President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counsellor in the First Presidency, spoke in the Priesthood session on ‘The Powers of the Priesthood’. He said, (quoting President Joseph F. Smith, Prophet of approximately 100 years previous):
“The Melchizedek Priesthood is not a status or a label. It is a divine power held in trust to use for the benefit of God’s work for His children. We should always remember that men who hold the priesthood are not “the priesthood.” It is not appropriate to refer to “the priesthood and the women.” We should refer to “the holders of the priesthood and the women.”
II. A Ministry of Service
Now let us consider what the Lord Jesus Christ expects from those who hold His priesthood—how we are to bring souls unto Him.
President Joseph F. Smith taught: “It has truly been said that the Church is perfectly organized. The only trouble is that these organizations are not fully alive to the obligations that rest upon them. When they become thoroughly awakened to the requirements made of them, they will fulfil their duties more faithfully, and the work of the Lord will be all the stronger and more powerful and influential in the world.”1 (see below for all numbered references)
President Smith also cautioned:
“The God-given titles of honor … associated with the several offices in and orders of the Holy Priesthood, are not to be used nor considered as are the titles originated by man; they are not for adornment nor are they expressive of mastership, but rather of appointment to humble service in the work of the one Master whom we profess to serve. …
“… We are laboring for the salvation of souls, and we should feel that this is the greatest duty devolving upon us. Therefore, we should feel willing to sacrifice everything, if need be, for the love of God, the salvation of men, and the triumph of the kingdom of God upon the earth.”2(see below for all numbered references)
III. The Offices of the Priesthood
In the Lord’s Church, the offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood have different functions. The Doctrine and Covenants refers to high priests as “standing presidents or servants over different stakes scattered abroad” (D&C 124:134). It refers to elders as “standing ministers to [the Lord’s] church” (D&C 124:137). Here are other teachings on these separate functions.
A high priest officiates and administers in spiritual things (see D&C 107:10, 12). Also, as President Joseph F. Smith taught, “Inasmuch as he has been ordained a high priest, [he] should feel that he is obliged … to set an example before the old and young worthy of emulation, and to place himself in a position to be a teacher of righteousness, not only by precept but more particularly by example—giving to the younger ones the benefit of the experience of age, and thus becoming individually a power in the midst of the community in which he dwells.”3
On the duties of an elder, Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve taught: “An elder is a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. … He is commissioned to stand in the place and stead of his Master … in ministering to his fellowmen. He is the Lord’s agent.”4
Elder McConkie criticized the idea that one is “only an elder.” “Every elder in the Church holds as much priesthood as the President of the Church … ,” he said. “What is an elder? He is a shepherd, a shepherd serving in the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd.”5
In this important function to minister in the sheepfold of the Good Shepherd, there is no distinction between the offices of high priest and elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood. In the great section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord declares, “High priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own standing, under the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual things, and also in the office of an elder [or offices in the Aaronic Priesthood]” (D&C 107:10; see also verse 12).
The most important principle for all priesthood holders is the principle taught by the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob. After he and his brother Joseph were consecrated priests and teachers of the people, he declared, “And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence” (Jacob 1:19).
Brethren, our responsibilities as holders of the priesthood are serious matters. Other organizations can be satisfied with worldly standards of performance in delivering their messages and performing their other functions. But we who hold the priesthood of God have the divine power that even governs entrance into the celestial kingdom of God. We have the purpose and the responsibility the Lord defined in the revealed preface to the Doctrine and Covenants. We are to proclaim to the world:
“That every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;
“That faith also might increase in the earth;
“That mine everlasting covenant might be established;
“That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world” (D&C 1:20–23).
To fulfill this divine charge, we must be faithful in “magnifying” our priesthood callings and responsibilities (see D&C 84:33). President Harold B. Lee explained what it means to magnify the priesthood: “When one becomes a holder of the priesthood, he becomes an agent of the Lord. He should think of his calling as though he were on the Lord’s errand. That is what it means to magnify the priesthood.”6
Therefore, brethren, if the Lord Himself were to ask you to help one of His sons or daughters—which He has done through His servants—would you do it? And if you did, would you act as His agent, “on the Lord’s errand,” relying on His promised help? (For the complete talk, click: ‘The Powers of the Priesthood’
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Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith (1998), 343.
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Teachings: Joseph F. Smith, 340, 343.
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Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. (1939), 182.
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Bruce R. McConkie, “Only an Elder,” Ensign, June 1975, 66; emphasis in original not preserved.
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Bruce R. McConkie, “Only an Elder,” 66; emphasis in original not preserved.
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Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee (2000), 93.
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The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, ed. Clyde J. Williams (1996), 499.
