| Table of contents |
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2 Priesthood Branches 3 Priesthood Leadership Callings 4 Hierarchy 5 Church Leadership, Quorum Organization and Filling Vacant Callings 6 Priesthood Succession |
Authority
According to the Church all legitimate Priesthood authority and power originates with God. Only God and those to whom He has delegated His authority have the privilege to carry out Priesthood responsibilities, such as performing ordinances and conducting the affairs of His Church and Kingdom. No person can take upon himself God's Priesthood—regardless of education, revelation or other circumstances—unless that person is specifically called and ordained to the Priesthood by someone who has authority to confer it upon others. Hebrews 5:1,4-6,10 states:
| Melchizedek Priesthood | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | AGE | TYPICAL DUTIES | |
| Apostle | 18 and older | Special Witnesses of Jesus Christ who hold all the keys of the kingdom to officiate in all responsibilities and duties of the Priesthood including the sealing power and the power to act as a Prophet, Seer and Revelator. | |
| Seventy | 18 and older | Men who assist the Apostles to serve as General or Area Authorities. Seventies may also have other 'special assignments' as directed by the First Presidency or Twelve Apostles. When a Seventy becomes 70 years old, he is typically granted 'emeritus status' and retires from his special assignments and assumes the role of a high priest (although still officially a seventy) | |
| Patriarch | 18 and older | A local man that is ordained to give Patriarchal Blessings to members within his stake | |
| High Priest | 18 and older | May serve in leadership callings such as a Bishop, ordain other High Priests and all duties of an Elder | |
| Elder | 18 and older | Confer the Gift of the Holy Ghost ordain other Elders, bless the sick by the laying on of hands and all the duties of a Priest | |
| Aaronic Priesthood | |||
| Bishop | 18 and older | Preside over local wards (congregations), administer temporal and spiritual welfare to their wards and officiate as a common judge in Israel; a Bishop is also President of the Aaronic Priesthood in his ward; a literal descendant of Levi is entitled to this office, but it may be filled by a High Priest if no Levitical descendant is present in the ward. The Bishop is typically the presiding High Priest in a congregation | |
| Priest | 16 and older | Prepare and Bless the Sacrament, Baptize, ordain other Priests, Teachers and Deacons and all the duties of a Teacher | |
| Teacher | 14 and older | Prepare the Sacrament, Hometeach and all the duties of a Deacon | |
| Deacon | 12 and older | Keys of the ministering of angels, pass the Sacrament and collect Fast Offerings | |
If an adult man joins the Church, he may be called and ordained to hold the Aaronic Priesthood (if he is morally worthy) by those in the Church with authority to do so. After a period of time (usually one year) the man may be called and ordained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood (again based upon moral worthiness) by those in the Church with authority. In addition to being ordained to a certain office in the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood, a male may also be set apart and ordained to a Priesthood leadership office. For example, men are usually not ordained to the office of High Priest unless they are also set apart to an office which requires that ordination, such as Bishop or High Councilman. However, older men are also ordained to the office of High Priest although they may have never been set apart to serve in a leadership office. Each person who holds an office of the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood also belong to a local Priesthood quorum.
In addition to the regular offices of the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood referred to in the chart above, there are other leadership callings within the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods. The table below lists these other Priesthood leadership callings and the table below it shows how the various callings are organized within the hierarchy of the Church.
