Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood

Introduction

This presentation will show evidences from history that the Melchizedek Priesthood (MP) was restored for the church by divine revelation in Father Whitmer's home in the Summer of 1829 – and not by an angelic visitation of Peter, James and John, who appeared to restore the office of Apostle and certain keys and not the MP. Because this and other matters have not been understood, historical records are used by critics to claim that no one yet had MP authority to organize the church in April 1830 nor function in it until later.

Part 1

In D&C 27:8 the Lord speaks of the restoration of the Aaronic priesthood (AP).

“Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto the first priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron;”

Then in D&C 27:12 it mentions the coming of Peter, James and John – but it only mentions the Apostleship and keys, and does NOT mention the MP.

“And also with 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;”

This verse says that Peter, James and John ordained Joseph and Oliver to be apostles and mentions keys. But since the restoration of the “first priesthood”, meaning the AP, was mentioned in verse 8 then why would verse 12 not mention the restoration of a second “priesthood” if that is what took place?

Part 2

Now consider this record found at History of the Church, Volume 1, Chapter 7 which gives an account of Joseph and Oliver coming to seek guidance on how to obtain the MP – and then unexpectedly by revelation being commanded to begin using the MP.

The first two sentences makes it very clear that when Joseph and Oliver went to Father Whitmer's home that day they did NOT have the MP. The Angel John the Baptist had told them that if they continued faithful they would eventually be given the MP. They had the authority from John to do baptisms and were baptizing people who became believers. But they knew that the MP was needed to perform the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. They had been praying about the matter, and went to Father Whitmer's home to seek guidance of the Lord.

“We now became anxious to have that promise realized to us, which the angel that conferred upon us the Aaronic Priesthood had given us, viz., that provided we continued faithful, we should also have the Melchizedek Priesthood, which holds the authority of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We had for some time made this matter a subject of humble prayer, and at length we got together in the chamber of Mr. Whitmer's house, in order more particularly to seek of the Lord what we now so earnestly desired;”

The account shows that they did receive guidance.

“and here, to our unspeakable satisfaction, did we realize the truth of the Savior's promise--"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" – for we 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, as it should be made known unto us from time to time.”

The guidance they received was a commandment to ordain each other Elders in the church. And then by revelation to ordain from time to time others as Elders. But wait, how is that possible if they did not have the MP when they came to father Whitmer's chamber?

Part 3

D&C 86 indicates that certain lineages are born into this world with the priesthood.

8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you, with whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers—
9 For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God—
10 Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began.
11 Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people Israel. The Lord hath said it. Amen.

In HC 3:385-386 Joseph teaches that “He [Adam] obtained it [the priesthood First Presidency] in the Creation, before the world was formed,.” As one of the three Creators in the six days of Creation surely he would have to have the priesthood.

Alma 13 indicates that faithful spirits were fore-ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood:

3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works;

JST Genesis 14:29 tells of the Melchizedek priesthood being given to men on earth by revelation.

26 Now Melchizedek was a man of faith, who wrought righteousness; and when a child he feared God, and stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire.
27 And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch,
28 It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God;
29 And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.

The Lord told Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly… I ordained thee a prophet ...” (Jer 1:5) This indicates that spirits can be ordained. We do not know how spirits are ordained or much about this, except that there were faithful spirits that were fore-ordained.

Lucifer was an angel “in authority” in the presence of God. (D&C 75:25). How could this authority not be the same authority that we call the Melchizedek priesthood?

Since the Melchizedek priesthood is over spiritual matters and is an eternal priesthood, then it makes sense that spirits can be given the MP.

“The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things.” --D&C 107:8

“This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things—“ – Alma 13:7

So having been fore-ordained, Joseph and Oliver were called by the Voice of God in the chamber of Father Whitmer and had their fore-ordained Melchizedek priesthood activated. How could they be commanded to ordain each other and others to the MP if they did not have it themselves?

Part 4

They were also given other instructions.

“We were, however, commanded 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 thus proceeding to ordain each other, and have them decide by vote whether they were willing to accept us as spiritual teachers or not;”

The Lord told them to wait and meet with their brethren in the church and have them vote to accept them as Elders, and thus their spiritual teachers, before doing the ordinations. If they were to wait for Peter, James and John to ordain them before ordaining each other they would have also been told. The instructions continued.

