Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings - Mormon

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[greyfoxx39]

Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings

An ordinance is a sacred act performed by a man who holds the priesthood. Baptism and the sacrament are examples of priesthood ordinances. Some ordinances may be performed by brethren who hold the Aaronic Priesthood. But most ordinances are performed by Melchizedek Priesthood holders.

This section gives directions that a priesthood leader should follow when performing an ordinance. Brethren who perform ordinances should prepare themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. They also should make sure the ordinance meets the following requirements:

1. All ordinances must be performed in the name of Jesus Christ.
2. All ordinances must be performed by the authority of the priesthood.
3. The following ordinances must be authorized by the presiding authority: baptism, confirmation, naming and blessing children, administering the sacrament, dedicating graves, and conferring the priesthood and ordaining to an office. Consecrating oil, administering to the sick, and giving father's blessings do not need to be authorized by the presiding authority. They are authorized when a person holds the Melchizedek Priesthood and is worthy.
4. All ordinances must be performed with their necessary procedures, such as using specified words, laying on hands, or using consecrated oil.

Naming and Blessing Children

Under the direction of the presiding authority, brethren who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood may participate in the ordinance of naming and blessing children (see D&C 20:70). When blessing a baby, brethren gather in a circle and place their hands under the baby. When blessing an older child, brethren place their hands on the child's head. The person who gives the blessing:

1. Addresses our Heavenly Father.
2. States that the ordinance is performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
3. Gives the child a name.
4. Adds words of blessing as the Spirit directs.
5. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Baptizing

Under the direction of the presiding authority, worthy priests or Melchizedek Priesthood holders may baptize qualified people. To perform this ordinance, the priesthood holder:

1. Stands in the water with the person to be baptized.
2. (For convenience and safety) holds the person's right wrist with his left hand, then places his own left wrist in the person's left hand.
3. Raises his right arm to the square.
4. States the person's full name and says, "Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen" (D&C 20:73).
5. (For convenience) has the person hold his nose with his right hand; then the priesthood holder places his right hand high on the person's back and immerses the person completely.
6. Helps the person come up out of the water.

Each baptism must be witnessed by two priests or Melchizedek Priesthood holders. They make sure it is performed properly. If the prayer was not stated accurately, it must be repeated and the person must be reimmersed. If part of the body or clothing of the person being baptized was not covered with water, the baptismal prayer must be repeated and the person must be fully immersed.

Confirming and Bestowing the Holy Ghost

Under the direction of the presiding authority, one or more Melchizedek Priesthood holders may participate in confirming a person a member of the Church and bestowing the Holy Ghost. They place their hands lightly on the person's head; then the priesthood bearer who acts as voice:

1. States the person's full name.
2. States that the ordinance is performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
3. Confirms the person a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
4. Bestows the Holy Ghost with such words as "receive the Holy Ghost."
5. Adds words of blessing as the Spirit directs.
6. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Administering the Sacrament

Under the direction of the presiding authority, the sacrament may be administered by worthy priests or Melchizedek Priesthood holders. The person who blesses the bread kneels and says the sacramental prayer on the bread. The bread is then passed to the congregation. The person who blesses the water kneels and says the sacramental prayer on the water. The water is then passed to the congregation.

The sacramental prayers should be stated accurately. If a person makes an error in a sacramental prayer and does not correct it himself, the person presiding at the meeting should direct him to repeat the prayer correctly.

The prayer on the bread is as follows:

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen" (D&C 20:77; Moroni 4:3).

The prayer on the water is as follows:

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this [water] to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen" (D&C 20:79; Moroni 5:2).

Consecrating Oil

One or more Melchizedek Priesthood holders may consecrate pure olive oil and set it apart for the purpose of anointing the sick. No other oil may be used. To consecrate oil, a priesthood bearer:

1. Holds an open container of olive oil.
2. Addresses our Heavenly Father.
3. States that the ordinance is performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
4. Consecrates the oil for the blessing and anointing of the sick.
5. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Administering to the Sick

Only Melchizedek Priesthood holders may administer to the sick. Two or more of them normally perform this ordinance. However, a Melchizedek Priesthood holder may perform it himself. If he does not have any consecrated oil, he may give a blessing by the authority of the priesthood.

