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MELCHIZEDEK/AARONIC PRIESTHOOD
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In Mormonism, the Melchizedek priesthood is one of the two or three types, or "orders" of priesthood. Mormons believe that this priesthood has the power to seal, heal and do all number of things in "Jesus'" name. The Aaronic Priesthood is the lesser priesthood.
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Above the mission office in Stockholm there is a conference room. In the middle of the room is a large attractive hardwood table. As an office elder, I would have companionship study every morning here with my comp and the AP's. Usually, this consisted of reading through the Missionary Guide and answering Mormon trivia while sliding belly first across the table while trying to shoot the Nerf basketball into the hoop fastened to the top of one of the doors. On the far end of the room was a giant (by 1993 standards) TV, VCR's with both NTSC and PAL formats, lots of old church movies and, hidden behind the TV console, a bootleg copy of the classic 1991 BYU-SDSU game.
One day, one of the God Squad mentioned that modern p-hood blessings deviated significantly from both the NT miracles and the pioneer FPR's in that the latter reportedly healed people immediately and completely. This was the germ of an idea which came to fruition about two weeks later.
We had about four hours left in our P-day, so we headed to the park with the Frisbee. Eventually, we started playing 2-on-2 ultimate and Elder Smith was running to catch the Frisbee when Elder Cook tackled him from behind. Elder Smith screamed in pain, clutching his knee. We headed back to the mission office, broke out the magic oil and Elder Cook gave him a blessing.
Elder Cook pronounced Elder Smith healed and declared with all due solemnity that Smith would not require surgery.
The doc disagreed and Smith's crushed ACL was surgically repaired three days later.
| This past weekend my family had dinner with another family in the process of leaving the LDS Church. While we were speaking the other father mentioned that he had somewhat resented his priesthood office of elder. He is in his mid-forties and all of his friends are high priests.
As many here know, the LDS Melchizedek priesthood consists of several offices: elder, high priest, patriarch and apostle. In order to a be a bishop, bishop’s counselor, stake president, stake president’s counselor, stake high counselor, or high priest group leader or assistant, a man must be a high priest.
According to LDS Scripture and practice, all presiding offices of the church require the office of high priest (see DandC 107:10).
For many men, such as my friend, failure to become a high priest is a social stigma for several reasons. First, these men are not deemed qualified for presiding responsibilities. Second, they are forced to remain in elder’s quorum meetings with younger men while their contemporaries meet separately. Third, they are seen by others as unfit for advancement.
This sort of stigma for a man is very difficult. The alleged Holy Priesthood of God becomes a class system.
But the basis of the need for high priests as a matter of theology is bogus, even in the LDS belief system.
Allegedly, God revealed to Joseph Smith God’s requirement that any man who presides within the Church must hold the office of High Priest.
As a temple worker, I ordained countless men who were acting as proxy for the dead to the office of elder, not high priest. The office of elder is all that is needed to become a god, to preside over worlds, endless spirit children and endless priesthood.
So, on earth a man must be a high priest to preside, but in heaven a God need only be an elder.
| The whole priesthood for all males thing is totally bogus. And the BoM people having the priesthood is very bogus too. No one could initiate in the temple unless they were a Levite. Now there was discussion as to whether it had to be an actual descendant of Aaron or not but that is another discussion.
Smith came up with the priesthood authority line to give himself credence. Plain and simple. The following is an in-depth discussion of it that I wrote up a while back.
Mormons teach that in order to administer the ordinances of the Gospel, a person must have the priesthood of God.
Catholic and Orthodox sects teach that their authority comes through apostolic succession from the time of the Apostles who obtained their authority from Jesus himself. Protestant churches who split from the Catholic tradition trace their authority back through the same succession and another facet of Protestantism teaches that all in the body of Christ, i.e. all members of the protestant church, are part of the priesthood of all believers.
Mormons believe that they have the exclusive authority of God to act in his name on earth. They believe that soon after the deaths of the original apostles, the priesthood, or the authority of God, was lost and that after a complete apostasy from Jesus’ church that a restoration of the Gospel was necessary. On the other side of the equation Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that they preserve Tradition. At the outset of the 18th century the Eastern Patriarchs said the following:
“We preserve the Doctrine of the Lord uncorrupted, and firmly adhere to the Faith He delivered to us, and keep it free from blemish and diminution, as a Royal Treasure, and a monument of great price, neither adding any thing, nor taking any thing from it.”
