The Power Of The Priesthood
Written in the early 90’s, defines and explains what the priesthood is and how it works. This paper contains some good, thought provoking content but is not very well written (in my opinion). You may have to read it twice to understand some of the concepts. Includes discussions on the priesthood as it relates to Women, lineage, Satan’s power, LDS ordinances, etc. This manuscript may be less significant to those who have not experienced the LDS temple ceremonies. A good companion study to The Attitude of Zion.
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The following is an excerpt from this manuscript:
INTRODUCTION
This discourse will discuss what I consider to be some of the fundamental principles of the priesthood of God. Although the term “priesthood” is commonly used among latter-day saints, few seem to know much about it, especially in the areas of what it is and how it works. This treatise tries to go beyond some of the standard clichés and cursory discussions about the priesthood. Much of what appears here is seldom discussed in the church. However, I feel it is of great importance to those who profess to hold the holy priesthood of God. It is my sincere hope that all who read this work will benefit from the doctrines, principles, and theories put forth.
The arguments presented in this treatise can be basically outlined in the following manner:
All things in the universe find their existence in matter.
The only thing in the universe that can act upon matter in an organized way is intelligent matter.
Priesthood power comes in that intelligent beings honor one another and hence, serve one another.
The ordinances and the gospel message teach us how to gain the honor of intelligent beings in a righteous manner. The way to gain true priesthood power is through keeping righteous covenants and living gospel principles as given to us by God. All such things involve our relationship with other beings.
Our lineage and our posterity have a great deal to do with our power in the priesthood.
Satan possesses priesthood power in basically the same way God does, namely, by gaining the honor of intelligent beings. The main differences between the priesthood of God and the priesthood of Satan are A) God gains honor with the use of agency while Satan gains honor by eliminating agency and B) God’s priesthood works in an unselfish manner while Satan’s priesthood is selfish in nature.
I have also added some appendices at the end of this work. These appendices discuss related topics which I feel shed more light on the arguments presented and help us to understand the priesthood to a greater degree.
The first several pages of this work serve to build a basic foundation of understanding. I feel this foundation is necessary to help us better understand the priesthood. Some concepts are a little difficult to follow. I have tried to make this section easier to understand and have even thought about leaving it out completely. However, I have thus far been unsuccessful at the former and don’t feel comfortable with the latter. Though it may seem somewhat unrelated at first, I feel the next several pages are important to the discussion that follows.