A father who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood should administer to sick members of his family. He may ask another Melchizedek Priesthood bearer to assist him.

The ordinance of administering to the sick has two parts: (1) anointing with oil and (2) sealing the anointing.

Anointing with Oil

The anointing is done by one Melchizedek Priesthood holder. He:

1. Puts a small amount of oil on the person's head.
2. Places his hands on the person's head and calls the person by name.
3. States that the ordinance is performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
4. States that he is anointing with consecrated oil.
5. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Sealing the Anointing

One or more Melchizedek Priesthood holders lay their hands on the head of the sick person. One of them acts as voice and:

1. Calls the sick person by name.
2. States that the ordinance is performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
3. Seals the anointing.
4. Pronounces a priesthood blessing as the Spirit directs.
5. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Dedicating Graves

Only Melchizedek Priesthood holders should dedicate graves. The person who does this should be approved by the designated priesthood leader, who consults with the family. An authorized priesthood holder:

1. Addresses our Heavenly Father.
2. States that the ordinance is performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
3. Dedicates and consecrates the burial plot as the resting place for the body of the deceased.
4. (If desired) prays that the place will be hallowed and protected until the Resurrection.
5. Asks the Lord to comfort the family and expresses thoughts as the Spirit directs.
6. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

A graveside prayer rather than a dedicatory prayer may be offered if some family members object to or do not understand the ordinance of dedicating a grave.

Giving Father’s Blessings and Other Blessings of Comfort and Counsel

Melchizedek Priesthood holders may give blessings of comfort and counsel. A father may give his family members blessings on special occasions, such as when they go to school, go on missions, get married, or enter military service. A family may record a father's blessing for family records, but it is not preserved in Church records.

A father's blessing and other blessings of comfort and counsel follow the pattern outlined below. The Melchizedek Priesthood holder:

1. Places his hands on the head of the person to be blessed.
2. Calls the person by name.
3. States that the blessing is performed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
4. Gives thanks, counsel, exhortation, and promises as the Spirit directs.
5. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

Conferring the Priesthood and Ordaining to an Office

To confer the priesthood or ordain to an office therein, priesthood holders who have been authorized by the presiding authority place their hands lightly on the person's head. Then the priesthood holder who acts as voice:

1. Calls the person by his full name.
2. States that the ordinance is performed by the authority of the priesthood.
3. Confers the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood, unless it has already been conferred.
4. Ordains to a specific office in the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood and bestows the rights, powers, and authority of that office.

5. Adds words of blessing as the Spirit directs.
6. Closes in the name of Jesus Christ.

[greyfoxx39]

Melchizedek Priesthood

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Through the authority [LDS.org] of the Melchizedek Priesthood, Church leaders guide the Church and direct the preaching of the gospel throughout the world. In the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood, “the power of godliness is manifest” (D&C 84:20). This greater priesthood was given to Adam and has been on the earth whenever the Lord has revealed His gospel. It was taken from the earth during the Great Apostasy, but it was restored in 1829, when the Apostles Peter, James, and John conferred it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

Additional Information

“There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic” (D&C 107:1). The Melchizedek Priesthood, which is “after the Order of the Son of God” (D&C 107:3), is the greater of these. It “holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church” (D&C 107:8). It also holds “the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church” (D&C 107:18). It is named after a great high priest who lived during the time of the prophet Abraham (see D&C 107:2-4; see also Alma 13:14-19).

The offices of the Melchizedek Priesthood are Apostle, Seventy, patriarch, high priest, and elder. The President of the High Priesthood is the President of the Church (see D&C 107:64-66).

Men in the Church must be worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holders in order to receive the temple endowment and be sealed to their families for eternity. They have the authority to administer to the sick and give special blessings to family members and others. With the authorization of presiding priesthood leaders, they can bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost and ordain other worthy men to offices in the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.

When a man receives the Melchizedek Priesthood, he enters into the oath and covenant of the priesthood. He covenants to be faithful, magnify his calling, “give diligent heed to the words of eternal life,” and “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” Those who keep this covenant will be sanctified by the Spirit and receive “all that [the] Father hath.” (See D&C 84:33-44.)