Priesthood Leadership Callings
| Priesthood Leadership Callings | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | TYPICAL DUTIES | |
| President (Prophet) or Counselor of the First Presidency of the Church | High Priests who direct the affairs of the entire Church | |
| President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles | High Priests who assist the Fisrt Presidency | |
| Area President or Counselor | Seventies assigned to preside over stakes and missions within a certain geographical area | |
| Mission President or Counselor | High Priests who preside over a particular mission | |
| Stake/District President or Counselor | local High Priests who preside over the wards within their stake | |
| High Councilman | local High Priests who assist the Stake Presidency | |
| Temple President or Counselor | local High Priests who preside over a local temple | |
| Branch President or Counselor | local High Priests over local branches (congregations) and administer temporal and spiritual welfare to their congregations | |
| General Authorities | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The First Presidency: The President and Prophet of the Church, 1st Counselor and 2nd Counselor | ||||||||
| The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and eleven other Apostles | ||||||||
| Quorums of the Seventy The Seven Presidents of the Seventy and several dozen Seventies
| ||||||||
| Area Presidencies: Presidents and 1st and 2nd Counselors are filled by Seventies | ||||||||
| Local Authorities | ||||||||
| Third, Fourth and Fifth Quorums of the Seventy (Area Authority Seventies) | Temple Presidencies | |||||||
| Stake Presidencies and High Councils | Mission Presidencies | |||||||
| Ward Bishoprics or Branch Presidencies | Elders Quorums | High Priest Group | ||||||
| Deacons Quorums | Teachers Quorums | Priest Quorums | ||||||
In the Church, Apostles are a council of fifteen ordained men who are called to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ, to govern and administer to the entire Church and to hold the highest Priesthood authority in the Church for life. Each of these Apostles is also ordained as a "Prophet, Seer and Revelator" and each Apostle holds all the "keys of the Priesthood". However, these keys and callings are dormant until the Apostle is entitled to exercise them. Thus, only the President and Prophet of the Church is entitled to receive revelation for the entire Church. Typically, the most senior member of the group (in years served as an Apostle) is also ordained as the President and Prophet of the Church. The President is generally supported by two Apostles who he selects as his counselors, although certain Presidents—generally with health problems—have chosen to select additional counselors. The Prophet and his counselors compose the First Presidency. The remaining Apostles compose the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the most senior member of that quorum typically being the President of that quorum. The members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are called to their positions for life and serve until death. As vacancies arise in the Quorum of the Twleve Apostles, all of the Apostles meet to pray and to come to a unanimous decision by revelation as to whom among the rank and file of the Church will be called to fill the vacancy. The Apostles then ordain the appointed man called.
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was instituted on February 14, 1835, (Doctrine and Covenants 107:23-24) and is equal in authority to The First Presidency in absentia. The First Presidency dissolves whenever the President of the First Presidency is no longer serving in that capacity—so far only because of death. When the First Presidency dissolves, the counselors of the First Presidency become part of the Quroum of the Twelve Apostles until a new First Presidency is organized. The First Quorum of the Seventy was set up February 28, 1835, (Documentary History of the Church 2:201-2) and these quorums are equal in authority to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in absentia. In Mormon theology when Jesus Christ comes again to personally reign on the earth, He will personally take the place of the office of the First Presidency as he did during his earthly ministry in the New Testament.
"Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
"He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and that afterwards he should baptize me.
"Accordingly we went and were baptized. . . .
"The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. . . .
"Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly Father. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery, than the Holy Ghost fell upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly come to pass. And again, so soon as I had been baptized by him, I also had the spirit of prophecy, when, standing up, I prophesied concerning the rise of this Church, and many other things connected with the Church, and this generation of the children of men. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation."
See also: Restoration (Mormonism)Church Leadership, Quorum Organization and Filling Vacant Callings
Priesthood Succession
Latter-Day Saints believe that ancient prophets and apostles conferred the Priesthood directly upon Joseph Smith and other early members of the Church. The conferral of the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery is recorded in Joseph Smith - History as follows: Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood
"[W]e. . . went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates[, The Book of Mormon]. . . . While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying: Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood
Not all of the revelations which Joseph Smith received have been fully recorded in public. The restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood is one instance of this. However, this event and many others is alluded to in Doctrine and Covenants section 128:20-21:Restoration of other Priesthood Keys (Authority and Power)
In addition to the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, additional Priesthood authority and power (sometimes referred to as "keys") were conferred on Joseph Smith and others. In Doctrine and Covenants 110:11-16 Joseph dictated the following passage as a revelation at the dedication of the first Latter-day Saint temple, the Kirtland Temple:
The Priesthood key conferred from Elijah on Joseph Smith is particularly important. This Priesthood is the "sealing" power that Latter-Day Saints use in their temples to "seal" husband and wife and parents to children as families in this life and the afterlife.Restoration of Priesthood needed because of the Great Apostasy
While other Christian denominations may claim to have legitimate Priesthood authority, the Church claims sole succession to the Priesthood. The Church claims Priesthood succession was broken during the Great Apostasy and later restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Catholic and Orthodox Christians deny that such a complete apostasy ever took place when defending the validity of their priesthoods, and do not recognize the priesthood of the Church.