Mormons also teach that unless a person is baptized by one holding proper authority, i.e. a priesthood holder in the Mormon Church, that person will not be able to enter heaven. Churches such as the Greek or Russian Orthodox Church are able to show their priesthood line back to the apostles. Churches that split off from the Orthodox or Roman Catholic are also able to show their priesthood pedigree. The Mormon Church has only the claim that their priesthood comes from Peter, James and John when the three supposedly visited Joseph Smith and bestowed it upon him. The Mormon priesthood is split into two main levels, the Aaronic or lesser priesthood and the Melchezedec or greater priesthood.
The Aaronic priesthood is divided into three levels; deacon, teacher and priest. When young Mormon boys reach the age of twelve they are ordained to the priesthood and become deacons in the church. At fourteen they are ordained to the office of a teacher and at sixteen they are ordained to the office of a priest. In order to baptize one must at least be a priest. However, Christ brought an end to the Aaronic priesthood.
Romans:10:4: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Hebrews:7:27: Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
The Melchezedec priesthood is also split into three levels; elder, seventy and High Priest. The office of an elder allows a person to officiate meetings in the church and also to confirm members of the church and bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost. The office of Seventy is basically defunct now but was an office of missionary work. The High Priest office is the office of officiation in the church. Bishops and higher officials in the church are High Priests.
During Christ's ministry he called Apostles to help him in the ministry. After the death and resurrection of Christ the Apostles set up the ministry as instructed. After the resurrection Paul was called by Christ through a vision. The original apostles were all individuals that knew Christ personally, either by knowing Him before the crucifixion or seeing Christ after the resurrection.
In Truth Restored by Gordon B. Hinckley, current prophet of the Mormon Church, in chapter three he recounts the restoration of the Mormon priesthood. “Among the doctrines taught in the ancient record was that of baptism for the remission of sins. Joseph Smith had never been baptized, for he had not become a member of any church. As he and Oliver discussed the matter, he resolved to inquire of the Lord concerning the ordinance. They retired to the seclusion of the woods along the banks of the Susquehanna River. It was the 15th day of May 1829. While they were engaged in prayer a light appeared above them, and in it a heavenly messenger descended. He announced himself to them as John, known in scripture as John the Baptist... He said he had come under the authority of Peter, James and John, Apostles of the Lord, who held the keys of the priesthood, and that he had been sent to confer upon them the priesthood of Aaron with the authority to administer in the temporal affairs of the Gospel”.
The Mormons believe the Aaronic priesthood to be a lesser priesthood that cares for the temporal needs of the church and that also confers the authority to baptize. Now, John the Baptist’s Father Zachary was a priest in the Temple, but unless Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were of the tribe of Levi they were ineligible to receive the Aaronic priesthood which is reserved for the sons of Levi which included Aaron and Moses. Mormons may claim that since John’s father was a priest that John would be of the lineage of Aaron. However looking at the familial relationships as outlined in the New Testament we may find that Elizabeth was of the daughters of Aaron. The only problem is that this was from her father’s side of the family. So she herself was not a Levite as lineage is passed down through the mother according to Jewish custom. So, John the Baptist would not have been considered one of the sons of Aaron.
The Mormons also believe in a greater priesthood called the Melchezedek Priesthood. This greater priesthood cares for the spiritual needs of the church. Holders of this priesthood may confer the Holy Ghost and administer the church. Unlike the supposed restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood, no specific date is given for the restoration of this greater priesthood. Neither Joseph Smith’s own writings or the various annals of the church delineate when exactly this occurred. In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 128 Joseph Smith said “And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from Cumorah. Moroni, an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfillment of the prophets--the book to be revealed. A voice of the Lord in the wilderness of Fayette, Seneca county, declaring the three witnesses to bear record of the book. The voice of Michael on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he appeared as an angel of light. The voice of Peter, James and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times." This is 12 years after the time that the restoration was said to have occurred. Quoting from Truth Restored again; “It was not long thereafter that another remarkable and even more significant event occurred. It took place “in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county [Pennsylvania], and Colesville, Broome County [New York], on the Susquehanna River.” The ancient Apostles Peter, James and John appeared to and conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the higher powers of the priesthood and they became “apostles and special witnesses” of Christ. With this ordination there was restored to the earth the same authority to act in God’s name that had been enjoyed in the primitive Church.” I should note that the 1833 Book of Commandments (precursor to the Doctrine and Covenants) does not make any mention of a visitation of Peter, James and John. In the History of the Church vol I, page 40 footnote it states that Oliver Cowdery indicated that a single Holy Angel restored the higher priesthood to he and Joseph. Not three. Do you think that if Peter, James and John had visited that this would make a lasting impression?