“...when also we were commanded to bless bread and break it with them, and to take wine, bless it, and drink it with them; afterward proceed to ordain each other according to commandment; then call out such men as the Spirit should dictate, and ordain them; and then attend to the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, upon all those whom we had previously baptized, doing all things in the name of the Lord.”

The Lord commanded that at the meeting with their brethren, after having the sacrament, and having the vote, and having the ordinations of Joseph and Oliver to be Elders in the church, and having others ordained as guided by the Spirit, then they should as Elders do the ordinance of laying on of hands to all those that had previously been baptized.

The very purpose that Joseph and Oliver went to Father Whitmer's home seeking guidance was because they knew from the Angel John (JS-H 1:70) that they needed the MP to perform the ordinance of laying on of hands. If they still needed to be ordained by Angels before having the authority to do this ordinance the revelation would have stated so.

This account can be read on the Joseph Smith Papers website here: LINK Do a search on the webpage for “P. 26” to go to the start of the above account. All the following accounts where they began obeying the commandments given to them in Father Whitmer's home are on the same webpage.

The following accounts will show that Joseph and Oliver did just what they had been commanded to do. And thus, once they had been ordained Elders, they would always perform the ordinance of confirmation by the laying of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost after each baptism. They had been told by the Angel John the Baptist that this ordinance is a Melchizedek Priesthood ordinance, so the record of them doing this ordinance is a witness that they held the MP after that revelation.

Part 5

After this event in the chamber of Father Whitmer Joseph and Oliver continued the translation of the Book of Mormon. They held the MP, but did not have a MP office. Then on April 6, 1830 they held the meeting to organize the church.

At the organizational meeting they did the very things the Lord had commanded them in Father Whitmer's home to do.

“Having opened the meeting by solemn prayer to our Heavenly Father we proceeded, (according to previous commandment) to call on our brethren to know whether they accepted us as their teachers in the things of the Kingdom of God, and whether they were satisfied that we should proceed and be organized as a Church according to said command­ment which we had received. To these they consented by an unanimous vote. I then laid my hands upon Oliver Cowdery and ordained him an Elder of the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.” after which he ordained me also to the office of an Elder of said Church.”

First, they asked if their brethren accepted them as spiritual teachers. After an unanimous affirmative vote Joseph ordained Oliver an Elder and then Oliver ordained Joseph an Elder. They continued:

“We then took bread, blessed it, and brake it with them, also wine, blessed it, and drank it with them. We then laid our hands on each individual member of the Church present that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and be confirmed members of the Church of Christ. The Holy Ghost was poured out upon us to a very great degree. Some prophesied, whilst we all praised the Lord and rejoiced exceedingly. Whilst yet together I received the following commandment.”

After the ordinations they continued to do the things the Lord had commanded them. They blessed and partook the sacrament, and then did the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost to all present who had been baptized earlier. The commandment they received at the meeting is now D&C 21. Verse 10 in this section calls Oliver an Apostle. So either this is a reference to his future state, or it verifies a pre-April 1830 coming of Peter, James and John.

The other instructions were also followed:

“We now proceeded to call out and ordain some others of the brethren to different offices of the Priesthood, according as the Spirit manifested unto us; and after a happy time spent in witnessing and feeling for ourselves the mercies, powers and the blessings of the Holy Ghost, through the grace of God bestowed upon us, we dismissed with the pleasing knowledge that we were now individually, members of, and acknowledged of God, “The Church of Jesus Christ,” organized in accordance with commandments and revelations, given by him to ourselves, in these last days, as well as according to the order of the Church as recorded of in the New Testament.”

They were guided by the Spirit to ordain the brethren present to offices in the Priesthood. Finally, after enjoying the Holy Ghost for some time they dismissed the meeting.

Part 6

The following accounts also confirm that they continued to do the laying on of hands, or in other words to confirm those who had been baptized. And to ordain others to priesthood offices.

“On the first day of June 1830, we held our first conference as an organized Church. Our numbers were about thirty, beside whom, many assembled with us, who were either believers or anxious to learn. Having opened by singing and prayer, we partook together of the emblems of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we then called proceeded to confirm several who had lately been baptized; after which we called out and ordained several to the various offices of the Priesthood.”

