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Joseph Smith and the priesthood: Difference between revisions
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Knowing that the prophet already had the Melchizedek priesthood prior to the organization of the church we can look at the following clues of the May 15 to 30, 1829 ordination window in order of progressively narrowed parameters: | Knowing that the prophet already had the Melchizedek priesthood prior to the organization of the church we can look at the following clues of the May 15 to 30, 1829 ordination window in order of progressively narrowed parameters: | ||
# Year 1829: There is a manuscript in Oliver Cowdery’s handwriting recording part of D&C 18 saying, “Written in the year of our Lord & Saviour 1829” (7) | |||
# June 1829: In D&C 18 we read “And now, Oliver Cowdery, I speak unto you, and also unto David Whitmer, by the way of commandment; for, behold, I command all men everywhere to repent, and I speak unto you, even as unto Paul mine apostle, for you are called even with that same calling with which he was called.” 1-The position of Apostle which needed the Melchizedek priesthood. 2-both state that this revelation occurred in 1829. | |||
# Before June 14, 1829: Oliver Cowdery wrote a letter to Hyrum Smith. The letter has some wording that quotes and refers to section 18 in the D&C. (8) | |||
# Before June 1, 1829: | |||
Joseph Smith said that he, Emma, Oliver and David Whitmer traveled to the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. “in the beginning of the month of June.” (9) | * Joseph Smith said that he, Emma, Oliver and David Whitmer traveled to the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. “in the beginning of the month of June.” (9) | ||
David Whitmer is quoted as saying “the translation at my father’s farm, Fayette Township, Seneca County, New York occupied about one month, that is from June 1, to July 1, 1829.”(10) If those dates are exact then the Prophet was in New York during the entire month of June. | * David Whitmer is quoted as saying “the translation at my father’s farm, Fayette Township, Seneca County, New York occupied about one month, that is from June 1, to July 1, 1829.”(10) If those dates are exact then the Prophet was in New York during the entire month of June. | ||
Orson Pratt asked David Whitmer, “Can you tell the date of the bestowal of the Apostleship upon Joseph, by Peter, James and John?” To which he replied: “I do not know, Joseph never told me.” From this we can tell that the visitation either | * Orson Pratt asked David Whitmer, “Can you tell the date of the bestowal of the Apostleship upon Joseph, by Peter, James and John?” To which he replied: “I do not know, Joseph never told me.” From this we can tell that the visitation either | ||
*# happened during the traveling when Joseph and Oliver were away from David and did not tell him about the occurrence (their trusted friend with whom they shared many other events). | |||
*# happened at another time than their travel from Harmony to Fayette. | |||
The bestowal of the Melchizedek priesthood occurred in Harmony, Pennsylvania.(11) The time of travel between Harmony, PA and the Whitmer farm would have been three days. The likely hood of the men traveling back to Harmony at the same time as they did the following is near impossible: | * The bestowal of the Melchizedek priesthood occurred in Harmony, Pennsylvania.(11) The time of travel between Harmony, PA and the Whitmer farm would have been three days. The likely hood of the men traveling back to Harmony at the same time as they did the following is near impossible: | ||
finished the translation | *# finished the translation | ||
secured the copyright on June 11 | *# secured the copyright on June 11 | ||
Oliver's letter to Hyrum on June 14 | *# Oliver's letter to Hyrum on June 14 | ||
Joseph's details of how busy they were during this time period at the farm (12) | *# Joseph's details of how busy they were during this time period at the farm (12) | ||
As shown above, after receiving the priesthood they were not yet allowed to ordain each other to the offices within that priesthood. They were told to “defer this our ordination until such times as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized, assembled together, when we must have their sanction to our proceeding to ordain each other.”(13) | As shown above, after receiving the priesthood they were not yet allowed to ordain each other to the offices within that priesthood. They were told to “defer this our ordination until such times as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized, assembled together, when we must have their sanction to our proceeding to ordain each other.”(13) | ||
Revision as of 23:01, 13 February 2008
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This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
Criticism
Critics claim that the restoration of the priesthood was "back dated" later by Joseph Smith to justify his desire to dominate the Church.