David Whitmer, one of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon wrote "This matter of 'Priesthood,' since the days of Sydney Rigdon, has been the great hobby and stumbling-block of the Latter Day Saints. Priesthood means authority; and authority is the word we should use. I do not think the word priesthood is mentioned in the New Covenant of the Book of Mormon. Authority is the word we used for the first two years in the church--until Sydney Rigdon's days in Ohio. This matter of the two orders of priesthood in the Church of Christ, and lineal priesthood of the old law being in the church, all originated in the mind of Sydney Rigdon. He explained these things to Brother Joseph in his way, out of the old Scriptures, and got Joseph to inquire, etc. He would inquire, and as mouthpiece speak out the revelations just as they had it fixed up in their hearts....according to the desires of the heart, the inspiration comes, but it may be the spirit of man that gives it.... This is the way the High Priests and the 'priesthood' as you have it, was introduced into the Church of Christ almost two years after its beginning--and after we had baptized and confirmed about two thousand souls into the church."
Not only that, but Whitmer noted that revelations were changed to reflect the new ideas on the priesthood. This may be confirmed by reading the Book of Commandments and comparing it against the Doctrine and Covenants. Both of the these books are available on the internet.
“You have changed the revelations from the way they were first given and as they are today in the Book of Commandments, to support the error of Brother Joseph in taking upon himself the office of Seer to the church. You have changed the revelations to support the error of high priests. You have changed the revelations to support the error of a President of the high priesthood, high counselors, etc. You have altered the revelations to support you in going beyond the plain teachings of Christ in the new covenant part of the Book of Mormon.”
To summarize this section I will quote Grant Palmer: “Like the early narratives about how the Book of Mormon came to be, the early accounts of priesthood restoration are more numerous and fascinating than the simple unified story that is told today”.
| In another thread, someone asked about the details of the nonsugar-coated version of the restoration of the Aaronic priesthood. With the commemoration of the priesthood being celebrated this week, by the Church, let’s all look at how this actually came to be.
Grant Palmer has a section of his book ‘An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins’ dedicated to the restoration of the priesthood. This section is online and can be read here:
http://www.signaturebooks.com/excerpt...
As is typical with LDS history, there are no accounts that the event ever happened until years later. Then each subsequent telling of the original event, which was probably just a thought or idea, gets more and more spectacular until we actually have named angels physically restoring the priesthood.
An excerpt:
"Thus, by degrees, the accounts became more detailed and more miraculous. In 1829 Joseph said he was called by the Spirit; in 1832 he mentioned that angels attended these events; in 1834-35 the spiritual manifestations became literal and physical appearances of resurrected beings. Details usually become blurred over time; in this case, they multiplied and sharpened. These new declarations of literal and physical events facilitated belief and bolstered Joseph's and Oliver's authority during a time of crisis. No contemporary narrative exists for a visitation to Joseph and Oliver by Peter, James, and John. In fact, the date, location, ordination prayer, and any other circumstances surrounding this experience are unknown. B. H. Roberts confirmed: "There is no definite account of the event in the history of the Prophet Joseph or, for matter of fact, in any of our annals."
| I remember quite well a couple of incidents that made me wonder about the spiritual inspiration that P/H leaders had, or more to the point didn't have.