During and after this first church Conference the record reports a great outpouring of the Spirit, and an attack by an evil spirit. Afterwards several non-members present decided to be baptized. The church continued to grow in the following weeks although individuals and even mobs hindered them at times. The fact that they were doing confirmations after the baptisms is a continuing witness that Joseph and Oliver, and apparently others they ordained, held the MP. Obtaining the authority to do the laying on of hands was the expressed purpose of their prayers to know how to obtain the MP. The following account also speaks of confirmations being done by the MP.

“We had appointed a meeting for this evening, for the purpose of attending to the confirmation of those who had been the same morning baptized; the time appointed had arrived, and our friends had nearly all collected together, when to my surprise, I was visited by a constable, and arrested by him on a warrant, on charge of being a disorderly person; of setting the country in an uproar by preaching the Book of Mormon, &c &c.”

The following account again speaks of doing the ordinance of confirmation, or laying on of hands to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

“Early in the month of August, Newel Knight and his wife paid us a visit, at my place at Harmony, Penn; and as neither his wife nor mine had been as yet confirmed, and it was proposed that we should confirm them, and partake together of the sacrament, before he and his wife should leave us. In order to prepare for this; I set out to go to procure some wine for the occasion, but had gone but only a short distance when I was met by a heavenly messenger, and received the following revelation; the first paragraph of which was written at this time, and the remainder in the September following.”

When Joseph went to get sacrament wine a heavenly messenger met him and gave him the instructions on the sacrament. The revelation this speaks of is now D&C 27, the revelation mentioned in Part 1 above. Only the first verse was given at that time, and the remainder in the September following.

The account in the History continues on this webpage and records several more times of the MP ordinance of confirming by the laying on of hands taking place as the church grew in 1830.

Part 7

As the church continued to grow the commandments first given to Joseph and Oliver in Father Whitmer's home were followed. On June 3, 1831 the church held a Conference on the Morley farm in Geauga county, Ohio. It gives a long list of around 40 Elders present. It is important to remember that D&C 107:7 specifically says this: “The office of an elder comes under the priesthood of Melchizedek.” It also lists Priests and Teachers. An image of the original meeting minutes and a typescript of it can be seen here: LINK

In the minutes it records these ordinations:

“Brs. Lyman Wight John Murdock Reynolds Cahoon Harvey Whitlock & Hyrum Smith were ordained to the high Priesthood under the hand of br. Joseph Smith jr. ...

Joseph Smith jr. & Sidney Rigdon were ordained to the High Priesthood under the hand of br. Lyman Wight;”

These and other statements have been used to claim that until this time the church did not have the High or Melchizedek priesthood. That the Elders before this conference who had been ordained, and who were doing the priesthood ordinance of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, that the Aaronic priesthood does not do, did not really have the MP.

Some claim that they had the Patriarchal priesthood office of Elder, and not the Melchizedek office of Elder. Yet since there are no Word of the Lord revelations that speak of the church being given the Patriarchal priesthood, we must "hold to the rod" (the Word of the Lord revelations that we do have) until more revelation is given.

Minutes can have things written incorrectly. Brigham Young, who was involved in the church very early, said that what was being given for the first time was the office of High Priest, not the Priesthood itself. It was spoken of as a restoration of the Melchizedek priest­hood since a High Priest has complete MP authority. But D&C 84:29 says: "the offices of elder and bishop are necessary appendages belonging unto the high priesthood" . So an Elder does have MP authority.

Joseph and Oliver ordained each other as Elders on April 6, 1830 at the organizational meeting. And they began doing the ordinance of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Angel John the Baptism had said they needed the MP to do this ordinance.

D&C 124:123-140 gives "the officers belonging to my Priesthood, that ye may hold the keys thereof, even the Priesthood which is after the order of Melchizedek," And officers who were then Elders are listed.

Part 8

In 1832 Joseph began to write a history of his life. It can be seen online here: LINK. Joseph wrote some of it, and his close friend and counselor Frederick G. Williams also wrote some of it. This is the earliest written account we have of the First Vision. We quote the first part of it to show what it says on the subject of the restoration of the MP.

“A History of the life of Joseph Smith Jr. An account of his marvelous experiences and of all the mighty acts which he doeth in the name of Jesus Christ, the son of the living God, of whom he beareth record. And also an account of the rise of the church of Christ in the eve of time according as the Lord brought forth and established by his hand.

