Until the Sons of Levi make an offering in righteousness...

[Guest mormonmusic]

I was teaching gospel essentials today, and discussed the restoration of the gospel. One component was the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. In D&C 13, it says that the Aaronic priesthood will not be taken from the earth until the sons of levi make an offering in righteousness.

I have some questions:

1. Why would the Lord want to take the Aaronic Priesthood away at all eventually? Are we not in the times of refreshing and restoration prior to the return of the Savior? And is not taking away the priesthood something that is done only during periods of Apostasy?

2. Who are the sons of Levi in our day? And what kind of an offering will they make, and how is it different from the offerings of our time and means that we offer today?

I did some reseearch on this to understand this phrase, and all I learned from the Old Testament that the Levites tended to have a lot of temple responsibility, where I assume there was an offering or sacrifice of some kind.

Hopefully someone has an answer to these questions.

[Just_A_Guy]

1. D&C 13 is only one of two canonized accounts of that event that we have. The other is from Oliver Cowdery, and is included as a footnote to Joseph Smith-History. It uses the phrase "that the Sons of Levi . . ." rather than "until"--see here. So it's somewhat doubtful, I think, as to whether or not the Aaronic Priesthood will really be taken from the earth again at all.

2. Levites. Descendants of Aaron and his sons. There are still "Jews" today who can trace their ancestry back that far. I've heard conflicting views on the nature of the "offering" they will make. I understand it to be a Mosaic-type sacrifice in a reconstructed temple in Jerusalem (Ezekiel describes that temple in detail, IIRC). But I've heard others say that the "offering" is a broken heart and a contrite spirit--under this line of thinking, then, D&C 13 simply refers to the day when the Levites embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ along with the rest of scattered Israel.

[MarginOfError]

The Aaronic Priesthood is not an essential part of the Church organization. Remember, for 2,000 years from Adam to Moses, there was no equivalent to the Aaronic Priesthood. You held either the [Melchizedek] Priesthood, or you held no priesthood.

The Aaronic Priesthood was a subset of authority carved out of the Melchizedek Priesthood given to the Israelites to prepare them for the responsibilities of the higher priesthood. When we become righteous enough that we can prepare people to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood without having to use the Aaronic Priesthood, then the lower priesthood will be obsolete and may be discontinued.

[Guest mormonmusic]

Useful information MOE, do you have a source on this one? Also, are we to assume that the youth in the Church would receive no priesthod until they are old enough for the Melchizedek, or would they receive it younger? (Hard to imagine the average 12 year old holding the Melchizedek Priesthood, in my view).

[MarginOfError]

LDS.org - Ensign Article - What Every Elder Should Know—and Every Sister as Well: A Primer on Principles of Priesthood Government

This is a great starting point.

Also, consider that Noah never held the Aaronic priesthood. He received the Melchizedek Priesthood at the age of ten (D&C 107:52).

As far as young ordinations, keep in mind that the age restrictions on conferrals and ordinations are somewhat arbitrary. They are not in the canonized revelations and have changed throughout this dispensation. The ages for ordination to deacon, teacher, and priest used to be 12, 15, and 18.

So don't get too attached to how the Church is organized now. It's subject to change in the future.

Random Pop Quiz: How many quorums of the seventy is the Church allowed to expand to?

[Guest mormonmusic]

I read it over and it's a basic synthesis of priesthood organization as we understand it. I didn't actually look too hard for the answer to your question, and don't know the answer. However, it seems odd that there would be limits on the growth of the Church in terms of number of seventies quorums. I can see limits on the size of a quorum before it would have to be split, but I've never considered limits on the number of quorums of seventy there can be. What happens when you reach your limit?

[MarginOfError]

You actually got it right. A strict reading of the Doctrine and Covenants comes up with this nugget:

"And these seven presidents are to choose other seventy besides the first seventy to whom they belong, and are to preside over them;

"And also other seventy, until seven times seventy, if the labor in the vineyard of necessity requires it" (D&C 107:95 - 96).

However, there are currently eight quorums of seventy, so it would appear that these verses weren't meant to be read in the literal sense.

[GADBabaganoosh]

If you think about it, the Aaronic Priesthood was introduced to prepare Israel (since, you know, they weren't exactly doing the things they needed to be ready for the melchezedek priesthood at the time, and the law of christ.) It's called a preparatory priesthood. If they had been ready for it, and hadn't partied around the golden calf (among other things) they probably would have just straight gotten the the Melchezedek priesthood. So if the Aaronic priesthood is taken away, its because we are ready to have the melchezedek priesthood right off the bat, and with it, we can perform all functions of the aaronic priesthood. bleh, i hope that makes sense to someone, im pretty tired today.