Source(s) of the Criticism
- D. Michael Quinn, The Mormon Hierarchy (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1994), 7–10.
Response
Although historical documents do not give an exact date for the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood we can pinpoint its occurrence to a 17 day window between the 15 and 31 of May, 1829.
Aaronic Priesthood
Joseph learned from Moroni in 1823 that “when [the golden plates] are interpreted the Lord will give the holy priesthood to some, and they shall begin to proclaim this gospel and baptize by water, and after that they shall have power to give the Holy Ghost by the laying on of their hands.”(1) Two years later the first part of that pronouncement occurred when John the Baptist visited Joseph and Oliver:
- 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...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...It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized.(2) We know that the Melchizedek priesthood therefore had not yet been given and must be given either later that day or sometime following that day.
Joseph and Oliver Cowdery were told to re-ordain each other to the priesthood after being baptized. This was to follow proper rules of being a member before receiving the priesthood, but in their case they couldn't become members until having the priesthood to baptize each other.(3)
Melchizedek Priesthood
Similar to this origination complication of baptism and membership, the ordination to the office of Elder via the higher priesthood could not occur until the church had been established. After the church was officially established we have the following evidences that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had already received the higher priesthood:
- D&C 27:12, Aug 1830, the Lord spoke to the Prophet Joseph Smith of “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”
- D&C 20:2–3, Apr 1830, “And to Oliver Cowdery, who was also called of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to be the second elder of this church, and ordained under his hand”
- “Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery sought after this higher authority, and the Lord gave it to them, before the rise of this Church, sending to them Peter, James and John. What for? To bestow upon them the Apostleship.” -Elder Parley P. Pratt (4)
- Hiram Page, a son-in-law of Peter Whitmer Sr., and one who was present on the day of the Church’s 6 April 1830 organization, later confirmed that “Peter, James and John” had come and bestowed the Holy Priesthood “before the 6th of April 1830.” (5)
- “I know that Joseph received his Apostleship from Peter, James, and John, before a revelation on the subject was printed, and he never had a right to organize a Church before he was an Apostle.” -Brigham Young (6)
Narrow Window
Knowing that the prophet already had the Melchizedek priesthood prior to the organization of the church we can look at the following clues of the May 15 to 30, 1829 ordination window in order of progressively narrowed parameters:
- Year 1829: There is a manuscript in Oliver Cowdery’s handwriting recording part of D&C 18 saying, “Written in the year of our Lord & Saviour 1829” (7)
- June 1829: In D&C 18 we read “And now, Oliver Cowdery, I speak unto you, and also unto David Whitmer, by the way of commandment; for, behold, I command all men everywhere to repent, and I speak unto you, even as unto Paul mine apostle, for you are called even with that same calling with which he was called.” 1-The position of Apostle which needed the Melchizedek priesthood. 2-both state that this revelation occurred in 1829.
- Before June 14, 1829: Oliver Cowdery wrote a letter to Hyrum Smith. The letter has some wording that quotes and refers to section 18 in the D&C. (8)
- Before June 1, 1829:
- Joseph Smith said that he, Emma, Oliver and David Whitmer traveled to the home of Peter Whitmer Sr. “in the beginning of the month of June.” (9)
- David Whitmer is quoted as saying “the translation at my father’s farm, Fayette Township, Seneca County, New York occupied about one month, that is from June 1, to July 1, 1829.”(10) If those dates are exact then the Prophet was in New York during the entire month of June.
- Orson Pratt asked David Whitmer, “Can you tell the date of the bestowal of the Apostleship upon Joseph, by Peter, James and John?” To which he replied: “I do not know, Joseph never told me.” From this we can tell that the visitation either
- happened during the traveling when Joseph and Oliver were away from David and did not tell him about the occurrence (their trusted friend with whom they shared many other events).
- happened at another time than their travel from Harmony to Fayette.