Firstly, he received the testimony from on high; secondly, the ministering of Angels; thirdly, the reception of the holy Priesthood by the ministering of Angels – to administer the letter of the Law and commandments as they were given unto him; fourthly a confirmation and reception of the high Priesthood after the holy order of the Son of the living God – power and ordinance from on high to preach the Gospel in the administration and demonstration of the spirit; and the keys of the Kingdom of God conferred upon him; and the continuation of the blessings of God to him.”

Lets consider this enumeration Joseph gives of events in his life:

Firstly, he received the testimony from on high;

This must be referring to the First Vision.

secondly, the ministering of Angels;

This must be referring to the coming of the Angel Moroni.

thirdly, the reception of the holy Priesthood by the ministering of Angels – to administer the letter of the Law and commandments as they were given unto him;

This must be referring to the coming of John the Baptist who conferred the Priesthood of Aaron on Joseph and Oliver.

fourthly a confirmation and reception of the high Priesthood after the holy order of the Son of the living God

This must be referring to obtaining the Melchizedek priesthood. But notice that Joseph does not mention Peter, James and John or any Angel. So this is further evidence that Joseph and Oliver obtained the MP by revelation in the chamber at Father Whitmer's home, and not from Peter, James and John.

Joseph mentions a fifth item also:

and the keys of the Kingdom of God conferred upon him;

This must be referring to the keys that Joseph and Oliver obtained from Peter, James and John. These keys were also noted in D&C 27:12.

D&C 128:20 speaks of Peter, James and John:

“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 fulness of times!”

Notice that again this does not mention the Melchizedek Priesthood being given, but just as D&C 27:12 it mentions the keys that were restored.

And notice D&C 128:21:

“And again, the Voice of God in the chamber of old Father Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county,”

This must be referring, as explained in Part 3, to the revelation that activated the Melchizedek priesthood that Joseph and Oliver had been fore-ordained to.

Part 9

The date of the coming of Peter, James and John to Joseph and Oliver has never been known. However, in a January 16, 1882 letter from Addison Everett to Joseph F. Smith we are told second hand the following information Joseph said 38 years earlier:

“At this moment an Elder came in through the gate, having just returned from a preaching mission, and Brother Joseph received him very cordially; and he related to Brother Joseph some items of his mission, and said he had seen Brother Oliver Cowdery and had a long conversation; and he, Brother Oliver, bore a faithful testimony to the Gospel and to the Book of Mormon, and said, “God bore witness to him out of heaven that the Book of Mormon was translated correctly.

Brother Joseph expressed great sympathy for Brother Oliver, saying, “Poor boy, poor boy”, casting his eyes the ground. And then said as they were translating the Book of Mormon at his father in laws in Susquehanna County Pennsylvania, they where threatened by a mob. And in the same time father Knight came down from Coleville, Broom County, New York, and desired them go home with him and preach to them in his neighborhood. And on account of the mob spirit prevailing they concluded to go.

And as they were teaching and preaching the Gospel they were taken with a writ and before a judge as false prophets, and the prosecuting attorney had conceived in his own mind that a few simple questions would convince the court, by the answers Brother Joseph would give, to them that the charge was correct.

So he calls out, “Joe, which was the first miracle Jesus wrought.” Why, said Brother Joseph we read he created the worlds. And what he done previous to that I have not as yet learned.

This answer so completely confounded the prosecuting attorney that he requested the Judge to dismiss the case, and went out to organize the mob that was on the outside.

At about this time a lawyer by the name of Reede, I think was his name, came in to the court and stated he was Smith’s attorney, and wished to see him in a private room. And was put into a back room; and when in, he hoisted a window and told brother Joseph and Oliver to flee into the forest which was close at hand. And they wandered in a dense forest all night, and often times in mud and water up to their knees.

And brother Oliver got quite exhausted in the after part of the night, and brother Joseph had to put his arm around him, and almost carry him. And just as the day broke in the East, brother Oliver gave out entirely, and he, brother Joseph leaned him against an oak tree just outside a field fence. Brother Oliver crying out, “How long, O Lord, O how long brother Joseph, have we got to suffer these things?

Just this moment, Peter James and John came to us and ordained us to the holy Apostleship, and gave unto us the keys of the dispensation of the fullness of time.

