Question
Gramps,
I have a question. What Priesthood does Heavenly Father have? Because the Melchizedek (Higher) Priesthood’s name is the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God. This would imply that the Priesthood originates from Jesus Christ (Jehovah) and is related to his role as Savior. If this is so, what Priesthood does Heavenly Father (Elohim) have? We know he must have some Priesthood in order to conduct the creation and preside over the Universe and his children thereof.
Hinckley
Answer
Hinckley,
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has never revealed that Heavenly Father possesses a priesthood different from the Melchizedek Priesthood. In fact, the scriptures point us in another direction. Rather than describing multiple eternal priesthoods, they consistently speak of one everlasting priesthood that has existed with God from eternity. The title “Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God” tells us less about the origin of the priesthood and more about how God’s authority is revealed and administered to His children.
Sometimes we unintentionally assume that the Melchizedek Priesthood began with Jesus Christ because His name appears in its original title. But Jesus did not first receive divine authority when He came to earth. Long before His mortal ministry, He was Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, acting under the direction of His Father. Through Him, worlds were created.
The Lord declared:
“And worlds without number have I created by the Son.” (Moses 1:33)
Likewise, Abraham’s account of the Creation repeatedly shows the Gods organizing the earth under the Father’s direction.
Doctrine and Covenants 107 explains that the higher priesthood was originally called:
“The Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:3)
The revelation immediately explains why that title was no longer commonly used:
“But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they…called that priesthood after Melchizedek.” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:4)
Notice what the revelation does not say. It doesn’t teach that Jesus created the priesthood or that it began with Him. Rather, it teaches that the priesthood is after His order—His divine pattern of authority. The Book of Mormon teaches the same principle.
Alma explained that priests were ordained:
“After the holy order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father.”
Again, the emphasis is on the Son because He perfectly represents the Father, exercises the Father’s authority, and carries out the Father’s work.
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly reminded His disciples that His authority came from His Father. Speaking of His relationship with the Father, He taught:
“The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.” (John 5:19)
Following His Resurrection, He declared:
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)
Those verses reveal a beautiful truth. Jesus possesses all the authority necessary to accomplish the Father’s work, yet He consistently acknowledges the Father as the ultimate source of that authority.
Modern prophets have taught the same principle. President Dallin H. Oaks explained:
“The Melchizedek Priesthood is the divine authority God has delegated to accomplish His work.”
That statement reminds us that the priesthood is God’s governing authority. It is the means by which He directs His Church, administers ordinances, and blesses His children.
Joseph Smith likewise taught that the priesthood was not something created during mortality. He said:
“The Priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with God from eternity, and will to eternity.”
That simple statement answers many of our questions. The priesthood already existed with God before this earth was created. Christ exercises that eternal priesthood because He is one with the Father and has been entrusted to carry out the Father’s work.
This is why it is probably a mistake to picture Heavenly Father possessing one priesthood while Jesus possesses another. No revelation suggests such a distinction. Likewise, no scripture describes a higher priesthood beyond the Melchizedek Priesthood. Instead, everything we know points to one eternal priesthood that belongs to God and is perfectly administered through His Son.
It is also helpful to remember that we often think of the priesthood in terms of earthly offices such as elders, high priests, bishops, or apostles. Those offices exist to organize Christ’s Church on earth. Heavenly Father is not an elder or a bishop in that sense. Rather, He possesses all power, all knowledge, and all authority. Mortal priesthood offices simply allow His authority to be delegated to His children in an organized way.
President Dallin H. Oaks gave perhaps the clearest definition of priesthood when he taught:
“Priesthood is the power of God delegated to man to act for the salvation of the human family.”
If the priesthood is God’s authority and power, then Heavenly Father is the eternal source of that authority. Jesus Christ perfectly exercises it because He and the Father are perfectly united in purpose, power, and glory.
In the end, we should be careful not to go beyond what has been revealed. The restored gospel provides remarkable insights into the priesthood, but it does not answer every question about how authority functions in eternity. What it does reveal is enough for us to understand that the priesthood is eternal, that it has existed with God from the beginning, and that Jesus Christ is the One through whom that divine authority is administered to mankind.
Gramps
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