[Just_A_Guy]

You actually got it right. A strict reading of the Doctrine and Covenants comes up with this nugget:

"And these seven presidents are to choose other seventy besides the first seventy to whom they belong, and are to preside over them;

"And also other seventy, until seven times seventy, if the labor in the vineyard of necessity requires it" (D&C 107:95 - 96).

However, there are currently eight quorums of seventy, so it would appear that these verses weren't meant to be read in the literal sense.

Perhaps it meant seven times seventy quorums - i.e., four hundred ninety quorums of seventy?

[mnn727]

I researched this for a class one time and came to the conclusion that the "Sons of Levi" described the Jews of today and the sacrifice they will make is to admit that Jesus is the Christ and oiffer a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Wish I would have kept my notes. I prefaced my class remarks with the disclaimer that this was my belief based on my research - ymmv

[Hemidakota]

Just-A-Guy and mnn727 are correct. It is when the Levites return to that priesthood and honoring it again will then be done away with. It is not necessary for any man or sharing our priesthood with our beloved companions, to hold the Aaronic Priesthood in any celestial sphere. It is not an eternal priesthood and holds no Celestial weight in the grander schemes of eternal life. It is nothing more than a temporal and remains in that state when the sons of GOD rejected the higher laws.

Yet, what was the impact of these priesthoods have on the earth was only realized in the last restoration by Joseph Smith. Seeking a personal note from the second elder of the church, Oliver wrote a sober letter to his brother-in-law:

I have cherished a hope, and that one of my fondest, that I might leave such a character as those who might believe in my testimony, after I should be called hence, might do so, not only for the sake of the truth, but might not blush for the private character of the man who bore that testimony. I have been sensitive on this subject, I admit, but I ought to be so; you would be, under the circumstances, had you stood in the presence of John with our departed brother Joseph, to receive the lesser priesthood, and in the presence of Peter, to receive the greater and looked down through time, and witnessed the effects these two must produce—you would feel, what you have never felt, were wicked men conspiring to lessen the effects of your testimony to man, after you have gone to your long sought rest. Letter of Oliver Cowdery to Phineas H. Young, Tiffin, Ohio, 23 March 1846, Church Archives.

Referencing back to the Doctrine and Covenants, in Millet's [Jackson also] book called, 'Studies in Scripture, Vol. 1: The Doctrine and Covenants', by Robert L. Millet, Kent P. Jackson; it states:

Eternal Nature of the Aaronic Priesthood

The record of Joseph Smith that the Aaronic Priesthood is to remain on the earth "until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness" (D&C 13, italics added) may suggest to some that the Aaronic Priesthood is only temporary. Oliver Cowdery's earlier account is perhaps a bit more precise, using the word "that" instead of "until." In a special conference held 21 October 1848 in Kanesville, Iowa (now Council Bluffs), Oliver Cowdery, who had been excommunicated 11 April 1838, arose to seek forgiveness of the Church and bore this testimony:

"I was present with Joseph when an holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred on us, or restored the lesser or Aaronic Priesthood, and said to us at the same time, that it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands." This statement is consistent with the Lord's declaration that the Aaronic Priesthood "continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God" (D&C 84:18, italics added).

There are several ways in which the Aaronic Priesthood may be considered eternal in duration. In one respect everyone who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood also holds the Aaronic Priesthood for the following reasons:

(1) The greater comprehends the lesser so that all who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood ipso facto hold the Aaronic Priesthood.

(2) When a person receives the Aaronic Priesthood and subsequently receives the Melchizedek Priesthood, none of the former authority is taken away.

In another respect it has been taught that the Church on earth, down to the office of Deacon, has been organized after the pattern of the Church which exists in Heaven. 15 This would imply that somewhere in our Father's house, there is a place for the ministration of this lesser order of the priesthood. At least one realm in which this priesthood will minister is in the earths that will always be passing through a temporal existence. With respect to the functioning of the Aaronic Priesthood on this earth after it has "passed away" and become celestialized, Joseph Fielding Smith has explained, "As long as we have temporal things on the earth this priesthood is necessary. Eventually, when the earth is celestialized, I suppose all priesthood will be of the higher order."

Fulfillment of Malachi's Prophecy

The promise that the sons of Levi would offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness is an allusion to the prophecy found in Malachi which the angel Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith saying, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple. . . . And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness" (Mal. 3:1, 3, italics added). It was in partial fulfillment of this promise that, according to Joseph Fielding Smith, "John the Baptist came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and gave them his priesthood, thus preparing the way for the coming of the Lord." When the Lord suddenly comes to his yet future temple in Jackson County, Missouri, he will purify the sons of Levi so that all of their offerings will be done in righteousness.