And we had some 16 or 17 miles to go to reach our place of residence, and Brother Oliver could travel as well as I could after.

Now as to time and place, I heard the name of the banks of the Susquehanna river spoken of, but where it was placed I cannot tell. No doubt the oak tree and the field fence was adjacent to the river. As to time, I cannot be very explicit, but as the mob spirit had not abated when they returned they had to remove to father Whitmers at Fayette, Seneca county to finish the translation, I should judge to be the latter part of August.

Now beloved brother, I am not writing as one of the Lord’s historians, but as your friend reproducing the last words I heard our beloved and God’s holy Prophet speak before his depart into the Eternal Heavens to dwell with the holy and Eternal Gods forever and ever!

I had in my power to befriend brother Joseph just before he was slain, and he has befriended me, and visited me five times since his death, and brother Hyrum was with him twice. The last time but one was in this Temple in St George and brother Hyrum was with him.” …

This account places the coming of Peter, James and John around the last part of August 1829. But notice that Addison does not remember Joseph stating they gave them the Melchizedek Priesthood. Instead, once again, Joseph is said to have only mentioned the Apostleship and keys:

“Peter James and John came to us and ordained us to the holy Apostleship, and gave unto us the keys of the dispensation of the fullness of time.”

Historians have questioned the accuracy of this account by Addison, and present a case for the coming of Peter, James and John in the summer of 1830. Read here about it in this article: LINK. The author, Keller, of this article presents the arguments of Quinn, Porter and Bushman. However, he concludes this:

“I think it is easier to deal with 1829 history’s silence about a trial and suggest that Everett conflated details from the 1830 Reed trial that were floating around in Nauvoo at the time; easier than accepting a jumbled sequence of 1830 history and a conflation with 1829 ... events."

One of the arguments against Addison's account is the fact that the lawyer John S. Reid was used by Joseph in 1830. But Addison says he “thinks” the name of the lawyer that helped them escape the mob was Reede. So this name could easily be incorrect. Since the trial was short and the charges dropped it is easy to believe little record was made of it.

If the MP was restored by revelation at the Whitmer home, then Joseph and Oliver had the MP in April 1830 even if Peter, James and John came later.

Conclusion

By their account, Joseph and Oliver came to Father Whitmer's home without the MP; and unexpectedly by the Voice of God were instructed to do MP ordinations and ordinances. So was the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood just by revelation?

This presentation pointed out that the revelation and commandments given to Joseph and Oliver in Father Whitmer's home to ordain each other to the office of Elder did not include any commandment to wait for an ordination by Peter, James and John.

Every specific commandment given to them in that revelation was obeyed on the day the Church was organized, and from that day on Joseph and Oliver, and apparently others they ordained as Elders, on all who were baptized did the confirmation ordinance of laying on of hands to receive the Holy Ghost – and the MP is necessary to do this ordinance.

This presentation also gives multiple records that mention the coming of Peter, James and John, and in every case the Apostleship and keys are mentioned, but a Melchizedek priesthood restoration is never mentioned. Peter, James and John could not ordain them to the Apostleship if they did not already hold the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Also presented are scriptures that indicate that certain lineages were foreordained to the Melchizedek priesthood as spirits. And that by the Voice of God, the spirits of these lineages in an embodied state have the MP activated for use.

D&C 20:60 reveals that when Priesthood is given to someone in the flesh, the power of the Holy Ghost will be in the one who ordains.

“Every elder, priest, teacher, or deacon is to be ordained according to the gifts and callings of God unto him; and he is to be ordained by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is in the one who ordains him.”

If God does not approve the ordination then the power of the Holy Ghost will withdraw. So the presence of the “power of the Holy Ghost” is a witness and a form of revelation.

Those who were fore-ordained, and thus given the MP as spirits, cannot use the MP in the flesh until the ordination is authorized by direct revelation, or by a D&C 20:60 type witness. The ordination does not give them the MP since it was given to them as a spirit, but activates it in their embodied state.

The commandments in the revelation given by the Voice of God to Joseph and Oliver take for granted that they have the authority to do what they are being com­manded to do. Joseph and Oliver were commanded to wait for common consent of the church before doing Melchizedek Priesthood ordinations and ordinances for the church, but they were not told to wait for Peter, James and John to ordain them.