives them the assurance that God's latter-day work is true and that prophets guide his Church. And it enables them to retain that testimony in the face of life's challenges. Those who use this gift wisely and worthily are empowered to overcome the world by faith and to be sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. (D&C 76:53)

“I Have Chosen You

“Without the priesthood, sacred ordinances cannot be performed with legitimacy and are not recognized by God as binding, regardless of the motives of those who might seek to act in God's name. Because of this, a few months after the restoration of the priesthood the Lord revealed the truth that the Saints' previous baptisms were not valid and thus they would need to be baptized again under the authority of the newly restored priesthood. (D&C 22:1-4) Joseph Smith taught that ‘all the ordinances, systems, and administrations on the earth are of no use to the children of men unless they are ordained and authorized of God.’ They must be performed by ‘a legal administrator. For none others will be acknowledged, either by God or angels.’ (Times and Seasons 3, no. 11 (1 April 1842): 745) This is a fundamental principle of true Christianity. Because of the importance of the priesthood, the coming of Peter, James, and John is one of the key events in the Lord's work of the last days, an indispensable part of the restoration of the gospel. “Having received the authority of God, Joseph Smith stood in the same position that was occupied by Peter in the ancient Church. Thus empowered, his works were authorized by heaven and were binding and valid. The same is true for all those who have received those same keys in succession from Joseph Smith to the present moment.

“This authority is not a legacy inherited through the centuries of Christian history. The chain of priesthood that binds the restored Church to the primitive Church does not pass through the medieval

church, the Reformation church, or the churches of Joseph Smith's day. The priesthood authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a new, undiluted revelation of the power that was held anciently by Jesus' apostolic witnesses. It was brought back by the very men who held it before, so that the priesthood in the last days would continue an unbroken succession of ordination from those who received it under the hands of Jesus Christ. ‘How have we come at the priesthood in the last days?’ Joseph Smith asked. ‘It came down, down in regular succession. Peter, James, and John had it given to them, and they gave it up [to us].’ (Times and Seasons 3, no. 11 (1 April 1842): 745)

“When the Savior set apart his Twelve he told them, ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you’ (John 15:16) In saying that, he established the truth that divine authority is vested in men only by deliberate selection from God and only on God's terms. True authority cannot come in any other way—whether by believing in the Holy Bible, by receiving educational degrees, or by feeling sincerely that one has been called.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asserts its claim to being Christ's church because, among other reasons, its authority is not of men. It was revealed from God: “‘…Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them;

“‘Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth’ (D&C 27:12-13) “ (Kent P. Jackson, From Apostasy to Restoration [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co.) 1996])