Section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants reveals that all who receive and honor the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods "become the sons of Moses and Aaron" (v. 34), thereby becoming in effect the sons of Levi (Moses and Aaron were of the tribe of Levi). These sons of Levi, whether they be literal sons who receive the priesthood by right of descent or sons "according to the Holy Priesthood" (v. 6), "shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house" (v. 32) where they "shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord" (v. 31).

Joseph Smith taught that the sacrifice to be offered by the sons of Levi will be, at least initially, an offering of the firstlings of the flock such as was practiced prior to the law of Moses. "These sacrifices," he observed, "as well as every ordinance belonging to the priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications, and blessings." Joseph envisioned that the temple to be reared in the city of Zion would be a complex consisting of twelve temples, some of which would be dedicated to the lesser priesthood where ordinances such as blood sacrifice might be performed. As to whether blood sacrifices will be permanently reinstated, Joseph Fielding Smith has explained: "blood sacrifices will be performed long enough to complete the restoration in this dispensation. Afterwards sacrifice will be of some other character."

Edited April 26, 2010 by Hemidakota

[Justice]

In D&C 13, it says that the Aaronic priesthood will not be taken from the earth until the sons of levi make an offering in righteousness.

I have noticed that phrase as well, and have given it some study and thought.

I am leaning toward the interpretation that it's not saying the Aaronic Priesthood will be taken from the earth when the sons of Levi make that offering. There will always be a need for baptism, and the Aaronic Priesthood holds the keys of that ordinance.

I think it is simply using that event to prophecy that it will happen, and say it will be here at least until that happens. Once that happens, the prophecy is fulfilled, but the Aaronic Priesthood will continue.

That's how I understand it anyway.

Good question.

[rameumptom]

D&C 84 teaches us that before Mt Sinai, it was by the Melchizedek Priesthood that all works and ordinances were performed. At Sinai, Moses' intent was to bring the children of Israel into God's presence. However, they refused, insisting that Moses talk to God for them.

In his wrath, God took the Melchizedek Priesthood out of their presence, meaning that with the exception of a few prophets, it would not be given to the men in all tribes as a blessing, with its keys. Instead, they would be given the Lesser Priesthood of Aaron/Levi.

D&C 107 teaches us that the Aaronic Priesthood is an appendage of the Melchizedek Priesthood. IOW, the MP actually holds the keys to the gospel of repentance, baptism, and the ministry of angels; as well as the higher keys. This is why a high priest in the MP can act as bishop.

The sons of Levi are the direct descendants, particularly of Aaron, who have the descendant blessings of the lesser priesthood. They must offer up a sacrifice in righteousness, which many presume to be an actual animal sacrifice. Whether it is or isn't is currently beside the point. The major point is that the Levitical Priesthood will be completely fulfilled at that time, and can be taken away. What that means is the ancient Mosaic practices attached to the Levitical Priesthood are fulfilled: no more animal sacrifices, etc., need be done afterwards.

[Guest mormonmusic]

Ok, so giving up the Aaronic Priesthood, it means there will no longer a need for a priesthood with a reduced scope due to the inability of the people to live it -- correct? This means that people, when readym, will be able to go straight to the Melchizedek Priesthood with its expanded rights, powers and priviledges.

This is therefore a positive thing, meaning that the circumstances which led to the removal of the Melch Priesthood no longer prevail, and people have achieved a level of righteousness that they don't need the preparatory priesthood as a testing ground?

What about Young Men? What about their need to be trained within a lesser range of responsibilities? Are we not forgetting them in saying the day will come when there will be no need for the preparatory priesthood?

[MarginOfError]

I have noticed that phrase as well, and have given it some study and thought.

I am leaning toward the interpretation that it's not saying the Aaronic Priesthood will be taken from the earth when the sons of Levi make that offering. There will always be a need for baptism, and the Aaronic Priesthood holds the keys of that ordinance.

The Nephites managed to do baptism just fine without the Aaronic Priesthood.

[MarginOfError]

Ok, so giving up the Aaronic Priesthood, it means there will no longer a need for a priesthood with a reduced scope due to the inability of the people to live it -- correct? This means that people, when readym, will be able to go straight to the Melchizedek Priesthood with its expanded rights, powers and priviledges.

The rights, powers, and authorities of the Melchizedek Priesthood are not expanded, nor can they be, so far as we are aware. I know this is nit picking, but it would be more accurate to say the Aaronic Priesthood has a reduced scope (as you have said) and the Melchizedek Priesthood has the complete scope.

This is therefore a positive thing, meaning that the circumstances which led to the removal of the Melch Priesthood no longer prevail, and people have achieved a level of righteousness that they don't need the preparatory priesthood as a testing ground?

Something along those lines.

What about Young Men? What about their need to be trained within a lesser range of responsibilities? Are we not forgetting them in saying the day will come when there will be no need for the preparatory priesthood?

