Priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest denomination of the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is recognized only in men and boys, who are ordained to offices in the priesthood as a matter of course once they reach the age of 12, so long as they meet requirements of "worthiness". There are no other requirements for ordination, although prior to 1978, the church did not ordain men or boys who were deemed to be of black African descent, based on the mid-19th century teachings of Brigham Young, which the church felt it could not abandon without a revelation from God. (See Blacks and Mormonism). This doctrine has been reversed since then and now allows all men, no matter of race or any other factor, to hold the Priesthood as long as they stay worthy to obtain it as is outlined by scriptures and church revelation.
Priesthood is structured as a vertical hierarchy with a clear chain of command. At each level in the hierarchy, the priesthood is organized by quorums, led by a presidency which usually consists of a president and two counselors. The church recognizes the two major "orders" of priesthood, Aaronic and Melchizedek, the latter being limited to men over the age of about 18 who have been a member of the church for over a year.
Read more about this topic: Priesthood (Latter Day Saints)
Famous quotes containing the words priesthood in, priesthood, church, jesus, christ and/or saints:
“The priesthood in many ways is the ultimate closet in Western civilization, where gay people particularly have hidden for the past two thousand years.”
—Bishop John Spong (b. 1931)
“The priesthood is a marriage. People often start by falling in love, and they go on for years without realizing that that love must change into some other love which is so unlike it that it can hardly be recognised as love at all.”
—Iris Murdoch (b. 1919)
“Now folks, I hereby declare the first church of Tombstone, which ain’t got no name yet or no preacher either, officially dedicated. Now I don’t pretend to be no preacher, but I’ve read the Good Book from cover to cover and back again, and I nary found one word agin dancin’. So we’ll commence by havin’ a dad blasted good dance.”
—Samuel G. Engel (1904–1984)
“When pain of the world surrounds us with darkness and despair,
When searching just confounds us with false hopes ev’rywhere,
When lives are starved for meaning and destiny is bare,
We are called to follow Jesus and let God’s healing flow through us.”
—Jim Strathdee (20th century)
“For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
—Bible: New Testament, Galatians 2:19-20.
“The Saints come,
as human as a mouth,
with a bag of God in their backs,
like a hunchback,
they come,
they come marching in.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)