President Gordon B. Hinckley said: "[The priesthood] is a delegation of divine authority, different from all other powers and authorities on the face of the earth. Without it there could be a church in name only, lacking authority to administer in the things of God."
Jeffry R Holland said : "The priesthood of God… is as indispensable to the true Church of God as it is unique to it and that without it there would be no Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
"The essential function of the priesthood in linking time and eternity was made explicit by the Savior when He formed His Church during His mortal ministry. To His senior Apostle Peter He said, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." He took Peter, James, and John to a mountaintop where He was transfigured in glory. Then prophets from earlier dispensations, including Moses and Elijah, appeared in glory and conferred the various keys and powers that each held."
"Unfortunately those Apostles were soon killed or otherwise taken from the earth, and their priesthood keys were taken with them, resulting in more than 1,400 years of priesthood privation and absence of divine authority among the children of men. "
"Acting with divine authority …cannot be generated by theological training or a commission from the congregation…(M)any honest religious seekers had openly acknowledged for generations leading up to the Restoration. The famed Charles Wesley…breaking … with his … famous brother John Wesley over the … decision to ordain without authority to do so, …wrote with a smile: "
How easily are bishops made
By man or woman's whim:
Wesley his hands on Coke hath laid,
But who laid hands on him?
"In responding to that challenging question, we in the restored Church of Jesus Christ can trace the priesthood line of authority exercised by the newest deacon in the ward, the bishop who presides over him, and the prophet who presides over all of us. That line goes back in an unbroken chain to angelic ministers who came from the Son of God Himself, bearing this incomparable gift from heaven. Part of the modern miracle and marvelous history we celebrate tonight is the return of those same heavenly messengers in our day and the restoration of those same powers they held for the blessing of all mankind. "
(
JS—H 1:68–70, 72).Narrator: On May 15, 1829, something unusual took place along the banks of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania.
Joseph Smith: We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting
baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. Oliver and I discussed the matter and earnestly supplicated the Lord regarding the matter.Oliver Cowdrey: "Our souls were drawn out in mighty prayer, to know how we might obtain the blessings of baptism and of the Holy Spirit. . . . We diligently sought for . . . the authority of the holy priesthood, and the power to administer in the same."
6Joseph Smith: While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a
cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying:John the Baptist: Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the
Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.Joseph Smith: 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 as He said the Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost…Part 3 Aaronic Priesthood - A vision of what can be…
Adapted from,
"What the Aaronic Priesthood Means to You," New Era, May 1993, 25 by Stephen D. Nadauld of the Seventy"The restoration of the priesthood through the visit of John the Baptist is remarkable, wonderful, and well worth remembering. But you may also ask, "Why is it important to me today?"
To answer that question, let me ask you to think about a block of stone. The great artist Michelangelo said that he didn't create statues; what he did was chip away the surplus stone to find the image within. Imagine cutting away all those tons of rock and finding a sculpture already existed in the raw block of marble in his studio.
One of life’s greatest wonders is to take something like a block of and visualize—to see in your mind’s eye—what it may become. So it is with a boy. Heavenly Father looks past the freckles, the tousled hair, and the legs too short to dunk—he sees what a boy may become.
But there is carving and molding to be done. And so the Aaronic Priesthood has been restored, the priesthood of God whose purpose is to begin the carving and molding to prepare a boy to become a special kind of man. When we look at you young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, we see missionaries, we see husbands, fathers, we see the Melchizedek Priesthood working to build our Heavenly Father’s kingdom.
Aaronic Priesthood, allows you to start doing priesthood work to give you kind of experience that will help a young man fulfill the vision that our Heavenly Father has for you. The eight Aaronic Priesthood purposes. Let’s go over them together.
The Purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood include:
The priesthood of preparation—the Aaronic Priesthood—has been restored; it is here on the earth for you to use. It is here to help shape and mold you. The tools are Heavenly Father’s own. He has a vision. Your parents and your priesthood leaders have a vision of who you are and who you are to become. Catch that vision! It is embodied in the purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood.