A priesthood blessing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a "prayer for healing, comfort or counsel given by a Melchizedek Priesthood holder, who lays his hands on the head of the person receiving the blessing." [1] Priesthood blessings are considered to be non-saving ordinances by Latter-day Saints. [2]
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.
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 term ordinance is used to refer to sacred rites and ceremonies that have spiritual and symbolic meanings and act as a means of conveying divine grace. Ordinances are physical acts which signify or symbolize an underlying spiritual act; for some ordinances, the spiritual act is the finalization of a covenant between the ordinance recipient and God.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a patriarchal blessing is an ordinance administered by the laying on of hands, with accompanying words of promise, counsel, and lifelong guidance intended solely for the recipient. The words are believed to be inspired by the Holy Ghost, and are spoken by the patriarch (evangelist) performing the ordinance. Patriarchal blessings are available to baptized church members upon their request. While other blessings of comfort, healing, and guidance can be received by the laying on of hands at any time throughout a person's life, a Patriarchal blessing is unique in that:
Washing and anointing is a ritual purification ordinance similar to chrismation that is part of the temple endowment ceremony practiced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Mormon fundamentalists.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, patriarch is an office of the priesthood. It is considered to be either an office of the patriarchal priesthood or the Melchizedek priesthood.
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.
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 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.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, confirmation, is an ordinance essential for salvation. It involves the laying on of hands and is performed after baptism. Through confirmation, the initiate becomes an official member of the church and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost. Baptism and confirmation are administered to persons at least eight years old. The ordinance corresponds to the confirmation rite in many other Christian faiths. Confirmations were first performed on April 6, 1830, at the organizational meeting of the Church of Christ.
Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual capacity.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a covenant is a promise made between God and a person or a group of people. God sets the conditions of the covenant, and as the conditions are met, he blesses the person who entered into and kept the covenant. If the covenant is violated, blessings are withheld and in some cases a penalty or punishment is inflicted.
The naming and blessing of a child in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a non-saving ordinance, usually performed during sacrament meeting soon after a child's birth in fulfillment of the commandment in the Doctrine and Covenants: "Every member of the church of Christ having children is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name." The purpose of the practice is twofold: to give a baby an official name and to provide an opportunity to give a blessing for the child's spiritual and physical welfare. This practice is usually only performed for infants, though older children may also receive the blessing; adult or teenaged converts to the church do not receive a comparable ordinance.
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.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, baptism is recognized as the first of several ordinances (rituals) of the gospel.
Setting apart is a ritual or priesthood action in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where a person is formally blessed to carry out a specific calling or responsibility in the church.
John Max Madsen is a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has been a general authority since 1992.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses its doctrine and teaching on Jesus Christ; that he was the Son of God, born of Mary, lived a perfect life, performed miracles, bled from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane, died on the cross, rose on the third day, appeared again to his disciples, and now resides, authoritatively, on the right hand side of God. In brief, some beliefs are in common with Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. However, teachings of the LDS Church differ significantly in other ways and encompass a broad set of doctrines, so that the above-mentioned denominations usually place the LDS Church outside the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching as summarized in the Nicene Creed.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Exaltation is a belief in Mormonism that after death some people will reach the highest level of salvation in the celestial kingdom and eternally live in God's presence, continue as families, become gods, create worlds, and make spirit children over whom they will govern. In the largest Mormon denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, top leaders have taught God wants exaltation for all humankind and that humans are "gods in embryo". A verse in the LDS Church's canonized scripture states that those who are exalted will become gods, and a 1925 statement from the church's highest governing body said that "All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother ... [and are] capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God."
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