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Doctrine and Covenants

Section 84

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Kirtland, Ohio, 22 and 23 September 1832 (see History of the Church, 1:286–95). During the month of September, elders had begun to return from their missions in the eastern states and to make reports of their labors. It was while they were together in this season of joy that the following communication was received. The Prophet designated it a revelation on priesthood.

 

 33–44, Men gain eternal life through the oath and covenant of the priesthood

33For whoso is ^afaithful unto the obtaining these two ^bpriesthoods of which I have spoken, and the ^cmagnifying their calling, are ^dsanctified by the Spirit unto the ^erenewing of their bodies. 34They become the ^asons of Moses and of Aaron and the ^bseed of ^cAbraham, and the church and kingdom, and the ^delect of God. 35And also all they who receive this priesthood ^areceive me, saith the Lord; 36For he that receiveth my servants ^areceiveth me; 37And he that ^areceiveth me receiveth my Father; 38And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s ^akingdom; therefore ^ball that my Father hath shall be given unto him. 39And this is according to the ^aoath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. 40Therefore, all those who receive the ^apriesthood, receive this ^boath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved. 41But whoso breaketh this ^acovenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall ^bnot have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come. 42And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels ^acharge concerning you. 43And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give ^adiligent ^bheed to the words of eternal life. 44For you shall ^alive by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God

[greyfoxx39]

Ping

Disclaimer: I am former LDS, PRO-Christian and "anti" mormonism. I post articles from official mormon sources among others, that often relate to current discussions taking place on the forum to provide a means for open discussion in the Religion forum.

 

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[Jack Hydrazine]

Is this a proselytizing thread?

[starlifter]

Does that include thin-skinned ex-Mormons as well?

[Bidimus1]

Showing what lds really believe is far from proselytizing..at least to any one that reads if and compares to the New Testament or Old Testament.

[Vendome]

I don’t get it.

How is it that Holy Spirit needs permission to enter a vessel(human body) or that a person needs an intercessionary to give consent to the person so them may receive the Holy Spirit?

We pretty much did away with hierarchy thing a couple of hundred years when we realized that our relationship with Jesus, God and the Holy are personal with no imprimatur by a collective for authority on God’s behalf.

[greyfoxx39]

Is this a proselytizing thread?

No. On another forum, there was a post regarding a father that was told he "couldn't touch the baby" (HIS baby) during a baby blessing, because he wasn't worthy but he could hold the microphone.

It nudged me to publicize the mormon claims of being the only ones on earth to "hold the Priesthood" and on the explanation of just what the mormon priesthood claims are and that they are claimed to be "revealed" from God to Joseph Smith

I think it also illustrates how legalistic and controlling the religion is.

This information is taken directly from the official LDS site.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Oh, okay. Thanks for the info then!

[greyfoxx39]

Mormon Legalism vs Christian Grace

[aMorePerfectUnion]

✘

[starlifter]

Did I say anything about proselytizing?

[Colofornian]

From the article: An ordinance is a sacred act performed by a man who holds the priesthood...Some ordinances may be performed by brethren who hold the Aaronic Priesthood. But most ordinances are performed by Melchizedek Priesthood holders.

Mormons say these priesthoods are now in sole hands of the Mormon church...per their doctrine that the Christian church went into complete apostasy...and they took over as the "official restoration of Christ's church."

But Mormons seem to ignore the obvious contradictions in their "scriptures":

Joseph Smith prophesied Sept. 22-23, 1832: the “priesthood CONTINUETH IN THE CHURCH OF GOD in ALL GENERATIONS, and is WITHOUT BEGINNING OF DAYS OR END OF YEARS. And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS, WHICH PRIESTHOOD ALSO CONTINUETH FOREVER WITH THE PRIESTHOOD which is after the holiest order of God.” (D&C 84:17-18)

(Ya wanna explain for all of us how a priesthood received by Mormon leaders continued IN THE CHURCH OF GOD in ALL generations if 1700 years of those "generations" were supposedly in "apostasy?" How could that happen "without...end of years?" Smith TWICE stressed throughout ALL generations!)