I grew up in Canberra, Australia in the 70’ and 80’s. I was looked at as a shinning light by most people in the District. Canberra wasn’t a stake at that time, and probably still should be a district, so didn’t have too many men to fill all the callings in a branch. As the ‘boy most likely’ I was called as an assistant clerk when I was about 16 years old. As part of this calling I was sometimes present in Branch Presidency meetings. Anyone that has been in these types of meetings will know that callings are discussed often. On this particular occasion I remember the Branch Presidency discussing a calling and what members that could fill the role. The Branch President (BP) suggested that we (yes I was included in the we) pray about who should be called to fill the role. I distinctly remember the prayer and how each person’s name was presented to God. After each name was said the BP paused. I imagine he did this so that the spirit could be felt after the appropriate persons name was said and that would be the sign as to who should be called. I felt nothing, not a thing. After the prayer the BP asked each person in the room what they had felt. When he got to me I said I felt nothing. His response to me was ‘You’ll get it soon enough’.
Looking back on it now I wonder if he was a closet doubter and was giving me a subtle ‘heads up’. Maybe, maybe not.
The second incident happened many years later in the late 90’s. I had previously been excommunicated and rebaptised and was working to get PH blessings restored. One of my friends was in the Stake Presidency and was pushing for me to have these blessings restored. As luck would have it there was a Stake Conference this particular weekend which would be attended by one of the Area Presidency (AP). Up to this point even though I was working to get PH blessings restored I was not paying tithing and hadn’t been since I was rebaptised a couple of years prior. This didn’t stop my friend making an appointment with the AP. During the interview (why are they always called interview?) we discussed many things about my situation etc. One thing that was not discussed was my lack of tithe paying. All of a sudden, this guy jumps from his seat and proclaims that he has been inspired to restore my blessings right then and there. As he was manoeuvring himself behind me to ‘lay his hands’ I mentioned that I was not paying tithing. He stopped dead in his tracks. The interview lasted about another 10 seconds as he ushered me out of the room telling me I would need to start paying tithing before the PH could be re-conferred on me.
To this day I still cannot remember what the guys name was or what he even looked like. Looking back on it though I would say that he was about as inspired (and inspiring) as a wet dish cloth.
I must confess that it took me quite a while to really analyse these two events in light of other experiences I had over time. But what I can say is that these two events were a major catalyst in helping me question many other things about the church that just did not sit well.
| The LDS church teaches that Joseph Smith's "authority" to organize the true Christian church, and to officiate in its ordinances, was obtained via personal visitations of heavenly messengers John the Baptist (for the Aaronic priesthood) and the apostles Peter, James, and John (for the Melchizedek priesthood,) in which those angels ordained Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
The purpose of this post is to inform newbies of the evidence which shows that Smith and Cowdery's claims of ordination by heavenly beings was concocted some time after they organized their church, and that their tales of such ordinations grew and expanded over time, as threats to their authority from critics was expressed.
There are two on-line articles which detail these controversial matters. The first was written by the late Lamar Peterson, who was a lifelong Mormon born and raised in Utah:
http://www.xmission.com/~research/cen...
The second is an excerpt from Grant Palmer's book "An Insider's View of Mormon Origins." For those who haven't heard of him, Palmer was a Church Education System instructor for more than 20 years. His remarks re: the priesthood restoration are at
http://www.signaturebooks.com/excerpt...
Note Palmer's statement:
When Joseph and Oliver began mentioning their angelic ordinations in late 1834 and early 1835, they were facing a credibility crisis that threatened the church's survival. In late 1833 a group in Kirtland, Ohio, denounced Joseph Smith for ministering "under pretense of Divine Authority." They employed D. P. Hurlbut to investigate Joseph's past, hoping to bring him down "from the high station which he pretends to occupy."29 Hurlbut traveled to Palmyra, New York, and collected affidavits from residents about Joseph's early treasure seeking and other aspects of his youth. Hurlbut began a lecture tour starting in January 1834 to "numerous congregations in Chagrin, Kirtland, Mentor, and Painesville; and ... [he] fired the minds of the people with much indignation against Joseph and the Church."30 Finding disillusionment spreading among the Saints, Joseph and Sidney Rigdon began preaching against Hurlbut.31 It was under these circumstances, exacerbated by problems associated with the failure of Zion's Camp--the paramilitary trek to assist fellow Saints in Missouri--that Joseph mentioned for the first time in public that his priesthood had "been conferred upon me by the ministering of the Angel of God."
