We’ve gathered several LDS references you can find below for your research, but beware. This subject matter in Mormonism is fraught with lies, confusion and outright blasphemies and was best summed up by my good friend Ed Decker when he wrote the following for our Mentoring Handbook;
‘…Joseph’s claim that John the Baptist descended and restored the Levitical priesthood of Aaron can only lead one to believe that he had little or no knowledge of the Bible or Jewish tradition at the time.’
Keep in mind this is but a small example of all the LDS quotes you can find about the priesthood. We’ll be adding more as time permits so be sure you check back often!
If you’re looking for a specific quote and can’t find it in the list below, be sure to use our search engine which should help you out.
God Bless!
Michelle
1 Cor. 1:18
Aaronic Priesthood, Return with Honor
Ensign, “The Aaronic Priesthood: Return with Honor,” May 1990, 39; “We cannot remember that we once lived with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and that we probably sat in meetings much like this, where the Father’s plan for us was explained. We cannot remember that Lucifer, a son of God the Father, a brother of Jesus Christ, rebelled against God’s plan and, in his rebellion, promised he would bring us all back home. But Lucifer would have denied us our free agency, the freedom to make decisions.” – Robert D. Hales
Association with Blacks Means Loss of Priesthood
Brigham’s Speech on Slavery, February 5, 1852, LDS Church Historical Dept; “Let this Church which is called the kingdom of God on the earth;… [say] we will summons the first presidency, the twelve, the high counsel, the Bishopric, and all the elders of Israel, suppose we summons them to appear here, and here declare that it is right to mingle our seed with the black race of Cain, that they shall come in with us and be partakers with us of all the blessings God had given to us. On that very day and hour we should do so, the priesthood is taken from this Church and kingdom and God leaves us to our fate. The moment we consent to mingle with the seed of Cain the Church must go to destruction, we should receive the curse which has been placed upon the seed of Cain, and never more be numbered with the children of Adam who are heirs to the priesthood until that curse be removed.” – Brigham Young
Doctrine and Covenants Official Declaration 2; “In early June of this year [1978], the First Presidency announced that a revelation had been received by President Spencer W. Kimball extending priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members of the Church…We declare with soberness that the Lord has now made known his will for the blessing of all his children throughout the earth who will hearken to the voice of his authorized servants, and prepare themselves to receive every blessing of the gospel.”
Important Mormon Beliefs Missing from the Book of Mormon
Jesus’ Sacrifice and Sacred Priesthood Ordinances
“Do We know what We Have”, General Conference, October 2013; “His atonement provides the way for us to progress on the path to our Heavenly home, through sacred priesthood ordinances and covenants.” – Carole M. Stephens, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency
Joseph’s Name Coupled with Jesus
Ensign, ‘Joseph Smith, Restorer of Truth,’ December 2013; “The day will come—and it is not far distant, either—when the name of the Prophet Joseph Smith will be coupled with the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God, as his representative, as his agent whom he chose, ordained and set apart to lay anew the foundations of the Church of God in the world, which is indeed the Church of Jesus Christ, possessing all the powers of the gospel, all the rites and privileges, the authority of the Holy Priesthood, and every principle necessary to fit and qualify both the living and the dead to inherit eternal life, and to attain to exaltation in the kingdom of God.”