Now, match that with also prophesying in 1832 to 1832 Mormons that this “priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers” (D&C 86:8) — and since almost all of the “fathers” of these 1832 Mormons were either Christian or pagan or deceased or whatever — but certainly were NOT Mormons... ...Then tell, us dear Mormons: On what grounds do you exclude the Christian Church from your dear exclusive priesthood club?
* On what grounds, dear Mormons: Do you exclude us from being the true church (according to D&C 1:30)?
* On what grounds, dear Mormons: Do you call us “apostates” who triggered a needy “restoration” of the gospel and the true Church?
* On what grounds, dear Mormons: Did you claim that the “light of the gospel leading to salvation” was lost for a long period of time on earth?
By labeling us all as such, you openly consign not only Joseph Smith to the garbage bin of false prophets – but even based upon Ephesians 3:21, the apostle Paul! [There, Paul says there would ”be glory IN THE CHURCH and in Christ Jesus THROUGHOUT ALL GENERATIONS, FOR EVER AND EVER! Amen.”

Therefore, either Mormons are internally lying/covering up that they believe Smith is a false prophet, or more likely, they believe Smith was telling the truth in D&C 84:17-18; 86:8...which means they believe that the priesthood was rec'd via "the lineage of their fathers" (86:8) and this was a continuous priesthood passed down "throughout all generations" (84:17-18) – and therefore are in grave error that there was EVER a universal apostasy.

[Godzilla]

The prayer on the water is as follows: "O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this [water] to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen" (D&C 20:79; Moroni 5:2).

This really shows just how far removed mormonism is from Christianity. The fact that they use WATER instead of wine or grape juice really put down the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. Not that this practice is a shock to me - I've been aware of it for a while, but perhaps lurkers out there haven't heard.

It was taken from the earth during the Great Apostasy, but it was restored in 1829, when the Apostles Peter, James, and John conferred it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

A closer study of mormon history shows that there was no documentation of this priesthood until nearly 5 years after the mormon church was started - around the time of a credibility crisis in 1834 did the men begin to speak of a special, miraculous conferral of authority upon them by apostles of old, which they claimed had happened prior to the organization of the church.

In his accout of the event, Cowdrey stated that the ANGEL (singular) conferred it, not the three apostles. Now which one is telling the truth of the matter. Neither is the event found in any of their journals/diaries covering the period.

As pro-LDS historian Richard Bushman admits in his landmark biography on Joseph Smith (Rough Stone Rolling, 75): “the late appearance of these accounts raises the possibility of later fabrication”--even though he doesn't draw that conclusion himself. Many thinking Mormons do raise that possibility, however. In a nutshell, they believe that there are good reasons to doubt the restoration of the priesthood actually happened in the church, despite Joseph Smith's later descriptions of the events in his 1838 History of the Church. The actuality of those angelic events and the exclusivity of power/authority which such events would denote, are highly questionable.

A good source for the origions of lds priesthood go to (cut and paste)
http://www.mormonthink.com/priesthood.htm

[Godzilla]

“In no place in the word of God does it say that an Elder is after the order of Melchisedec, or after the order of the Melchisedec Priesthood… This matter of ‘priesthood,’ since the days of Sydney Rigdon, has been the great hobby and stumbling-block of the Latter Day Saints… Authority is the word we used for the first two years in the church—until Sydney Rigdon’s days in Ohio. This matter of the two orders of priesthood in the church of Christ, and lineal priesthood of the older law being in the church, all originated in the mind of Sydney Rigdon. He explained these things to Brother Joseph in his way, out of the old Scriptures, and got Brother Joseph to inquire, etc… This is the way the High Priests and the ‘priesthood’ as you have it, was introduced into the Church of Christ almost two years after its beginning—and after we had baptized and confirmed about two thousand souls into the church… In Kirtland, Ohio, in June, 1831, at a conference of the church, the first High Priests were ordained into the church”—

An Address to All Believers in Christ, David Whitmer, 1887, p. 64

[Elsie]

All ordinances must be performed in the name of Jesus Christ.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

[Elsie]

Is this a proselytizing thread?

Only if the reader's head is mush filled.

[Elsie]

An ordinance is a sacred act performed by a man who holds the priesthood...

Sorry Ladies...

[starlifter]

Did I say anything about proselytizing?

[Elsie]

Sorry Ladies...

Galatians 3:28 (niv)

There is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither slave nor free,
nor is there male and female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

[Bidimus1]

Apologizes C-141 sent it to the wrong person...