Obviously, if Smith, Cowdery, and Rigdon concocted their claims of receiving priesthood authority, then that means the LDS church has no authority, and never has. When I learned this info about 12 years ago, it reminded me of the scene in "The Wizard of Oz" where Toto the dog pulled the curtain to reveal that the "Wizard" was just a manipulative little man. I hope that some readers who are struggling over whether or not to remain LDS will benefit from this material.
| The below information comes from Boyd K and is found at:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp...
A quorum is a brotherhood. Except for the offices of bishop and patriarch, those ordained to offices in the priesthood are organized into quorums.
Melchizedek Priesthood quorums are:
• The First Presidency
• The Quorum of the Twelve
• Seventies quorums
• High priests quorums
• Elders quorums
Aaronic Priesthood quorums are:
• Priests quorums
• Teachers quorums
• Deacons quorums
Each quorum is presided over by a president or a presidency. The Quorum of the Twelve is presided over by one president, the President of the Twelve (see DandC 124:127), as is the priests quorum presided over by the bishop (see DandC 107:87–88).
The seventies quorums are presided over by seven presidents. (See DandC 107:93.) All other quorums are presided over by a presidency consisting of a president, a first counselor, and a second counselor.
The Ordained Offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood
The ordained offices in the higher priesthood are:
Elder
High Priest
Patriarch
Seventy
Apostle
| Visitations of John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John conferring the priesthood apparently were not known in the church until sometime after 1834. If restoration of priesthood was such a significant event, wouldn’t Joseph have mentioned it earlier? “I never heard that an Angel had ordained Joseph and Oliver to the Aaronic Priesthood until the year 1834, 5, or 6–in Ohio… I do not believe that John the Baptist ever ordained Joseph and Oliver…” – David Whitmer (Early Mormon Documents, 5:137). “I joined the church in 1831. For years I never heard of John the Baptist ordaining Joseph and Oliver. I heard not of James, Peter, and John doing so… I never heard of it in the church for years…” – William McLellin (An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins, pp.224-25). The revelation referring to the Aaronic restoration is missing from the Book of Commandments, as well as from the original church history as published in The Evening and Morning Star (edition dated March 1833, p.6). The only known manuscript copy of the revelation makes no reference to the LDS priesthoods either (Origins of Power, p.16).
The account of the Melchizedek restoration is entirely missing. B.H. Roberts writes that “there is no definite account of the event in the history of the Prophet Joseph, or, for matter of that, in any of our annals…” (History of the Church, 1:40fn).
The information that is available about the Melchizedek restoration creates a problem. Many LDS scholars who have studied the event place the ordination within a few weeks of the Aaronic priesthood ordination date, which was in May 1829 (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 2:885-86). There is a brief mention of the event in Oliver B. Huntington’s journal, which places the Melchizedek ordination on a night after Joseph and Oliver had been on trial in Colesville, New York (Journal of Oliver B. Huntington, 13 January 1881). Joseph Smith dated this incarceration in mid-to-late June of 1830 (History of the Church 1:84-85, 92-94). Wesley Walters located the court bill for this trial, which was dated “July 1st 1830” (Joseph Smith’s Bainbridge, N.Y., Court Trials, p.125). That date is several weeks after the Church was organized. But LDS sources are emphatic that Smith could not have legally organized the Church unless he had received the Melchizedek priesthood first. At the time of church organization, Joseph Smith gave himself the title of FIRST ELDER of the church. That creates an irreconcilable problem for the LDS claim of authority.
The first mention of Melchizedek Priesthood in the scriptures of the church is Doctrine and Covenants 68, which was recorded in November 1831. Verse 15 says, “Wherefore they shall be high priests who are worthy, and they shall be appointed by the First Presidency of the Melchizedek Priesthood, except they be literal descendants of Aaron.” Nowhere before 1831 is there any such notion of a Priesthood of Melchizedek on the records of the church.
| Since the 19th century, the LDS Church has taught as one of its core tenets - and Mormon 'prophets' have repeatedly stated - that the reason why the organization is the "true" church of Jesus Christ is due to the "restoration of the priesthood." Indeed, for generations the church has asserted that the long-dead John the Baptist (re-headed, presumably) magically appeared to JS and Oliver Cowdery in May 1829, ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood, and "directed the two men to baptize each other." (Ref. http://josephsmith.net/josephsmith/v/...)