Knowledge of Priesthood Brings Salvation
History of the Church 5:403; “Salvation is for a man to be saved from all his enemies; for until a man can triumph over death, he is not saved. A knowledge of the priesthood alone will do this.” – Joseph Smith, May 21, 1843
Gospel Doctrine, p 139, 159; “WHAT IS THE PRIESTHOOD? It is nothing more nor less than the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family…and act legitimately; not assuming that authority, nor borrowing it from generations that are dead and gone…
…MANY HOLD THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD…the Church…is not confined to one man, nor to three men, nor to fifteen men, but that there are thousands of men in Zion who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, and who possess keys of authority and power to minister for life and salvation among the people of the world.” – Joseph F. Smith
Gospel Principles, Prophets of God, 39–43; “A prophet is a man called by God to be His representative on earth. When a prophet speaks for God, it is as if God were speaking (see D&C 1:38)…A prophet may come from various stations in life. He may be young or old, highly educated or unschooled. He may be a farmer, a lawyer, or a teacher. Ancient prophets wore tunics and carried staffs. Modern prophets wear suits and carry briefcases. What, then, identifies a true prophet? A true prophet is always chosen by God and called through proper priesthood authority (see Articles of Faith 1:5)…There have been prophets on the earth since the days of Adam…”
Gospel Doctrine, p 158; “OFFICERS DEPENDENT ON VOICE OF PEOPLE…It is well understood that we meet together in general conference twice a year for the purpose of presenting the names of those who have been chosen as presiding officers in the Church, and it is understood that those who occupy these positions are dependent upon the voice of the people for the continuance of the authority, the rights and privileges they exercise.” – Joseph F. Smith
Priesthood Authority Requirements
The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p 495; “You cannot give the priesthood without having it.” – Spencer W. Kimball
Priesthood Withheld from Blacks
L. John Nuttall Journal, May 31, 1879;“[Abraham Smoot inquiring of Joseph Smith] What should be done with the Negroes in the South as I was preaching to them? [Joseph] said I could baptize them by the consent of their masters, but could not confer the Priesthood upon them.”
Race and the Mormon Priesthood
In 2013 the Church announced they’re not a racist organization. Because their past behavior was and still is so atrocious, it’ll always dictate their future.
Abraham 1:26-27; “Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that order established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the blessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood. 27 Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of Priesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain claim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry.”
Ensign, ‘Of the House of Israel,’ January 1991; “Thus, Joseph Smith was of the house of Israel so far as his family or blood lines were concerned, but he came from a Gentile nation and thus might also be considered a Gentile in the political or geographical sense…
“The members of the Church, most of us of the tribe of Ephraim, are of the remnant of Jacob. We know it to be the fact that the Lord called upon the descendants of Ephraim to commence his work in the earth in these last days. We know further that he has said that he set Ephraim, according to the promises of his birthright, at the head…” – Daniel Ludlow
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, p 882, 884; “Specific standards of worthiness to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood include personal integrity, chastity, obedience to the divine laws of health, and faithful contribution of tithes to the Church. Beyond these traits, it is expected that men will progress in developing attributes of godliness….
Resurrection is a Priesthood Ordinance
Journal of Discourses 25:34-35; “The next mission will be to come and prepare the way in Zion, and in her Stakes, and in the temples of our God for turning the key of the resurrection of the dead, to bring forth those that are asleep, and to exalt them among the Gods. And who will be first and foremost? Why, he whom God has chosen and placed first and foremost to hold the keys of this last dispensation…
Joseph will be clothed upon with immortality, when his brother Hyrum will be clothed upon with immortality, when the martyrs will be raised from the dead, together with their faithful brethren who have performed a good mission in the spirit world—they, too, will be called to assist in the work of the glorious resurrection. The Lord Jesus, who was the first fruits of the dead, the first fruit of them that sleep, and who holds the keys of the resurrection, will bring to pass the resurrection of the Prophet Joseph and his brethren, and will set them to work in bringing about the resurrection of their brethren as He has set them to work in all the other branches of the labor from the beginning.” – Erastus Snow, Logan, Utah, February 2, 1884
“The President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds the keys of salvation for all men now living because he is the only one by whose authorization the sealing power of the priesthood can be used to seal men up to salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God. (D&C 132:7).”
D&C 107:1-4; “There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood. 2 Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest. 3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the son of God. 4 But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.”
LDS Basic Manual for Women, pp 91-96; “[The priesthood] is … the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family”…Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained the companionship role of the priesthood and women: “In the true Patriarchal Order man holds the priesthood and is the head of the household, … but he cannot attain a fullness [sic] of joy here or of eternal reward hereafter alone. Woman stands at his side a joint-inheritor with him in the fulness [sic] of all things. Exaltation and eternal increase is her lot as well as his. (D. & C. 131:1–4.) Godhood is not for men only; it is for men and women together.”