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.
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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)
“A State, in idea, is the opposite of a Church. A State regards classes, and not individuals; and it estimates classes, not by internal merit, but external accidents, as property, birth, etc. But a church does the reverse of this, and disregards all external accidents, and looks at men as individual persons, allowing no gradations of ranks, but such as greater or less wisdom, learning, and holiness ought to confer. A Church is, therefore, in idea, the only pure democracy.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)
“Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 9:1,2.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.”
—Bible: New Testament, Ephesians 2:19-22.
“O cunning enemy, that to catch a saint,
With saints doth bait thy hook! Most dangerous
Is that temptation that doth goad us on
To sin in loving virtue.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)