"Weeks later, Peter, James, and John, who possess 'the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times,' appeared to Joseph and Oliver and conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood. Now the fulness of the gospel could be restored, the Church of Jesus Christ could be organized to 'roll forth,' and all the ordinances necessary for the salvation of God's children could be performed-including bestowing the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Same link)
These 'faith'-promoting Latter-day Saint stories have been integral to Mormonism for more than a century and a half. However, here's what Grant Palmer, retired LDS CES director, history of Mormonism researcher, and author, wrote in his 2003 book, An Insider's View of Mormon Origins:
"Like the early narratives about how the Book of Mormon came to be, the early accounts of priesthood restoration are more nuanced and fascinating than the simple, unified story that is told today. The earliest reference to priesthood authority appeared in the 1833 Book of Commandments, the earliest version of, and precursor to, the Doctrine and Covenants... According to a revelation received in June 1829, Oliver Cowdery was 'baptized [one month earlier on 15 May] by the hand of my servant Joseph Smith], according to that which I have commanded him.' Lucy Smith, the prophet's mother, explained the circumstances and medium by which she understood that this command from God had come to her son:
"'One morning however they sat down to their usual work [Joseph and Oliver were translating in Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon] when the first thing that presented itself to Joseph was a commandment from God that he and Oliver should repair to the water and each of them be baptized[. T]hey immediately went down to the susquehanae river and obeyed the mandate given them through the Urim and Thummin[. As they were on their return to the house they overheard Samuel [Smith] in a secluded spot engaged in secret prayer [.] They had now received authority to baptize . and they [then] spoke to Samuel who went withe them straightway to the water and was baptized[.]'"
"At this early date the view was that the commandment received through the urim and thummim is what gave Joseph and Oliver the authority to baptize.
"In 1885 David Whitmer, another New York church member and one of the three special witnesses to the Book of Mormon, told the same version of how Joseph and Oliver received their authority:
"'I moved Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to my father[']s house in Fayette[,] Seneca County New York, from Harmony, Penn. in the year [June] 1829 [so they could finish translating the Book of Mormon. O]n our way I conversed freely with them upon this great work they were bringing about, and Oliver stated to me in Joseph presence that they had baptized each other seeking by that to fulfill the command . I never heard that an Angel had ordained Joseph and Oliver to the Aaronic priesthood until the year 1834[, 183]5[,] or [183]6-in Ohio. My information from Joseph and Oliver upon this matter being as I have stated, and that they were commanded so to do by revealment through Joseph. I do not believe that John the Baptist ever ordained Joseph and Oliver as stated and believed by some. I regard that as an error, a misconception.'
"Shortly after arriving at the Peter Whitmer Sr. home, according to statements, Joseph and Oliver received additional authority in the same manner as before. Now they would be able to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost. Because Joseph had been promised this higher authority when they were baptized, he was 'anxious' and 'diligent in prayer' to receive it. He explained how God gave them this greater authority in the Whitmer home in June 1829:
"'We had for some time made this matter a subject of humble prayer, and at length we got together in the Chamber [upper story] of Mr Whitmer's house in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we now so earnestly desired . [w]e had not long been engaged in solemn and fervent prayer, when the word of the Lord, came unto us in the Chamber, commanding us; that I should ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ, And that he also should ordain me to the same office, and then to ordain others . [W]e were however commanded to defer this our ordination untill, such times, as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized, assembled together.'
"This meeting and the anticipated ordinations took place on 6 April 1830, the day the church was organized. Two months later a revelation published in the Book of Commandments referred to their new, higher priesthood authority by affirming that 'commandments were given to Joseph, who was called of God and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of this church; And also to Oliver, who was also called of God an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of this church, and ordained under his [Joseph's] hand.' In other words, they received a calling in the Whitmer home and ordained each other at the first church conference, and this authorized the two men to function as elders; angelic ordinations were not mentioned."
(Ref. "Chapter 7. PRIESTHOOD RESTORATION" at http://signaturebooks.com/2010/11/exc...)