Who knows? Maybe, maybe not. With such a significant change, a number of things could happen. It's possible that the young men would be ordained elders, and it's also possible that the Lord could reveal new offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood to accomodate training to become elders and high priests. It's also possible that the current offices will be done away with and an entirely new priesthood organization be revealed.

At the moment, it's of little consequence what the organization of the Melchizedek Priesthood (or rather, simply the Priesthood) will be when the Aaronic order is discontinued. Our lot right now is simply to establish the kingdom of God in preparation for that day and then await further instruction.

[Hemidakota]

It goes back to another unanswered role of PRIEST and PRIESTESS in the Celestial state.

[MarginOfError]

It goes back to another unanswered role of PRIEST and PRIESTESS in the Celestial state.

As a German exchange student I once knew would say...HAEH?

[Just_A_Guy]

The Nephites managed to do baptism just fine without the Aaronic Priesthood.

Doesn't all this sort of beg the question of why the Church today needs the Aaronic Priesthood?

[Guest mormonmusic]

The rights, powers, and authorities of the Melchizedek Priesthood are not expanded, nor can they be, so far as we are aware. I know this is nit picking, but it would be more accurate to say the Aaronic Priesthood has a reduced scope (as you have said) and the Melchizedek Priesthood has the complete scope.

I wasn't saying the Melch priesthood would have expanded rights and powers necesarily, although I think this is possible now that you mention it. I was saying the Melch Priesthood has expanded powers compared to the Aaronic priesthood, which has fewer powers.

Next question -- when Alma prayed for his apostate son in Mosiah 27, Alma the Younger I believe -- an angel came and ministered him as a direct result of this prayer.

Do you think this represents the administration of angels, the keys for which are assigned to the Aaronic Priesthood? And would this imply that Alma the Elder had priesthood that included the same rights, priviledges and powers as the Aaronic Priesthood?

[Guest mormonmusic]

Doesn't all this sort of beg the question of why the Church today needs the Aaronic Priesthood?

Yep -- and I think the answer is the fact that the youth need the prep priesthood just as the Levites of old did given their maturity and abilities. Why else have it?

[Wingnut]

Doesn't all this sort of beg the question of why the Church today needs the Aaronic Priesthood?

Perhaps for the same reason we don't have the sealed portion of the plates yet.

[MarginOfError]

Doesn't all this sort of beg the question of why the Church today needs the Aaronic Priesthood?

Strictly speaking, it doesn't. All of the rights, powers, and authorities of the Aaronic Priesthood are contained in the Melchizedek. In other words, the Aaronic Priesthood is a proper subset of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

However, the restoration of the Aaronic order was a necessary part of the restitution of all things. But when it's purpose is fulfilled, it may be discontinued without affecting the operations of the Church.

[MarginOfError]

I wasn't saying the Melch priesthood would have expanded rights and powers necesarily, although I think this is possible now that you mention it. I was saying the Melch Priesthood has expanded powers compared to the Aaronic priesthood, which has fewer powers.

The concept I was trying to communicate is what I've italicized. But the bolded part I disagree with. The Melchizedek Priesthood is it. It has everything we will need in mortality.

Next question -- when Alma prayed for his apostate son in Mosiah 27, Alma the Younger I believe -- an angel came and ministered him as a direct result of this prayer.

Do you think this represents the administration of angels, the keys for which are assigned to the Aaronic Priesthood? And would this imply that Alma the Elder had priesthood that included the same rights, priviledges and powers as the Aaronic Priesthood?

If one holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, he holds the keys to the ministering of angels. Any key that his held by the Aaronic Priesthood is held by the Melchizedek Priesthood. So Alma may have called upon angels for the benefit of his son, but he did not have to have the Aaronic order conferred upon him if he'd had the Melchizedek order conferred upon him. Conferral of the Aaronic order after the Melchizedek order would be redundant.

[MarginOfError]

Maybe this will help, actually.

[ATTACH]402[/ATTACH]

The attached image is an attempt at a two dimensional display of the organization of priesthood offices.

The offices inside the yellow box represent the offices of the Aaronic Priesthood (in shades of blue).

The other offices are offices of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Notice that the Aaronic is entirely contained by the Melchizedek. Please also note that the shade for High Priest overlaps the offices of Patriarch.

There is also a solid border between Elder and Bishop, denoting that Elders, while holding the Priesthood under which a bishop acts, is not authorized to act in that office. The yellow arrow from high priest to bishop denotes that a high priest may be authorized to act as bishop.

EDIT: Changed the chart a little to match more closely the explanations in the following

LDS.org - Ensign Article - What Every Elder Should Know—and Every Sister as Well: A Primer on Principles of Priesthood Government

https://tech.lds.org/wiki/index.php/Priesthood_Line_of_Authority

I think I finally got it to look like I want it to. I'll leave it alone for now.

Edited April 27, 2010 by MarginOfError