- The bestowal of the Melchizedek priesthood occurred in Harmony, Pennsylvania.(11) The time of travel between Harmony, PA and the Whitmer farm would have been three days. The likely hood of the men traveling back to Harmony at the same time as they did the following is near impossible:
- finished the translation
- secured the copyright on June 11
- Oliver's letter to Hyrum on June 14
- Joseph's details of how busy they were during this time period at the farm (12)
As shown above, after receiving the priesthood they were not yet allowed to ordain each other to the offices within that priesthood. They were told to “defer this our ordination until such times as it should be practicable to have our brethren, who had been and who should be baptized, assembled together, when we must have their sanction to our proceeding to ordain each other.”(13)
There are many times when Oliver confirmed without error that the sequence of events occurred as shown above(14-15).
Conclusion
Endnotes
1.As quoted by Oliver Cowdery in a letter to W. W. Phelps printed in Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, Oct. 1835, 199
2.JS—H 1:70–72
3.Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church History, 27th ed. (1974), 58.
4.Journal of Discourses, 16:294–95,
5.Letter of Hiram Page to “Brother Wm. [William E. McLellin],” 4 March 1848, Fishing River, Missouri, Second Part, RLDS Archives, Independence, Missouri.
6.In Journal of Discourses, 1:137; emphasis added.
7.Oliver Cowdery, “Written in the year of our Lord & Savior 1829—A true copy of the articles of the Church of Christ,” MS 1829, LDS Church Archives.
8.letter of Oliver Cowdery to Hyrum Smith, 14 June 1829, Fayette, New York, LDS Church Archives.
9.History of the Church, 1:48–49; Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:293.
10.Kansas City Daily Journal, 5 June 1881.
11.D&C 128:20; History of the Church, 1:40–41
12.History of the Church, 1:51.
13.History of the Church, 1:60–61; emphasis added.
14.Reuben Miller Journal, 21 Oct. 1848, MS 1392, LDS Church Archives.
15.32. Statement of Oliver Cowdery to Samuel W. Richards, 13 Jan. 1849, quoted in Deseret Evening News, 22 March 1884, 2.
Ensign Dec 96 Larry C. Porter
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
The early Christian Church and the Great Apostasy
Jump to Subtopic:
- Evidence of a total apostasy
- Extent of the apostasy
- Reasons why the apostasy occurred
- The office of Apostle within the ancient Church of Jesus Christ
Evidence of a total apostasy
Jump to Subtopic:
- Biblical evidence of an apostasy after Christ
- Evidence of an apostasy after Christ from early Christian history other than the Bible
- Visible evidence of the apostasy
Biblical evidence of an apostasy after Christ
Jump to details:
- Question: Is there any Biblical evidence that the apostasy began?
- Question: Was the apostasy predicted by the Bible not complete?
Evidence of an apostasy after Christ from early Christian history other than the Bible
Summary: Do the Early Church Fathers and other post-Biblical documents shed any light on the apostasy?
Jump to details:
- Question: Is there any evidence of the apostasy from materials from early Christian history besides the Bible?
- Clement of Rome: "For this reason righteousness and peace are now far departed from you"
- Hegesippus: "These also, as there were none of the apostles left, henceforth attempted, without shame to preach their false doctrine against the gospel of truth"
- Ignatius: "the false prophets and the false apostles"
- Irenaeus: "evil is spread abroad among men"
- Tertullian: "Away with all attempts to produce a mottled Christianity of Stoic, Platonic, and dialectic composition!"
- Cyprian: Cyprian argued that since the Saints had sunk to such low levels of depravity they rightly deserved the harsh judgments of God
- Cyril of Jerusalem: "For men have fallen from the right faith; and some preach the identity of the Son with the Father...This, therefore, is the falling away"
Visible evidence of the apostasy
Jump to details:
Extent of the apostasy
Jump to Subtopic:
- Complete apostasy after Christ
- Apostasy and the "gates of hell"
- Priesthood on the earth during the apostasy
Complete apostasy after Christ
Summary: Do other Christian denominations believe that no other church on earth is complete, or is this an arrogant belief assumed only by the "Mormons"?
Jump to details:
- Question: Did Christ establish a Church while on the earth?
- Question: Was the apostasy after Christ complete?
- Question: What is the Catholic view of the apostasy?
- Question: What is the reformation view of the apostasy?
- Question: Do Latter-day Saints believe that no genuine Christians exist outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
- Scholarly quotes on the historical evidence for apostasy
Apostasy and the "gates of hell"
Summary: Is Jesus' teaching about "the gates of hell" prevailing against "the rock" inconsistent with a belief in a universal apostasy?