"[A]ngelic ordinations [by John the Baptist and Peter et al.] were not mentioned" because they didn't happen, just like the non-appearance of "two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description" to young JS "on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty", per the 'true' First Vision (FV) story of the so-called "prophet of the Restoration."
As an aside, here's what Palmer wrote in An Insider's View of Mormon Origins about how the 'official' FV narrative got created:
"Neither Joseph nor anyone else prior to 1838 referred to the [First] vision as the source of his authority to act as God's agent of the Restoration. Ironically, it is during a later time of persecution in 1838, when some church leaders begin doubting his mission as a prophet, that it becomes important to connect his prophetic call to this vision.
"A leadership crisis began in Kirtland [in Ohio] on 7 November 1837. Frederick G. Williams, a counselor in the First Presidency, left the church. During the last week of December 1837, Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses [of the Book of Mormon], was excommunicated. On 10 March 1838, John Whitmer, one of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon, was excommunicated. On 25 March, Martin Harris told a public meeting that none of the witnesses had physically seen or handled the [gold] plates, that they had not seen the plates with their 'natural eyes.' His testimony triggered a discussion led by Warren Parrish. As a result, Apostles John F. Boynton, Luke Johnson, and other church members 'renounced the Book of Mormon.'
"Within a month of Harris' comments, three of the apostles no longer believed in the Book of Mormon and two more were out of favor with the church. All three witnesses to the Book of Mormon and three of the eight [witnesses] had defected. The entire Whitmer clan had left the church. All this must have caused considerable anxiety and cognitive dissonance within the community.
"Fearing the possible unraveling of the church, Joseph Smith took to re[-]establishing his authority. During this week of 7-13 April [1838], he contemplated rewriting his history. On April 26, he renamed the church. The next day he started dictating the new first vision narrative. He began by attacking those who were circulating unsavory 'reports' regarding 'the rise and progress of the Church', then told a revised and more impressive version of his epiphany. He announced that his initial calling had not come from an angel in 1823, as he had said for over a decade, but from God the Father and Jesus Christ in 1820. This earlier date established his mission independent of the troubling questions and former witnesses associated with the Book of Mormon. Like the 1834-35 priesthood restoration recitals, the first vision version of April 1838 added significant material that bolstered his authority during a time of crisis."
(Ref. pp. 248-251 of Palmer's illuminating book).
So, there was no First Vision ('official' or other), no visit by the ancient American 'prophet' Nephi (later changed to Moroni) in JS' bedroom in Sept. 1823, no golden plates engraven with "reformed Egyptian", and no drop-ins involving t, according to that which I have commanded him.' Lucy Smith, the prophet's mother, explained the circumstances and medium by which she understood that this command from God had come to her son:
"'One morning however they sat down to their usual work [Joseph and Oliver were translating in Third Nephi in the Book of Mormon] when the first thing that presented itself to Joseph was a commandment from God that he and Oliver should repair to the water and each of them be baptized[. T]hey immediately went down to the susquehanae river and obeyed the mandate given them through the Urim and Thummin[. As they were on their return to the house they overheard Samuel [Smith] in a secluded spot engaged in secret prayer [.] They had now received authority to baptize . and they [then] spoke to Samuel who went withe them straightway to the water and was baptized[.]'"
"At this early date the view was that the commandment received through the urim and thummim is what gave Joseph and Oliver the authority to baptize.
"In 1885 David Whitmer, another New York church member and one of the three special witnesses to the Book of Mormon, told the same version of how Joseph and Oliver received their authority:
"'I moved Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery to my father[']s house in Fayette[,] Seneca County New York, from Harmony, Penn. in the year [June] 1829 [so they could finish translating the Book of Mormon. O]n our way I conversed freely with them upon this great work they were bringing about, and Oliver stated to me in Joseph presence that they had baptized each other seeking by that to fulfill the command . I never heard that an Angel had ordained Joseph and Oliver to the Aaronic priesthood until the year 1834[, 183]5[,] or [183]6-in Ohio. My information from Joseph and Oliver upon this matter being as I have stated, and that they were commanded so to do by revealment through Joseph. I do not believe that John the Baptist ever ordained Joseph and Oliver as stated and believed by some. I regard that as an error, a misconception.'
