The Priesthood — The Authority to Act in God’s Name

And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

— Hebrews 5:4

Why Priesthood Authority Is Essential

Consider a practical analogy. A judge cannot sentence a criminal without legal authority granted by the state. A doctor cannot practice medicine without licensed authority from a medical board. An ambassador cannot negotiate on behalf of a nation without delegated authority from its government.

How much more important, then, that someone claiming to act in God’s name— to baptize, to bless, to administer saving ordinances — actually has that authority from God Himself?

Without priesthood authority:

• Baptism is a meaningless ritual performed by an unauthorized individual
• The sacrament is symbolic theater without binding covenant power
• Blessings are sincere wishes without divine endorsement
• Leadership is human opinion without prophetic backing
• The church itself is a well-meaning organization without divine charter

What the Bible Teaches About Priesthood Authority

It Must Be Given — Not Assumed

And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

— Hebrews 5:4

Aaron — Moses’s brother and Israel’s first high priest — did not volunteer. He did not attend seminary. He did not inherit the position through family tradition alone. God called him. Specifically. Personally. That is the standard the New Testament reaffirms.

Christ Personally Ordained His Apostles

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you.

— John 15:16

The Greek word used here — etheka— means to place, to set, to appoint with authority. This was a real conferral of real power. The Apostles did not promote themselves. Christ chose them and ordained them.

Authority Cannot Be Purchased or Assumed

Acts 8 records one of the most instructive episodes in scripture regarding priesthood authority:

And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

— Acts 8:18–20

Simon the Sorcerer recognized that something real was happening. He tried to buy it. Peter’s rebuke was sharp and unambiguous: this authority cannot be purchased, transferred informally, or assumed. It must be conferred by those who hold it, through the prescribed method.

Self-Appointment Is Rejected by God

Numbers 16 records the rebellion of Korah, who gathered 250 leaders and challenged Moses’s authority, claiming that all of Israel was holy and any of them could lead:

And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.

— Numbers 16:32

God’s response to self-appointment was immediate and unmistakable. The principle is consistent across all dispensations: you do not appoint yourself to act in God’s name.

The Two Priesthoods

The New Testament and the restored scriptures describe two orders of priesthood:

The Aaronic (Levitical) Priesthood

Named after Aaron. An appendage to the higher priesthood. Holds the keys of:

• The ministering of angels
• The preparatory gospel
• Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins
• Administration of the sacrament

And he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.

— Matthew 3:11

John speaking of his Aaronic authority and Christ’s greater authority.

The Melchizedek Priesthood

Named after Melchizedek, the great high priest of Salem to whom Abraham paid tithes (Genesis 14:18–20; Hebrews 7). The higher priesthood. Holds the keys of:

• All the spiritual blessings of the church
• The mysteries of the kingdom of God
• The knowledge of God
• The presidency of the church

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God… To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.

— Hebrews 7:1–2

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

— Hebrews 7:3

The Melchizedek Priesthood is described as having no beginning or end — it is the eternal priesthood by which God himself governs.

The Chain of Authority — Why It Matters Critically

The Catholic Claim: Apostolic Succession

The Catholic Church claims an unbroken chain from Peter to the current Pope. This is called apostolic succession.

The problems with this claim:

• Historical records of the first and second century papal succession are disputed and incomplete
• Multiple simultaneous “popes” (antipopes) have existed — raising the question of which line was legitimate
• The chain passes through demonstrably corrupt leaders who changed doctrines, sold offices, and authorized violence
• Even Catholic scholars acknowledge significant gaps in early records
• The authority was claimed — not demonstrably received from God

The Protestant Claim: No Succession Needed

Most Protestant denominations abandoned the concept of apostolic succession entirely. They claim:

• Authority comes through faith and scripture alone (Sola Scriptura)
• Any sincere believer can be called of God
• The Bible itself is sufficient authority

The problems with this claim:

• This contradicts the explicit pattern Christ established in ordaining specific individuals
• If authority came through scripture alone, why did Christ ordain apostles at all?
• Sola Scripturahas produced 45,000 denominations — all reading the same Bible and reaching different conclusions
• A book cannot ordain, cannot confer the Holy Ghost, cannot administer living ordinances

The Restored Church Claim: Direct Restoration

Joseph Smith did not claim to have received authority through an earthly chain. He claimed something far more direct:

May 15, 1829— John the Baptist, a resurrected being, appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on the banks of the Susquehanna River and conferred the Aaronic Priesthood by the laying on of hands.

Spring/Summer 1829— Peter, James, and John — the same three Apostles who were with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration — appeared and conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood, including the keys of the kingdom.

The Logic of Restoration

If we accept the following premises — all of which are scripturally sound:

1. Priesthood authority must be given by God— not assumed (Hebrews 5:4)
2. It can only be passed by those who already hold it(Acts 8:18–20)
3. The Apostles were all killed or died within decades of Christ
4. No verifiable, unbroken chain of authority exists to any modern church
5. God has always restored what was lost through apostasy (multiple dispensations)

Then the only logically consistent conclusion is:

• Either the authority was lostfrom the earth — requiring a restoration
• Or the concept of priesthood authority doesn’t matter— which contradicts how Christ organized everything

The Priesthood Restored: What It Means Today

The restoration of the priesthood means that today:

• When a young man baptizes a new convert, the water washing is not merely symbolic — it is a valid covenant with divine backing
• When the sacrament is administered, it is not religious theater — it is a renewal of real covenants
• When the sick are anointed with oil and given a blessing by elders, the prayer is not merely hopeful — it is offered with divine authority
• When a bishop counsels a struggling member, he acts not merely as a wise friend — but as a judge in Israel with keys to administer the Atonement
• When a couple is sealed in the temple, the marriage is not merely a legal contract — it is a binding ordinance with the promise that what is sealed on earth is sealed in heaven

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.

— Matthew 16:19

The authority to bind on earth and have it recognized in heaven is not a poetic metaphor. It is the literal power of the Melchizedek Priesthood — restored in 1829, operating in the world today.