Jump to details:
- Question: Does the fact that Jesus said, "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" mean that universal apostasy was impossible?
- Question: What are the "gates of hell" or "gates of Hades?"
Priesthood on the earth during the apostasy
Jump to details:
- Question: Was the priesthood on earth during the apostasy?
- Question: Since John the Apostle and the three Nephites did not die, then how could there have been a "complete apostasy" on the earth?
Reasons why the apostasy occurred
Jump to Subtopic:
God permitted the apostasy to occur
Summary: If there were some people who would have accepted the Gospel as taught in Mormonism, why did God allow the earthly Church to pass from the earth?
Jump to details:
Relationship of Mormonism to other branches of Christianity
Summary: What does the apostasy doctrine mean with respect to the relationship of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to other branches of Christianity?
Jump to details:
- Question: How does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints relate to other branches of Christianity?
- Non-LDS Christian Stephen H. Webb: Creedal Christians can learn from LDS views about Jesus Christ and creation
The office of Apostle within the ancient Church of Jesus Christ
Jump to details:
- Question: Was Paul a "real" apostle, with authority over the Church like the original Twelve?
- Question: Were the early apostles married?
- Question: Was the Apostle Paul Married?
- Question: Does the Biblical reference by Paul to "apostles and prophets" refer to Church offices?
- Question: Why did Jesus call Twelve Apostles?
Mormonism and priesthood
Jump to Subtopic:
- Restoration of the priesthood
- Administration of priesthood authority
- Criticisms of the Mormon priesthood
Restoration of the priesthood
Jump to Subtopic:
- The manner in which the priesthood was restored
- Date of the restoration of the Melchizedek priesthood
Administration of priesthood authority
Jump to Subtopic:
- Exercising priesthood authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Granting of priesthood authority in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Criticisms of the Mormon priesthood
Jump to Subtopic:
- Criticisms by traditional Christians of the Mormon concept of priesthood
- Claims by ex-Mormons that Church leaders have lost priesthood authority
- Evidence that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Possesses Priesthood Authority
FAIR web site
| Apostasy FairMormon articles on-line |
- Roger Keller, "The Apostasy," FAIR 2004 conference. FAIR link
Dr. Keller is a former Presbyterian minister.
External links
Key sources |
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Navigators |
| Priesthood links to articles |
- Brian Q. Cannon, "Priesthood Restoration Documents," Brigham Young University Studies 35 no. 4 (1995–96), 162. PDF link (Key source)
- Donald Q. Cannon, Larry E. Dahl, and John W. Welch, "The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: Priesthood, the Word of God, and the Temple," Ensign 19 (February 1989): 7. off-site
- William G. Hartley, "Review of Gregory L. Prince's Power from On High: The Development of Mormon Priesthood," Brigham Young University Studies 37 no. 1 (1997), 225–230.off-site
- John A. Tvedtnes, "Jesus' Apostles and Early Church Organization," Meridian Magazine (2 February 2007)off-site.
Printed material
| Apostasy printed materials |
- Matthew B. Brown, "Evidences of Apostasy," in All Things Restored, 2d ed. (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 2006),1–32. AISN B000R4LXSM. ISBN 1577347129.
- Noel B. Reynolds (editor), Early Christians in Disarray: Contemporary LDS Perspectives on the Christian Apostasy (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2005), 1. ISBN 0934893020. off-site (Key source)
| Priesthood printed materials |
- Richard Lloyd Anderson, "The Second Witness of Priesthood Restoration," Improvement Era (71/9 (September 1968)), 15–24.
- Richard Lloyd Anderson, "The Second Witness on Priesthood Succession," Improvement Era (September 1968), 14–20.
- Brain Q. Cannon and BYU Studies staff, "Seventy Contemporaneous Priesthood Restoration Documents," in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations 1820–1844 (Documents in Latter-day Saint History), edited by John W. Welch with Erick B. Carlson, (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press / Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 2005), 215–263. ISBN 0842526072. This book has recently been reprinted, in paperback. BYU Studies and Deseret Book (July 13, 2011) (Key source)