Priest (Latter Day Saints)

Last updated

Priest is a priesthood office in the Aaronic priesthood of denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Contents

Priests in the LDS Church

In the LDS Church, priest is the third of four offices of the Aaronic priesthood. Male members who turn 16 in the coming year are eligible to become ordained priests in January. [1] An interview with and approval by the bishop is required before ordination. [1] Prior to ordination, the proposed ordination must also be accepted by common consent by the members of the ward. [1] With the approval of the bishop, a priest or a holder of the Melchizedek priesthood may ordain a person to the office of priest by the laying on of hands. All priests in a ward are members of a priests quorum. A priests quorum can have a maximum of 48 members. [2]

The president of the priests quorum is the bishop, who holds the keys of the priesthood for this quorum. The bishop typically chooses a first and second assistant and a secretary from among the members of the quorum. These officers may not be set apart until after they have been accepted by the common consent of the members of the quorum. [3]

According to the Doctrine and Covenants, the duty of a priest is to "preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament". [4] Accordingly, priests bless the sacrament and are permitted to perform baptism. They can also ordain deacons, teachers, and priests and confer the Aaronic priesthood upon others. A priest must receive the approval of the bishop prior to performing any of these actions. Usually, a priest will be paired with a man (often their father) as a ministering brother (formerly known as home teacher ). Priests also have all the duties and authority of a teacher and a deacon.

In 1908, Joseph F. Smith organized a committee to standardize and reform the Aaronic Priesthood quorums. This committee standardized the age requirements for young men to be ordained to the office of Teacher or Priest. [5] Before that time there were not set ages for ordination.

A priest who turns 18 years old, or graduates from high school, depending on the situation, is integrated into the elders quorum. Those who are 18 years old and approved by the bishop and stake president may receive the Melchizedek priesthood and become an elder.

Priests usually spend much time preparing for future service as a missionary. All suitable young men in the church are asked to serve missions, with the option to do so at age 18 if they have graduated from high school.

Priests in the Community of Christ

In the Community of Christ, a priest is an adult, who is a congregation-focused [6] "Minister of Presence" in the Aaronic Priesthood. [7] Their stated purpose is to "express their ministry of presence and model Jesus as Friend by being a spiritual friend to families, congregations, and community." [8] [9] Each congregation should have a designated bishop or stewardship commissioner who is responsible for Aaronic ministry in that congregation. A priest is to meet the needs of their congregation by following the annual Aaronic Ministry Plan in place for their specific congregation. [9]

Priest in the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite)

The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) does not recognize priest as a specific office of the priesthood. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy orders</span> Sacraments in some Christian churches

In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders include the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Assyrian, Old Catholic, Independent Catholic and some Lutheran churches. Except for Lutherans and some Anglicans, these churches regard ordination as a sacrament.

In Mormonism, the Melchizedek priesthood, also referred to as the high priesthood of the holy order of God or the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God, is the greater of the two orders of priesthood, the other being the Aaronic priesthood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ordination</span> Process by which individuals are consecrated as clergy

Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination vary by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is undergoing the process of ordination is sometimes called an ordinand. The liturgy used at an ordination is sometimes referred to as an ordination.

In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is the power and authority of God given to man, including the authority to perform ordinances and to act as a leader in the church. A group of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacrament (LDS Church)</span>

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, most often simply referred to as the sacrament, is the ordinance in which participants eat bread and drink water in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Normally, the sacrament is provided every Sunday as part of the sacrament meeting in each LDS Church congregation.

In the Latter Day Saint movement, the President of the Church is generally considered to be the highest office of the church. It was the office held by Joseph Smith, founder of the movement, and the office assumed by many of Smith's claimed successors, such as Brigham Young, Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. Several other titles have been associated with this office, including First Elder of the church, Presiding High Priest, President of the High Priesthood, Trustee-in-Trust for the church, Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and Translator. Joseph Smith was known by all of these titles in his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaronic priesthood (Latter Day Saints)</span> Order of priesthood in the Latter Day Saint movement

The Aaronic priesthood is the lesser of the two orders of priesthood recognized in the Latter Day Saint movement. The others are the Melchizedek priesthood and the rarely recognized Patriarchal priesthood. Unlike the Melchizedek priesthood, which is modeled after the authority of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, or the Patriarchal priesthood, which is modeled after the authority of Abraham, the Aaronic priesthood is modeled after the priesthood of Aaron the Levite, the first high priest of the Hebrews, and his descendants. The Aaronic priesthood is thought to be a lesser or preparatory priesthood and an "appendage" of the more powerful Melchizedek priesthood.

Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of several denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Traditionally, a Latter Day Saint holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jesus Christ, charged with the mission of preaching the gospel to the entire world under the direction of the Twelve Apostles. Latter Day Saints teach that the office of seventy was anciently conferred upon the seventy disciples mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 10:1-2. Multiple individuals holding the office of seventy are referred to collectively as "seventies".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacrament meeting</span>

Sacrament meeting is the weekly worship service held on Sunday in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the Latter Day Saint movement, a bishop is the highest office of the Aaronic priesthood. It is almost always held by one who holds the office of high priest in the Melchizedek priesthood. The Latter Day Saint concept of the office differs significantly from the role of bishops in other Christian denominations, being in some respects more analogous to a pastor or parish priest. Each bishop serves with two counselors, who together form a bishopric.

In the Community of Christ, the Council of Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. They are disciples who hold the priesthood office of apostle, and are responsible for the evangelistic witness of the church. Apostles are also high priests in the Melchizedek priesthood of the church.

Elder is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the Latter Day Saint movement, a quorum is a group of people ordained or endowed with priesthood authority, and organized to act together as a body. The idea of a quorum was established by Joseph Smith early in the history of the movement, and during his lifetime it has included several church-wide quorums, including the First Presidency, the Presiding High Council, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Anointed Quorum, and the Quorum of the Seventy, as well as numerous local quorums for each congregation. The Council of Fifty, or General Council, was not part of the church, but a quorum-like body designed as a forerunner to establishing a theocratic government.

In Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, priesthood is God's power and authority to minister in the church and to conduct God's business on Earth. Although the church believes that all Christians are called by their gifts and talents to the ministry, priesthood is seen as a particular expression of universal ministry to which all are called. In Community of Christ, both women and men can be ordained to the priesthood. All offices are deemed equal in importance, but the duties and responsibilities of each differ.

In most denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement, a high priest is an office of the priesthood within the Melchizedek priesthood. High priests are typically more experienced leaders within the priesthood. The term derives in part from the Epistle to the Hebrews, which describes Jesus as "a high priest after the order of Melchizedek". Movement founder Joseph Smith ordained the first high priests on June 3, 1831.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Restoration branches</span>

Restoration Branches movement is a Christian/Latter Day Saint religious sect which was formed in the 1980s by members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in a reaction against the events of the RLDS 1984 world conference. The movement holds in the traditional RLDS theology of the 19th and early-to-mid 20th centuries and hold that events leading up to and surrounding the 1980s and decades since have introduced sweeping, fundamental changes into RLDS doctrine and practice which are illegitimate because they contradict the long-standing RLDS theological tradition this sect holds as true. It is also a part of the Mormon religion.

In Christianity, an elder is a person who is valued for wisdom and holds a position of responsibility and authority in a Christian group. In some Christian traditions an elder is an ordained person who serves a local church or churches and who has been ordained to a ministry of word, sacrament and order, filling the preaching and pastoral offices. In other Christian traditions, an elder may be a lay person serving as an administrator in a local congregation, or be ordained and serving in preaching or pastoral roles. There is a distinction between ordained elders and lay elders. The two concepts may be conflated in everyday conversation. In non-Christian world cultures the term elder refers to age and experience, and the Christian sense of elder is partly related to this.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the priesthood is the power and authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of humankind. Male members of the church who meet standards of worthy behavior and church participation are generally ordained to specific offices within the priesthood.

The Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a priesthood calling with church-wide authority. The Presiding Bishop is the highest leadership position within the church's Aaronic priesthood, although most of the work in this area is delegated to the church's Young Men general presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Freeman (Mormon)</span> Mormon leader

Joseph Freeman Jr. is the first man of black African descent to receive the Melchizedek priesthood and be ordained an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the announcement of the 1978 Revelation on Priesthood, which allowed "all worthy male members of the Church" to "be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ordinance and Blessing Policies", Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2010) § 16.
  2. ↑ Doctrine and Covenants, Section 107:87
  3. ↑ "Callings in the Church", Handbook 2: Administering the Church (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2010) § 19.
  4. ↑ Doctrine and Covenants, Section 20:46
  5. ↑ Hartley, William (1973). "The Priesthood Reform Movement, 1908-1922". Brigham Young University Studies.
  6. ↑ "Community of Christ Priesthood". Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.cofchrist.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ "Community of Christ Priesthood". Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
  9. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). www.cofchrist.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2011-03-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.