"Shortly after arriving at the Peter Whitmer Sr. home, according to statements, Joseph and Oliver received additional authority in the same manner as before. Now they would be able to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost. Because Joseph had been promised this higher authority when they were baptized, he was 'anxious' and 'diligent in prayer' to receive it. He explained how God gave them this greater authority in the Whitmer home in June 1829:
"'We had for some time made this matter a subject of humble prayer, and at length we got together in the Chamber [upper story] of Mr Whitmer's house in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we now so earnestly desired . [w]e had not long been engaged in solemn and fervent prayer, when the word of the Lord, came unto us in the Chamber, commanding us; that I should ordain Oliver Cowdery to be an Elder in the Church of Jesus Christ, And that he also should ordain me to the same office, and then to ordain others . [W]e were however commanded to defer this our ordination untill, such times, as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized, assembled together.'
"This meeting and the anticipated ordinations took place on 6 April 1830, the day the church was organized. Two months later a revelation published in the Book of Commandments referred to their new, higher priesthood authority by affirming that 'commandments were given to Joseph, who was called of God and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of this church; And also to Oliver, who was also called of God an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of this church, and ordained under his [Joseph's] hand.' In other words, they received a calling in the Whitmer home and ordained each other at the first church conference, and this authorized the two men to function as elders; angelic ordinations were not mentioned."
(Ref. "Chapter 7. PRIESTHOOD RESTORATION" at http://signaturebooks.com/2010/11/exc...)
"[A]ngelic ordinations [by John the Baptist and Peter et al.] were not mentioned" because they didn't happen, just like the non-appearance of "two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description" to young JS "on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty", per the 'true' First Vision (FV) story of the so-called "prophet of the Restoration."
As an aside, here's what Palmer wrote in An Insider's View of Mormon Origins about how the 'official' FV narrative got created:
"Neither Joseph nor anyone else prior to 1838 referred to the [First] vision as the source of his authority to act as God's agent of the Restoration. Ironically, it is during a later time of persecution in 1838, when some church leaders begin doubting his mission as a prophet, that it becomes important to connect his prophetic call to this vision.
"A leadership crisis began in Kirtland [in Ohio] on 7 November 1837. Frederick G. Williams, a counselor in the First Presidency, left the church. During the last week of December 1837, Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses [of the Book of Mormon], was excommunicated. On 10 March 1838, John Whitmer, one of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon, was excommunicated. On 25 March, Martin Harris told a public meeting that none of the witnesses had physically seen or handled the [gold] plates, that they had not seen the plates with their 'natural eyes.' His testimony triggered a discussion led by Warren Parrish. As a result, Apostles John F. Boynton, Luke Johnson, and other church members 'renounced the Book of Mormon.'
"Within a month of Harris' comments, three of the apostles no longer believed in the Book of Mormon and two more were out of favor with the church. All three witnesses to the Book of Mormon and three of the eight [witnesses] had defected. The entire Whitmer clan had left the church. All this must have caused considerable anxiety and cognitive dissonance within the community.
"Fearing the possible unraveling of the church, Joseph Smith took to re[-]establishing his authority. During this week of 7-13 April [1838], he contemplated rewriting his history. On April 26, he renamed the church. The next day he started dictating the new first vision narrative. He began by attacking those who were circulating unsavory 'reports' regarding 'the rise and progress of the Church', then told a revised and more impressive version of his epiphany. He announced that his initial calling had not come from an angel in 1823, as he had said for over a decade, but from God the Father and Jesus Christ in 1820. This earlier date established his mission independent of the troubling questions and former witnesses associated with the Book of Mormon. Like the 1834-35 priesthood restoration recitals, the first vision version of April 1838 added significant material that bolstered his authority during a time of crisis."
(Ref. pp. 248-251 of Palmer's illuminating book).
So, there was no First Vision ('official' or other), no visit by the ancient American 'prophet' Nephi (later changed to Moroni) in JS' bedroom in Sept. 1823, no golden plates engraven with "reformed Egyptian", and no drop-ins involving the formerly headless John the Baptist or the ancient Christian apostolic trio, PJandJ! In other words, the ENTIRE 'divine' foundation of Mormonism has been comprised of BS!
Welcome to "restored" (i.e., bogus) Christianity, LDS-style!
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