Symbolism of the Steps of Administering the Sacrament

This is part of 2 of 2 of a lesson that I wrote for my Elders Quorum. Part 1 showed where the sacrament fits in the steps of spiritual progression. This part explains the symbolism of the steps of administering the sacrament.

Step 1: Preparation and Setup

The sacrament begins when priesthood holders, typically Teachers in the Aaronic Preisthood, set trays of unbroken bread and water on the sacrament table and cover the trays with a white cloth. Those who prepare the sacrament represent God the Father and Jesus Christ (or Jehovah, his name in pre-earth life) preparing for the atoning sacrifice. Their preparation began before Christ was born into this world. When Alma the Elder (a prophet in The Book of Mormon) baptized a man named Helam, his baptismal prayer ended with these words – “and may [Almighty God] grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world.” (Mosiah 18:13). The scriptures do not explicitly tell us how God prepared Jehovah for the atoning sacrifice, but we can make some reasonable assumptions. God taught and mentored Jehovah. He also put Jehovah through tests and trials that allowed him to grow and develop, even in the pre-earth life. During his mortal life, Jesus further prepared by doing things such as studying the scriptures, being baptized, fasting for 40 days and then resisting Satan’s temptations, communing with his Father, giving service, and ascending the Mount of Transfiguration to be endowed with great power.

The sacrament bread symbolizes the body of Christ and the water symbolizes his blood. The body of Christ is the veil and the blood of Christ is the power by which we are able to go through the veil into the presence of God. The Apostle Paul explained the meaning of the body and blood of Christ – “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20). The bread and water of the sacrament can represent approaching the veil and going through it into the presence of God.

The bread can also represent the physical acts of keeping the commandments, or what we physically do with our bodies. This is known as “the outward ordinances” (D&C 107:20), “the law of carnal commandments” (D&C 84:27), “the temporal law” (2 Nephi 2:5), and “the lesser portion of the word” (Alma 12:10). The water can represent “the inner man” (Moses 6:65), or the motives for action. This is known as “the spiritual law” (2 Nephi 2:5), “the law of God after the inward man” (Romans 7:22), and “the greater portion of the word” (Alma 12:10). The bread would represent a lesser set of commandments and trials and the water would represent a greater set of commandments and trials. When a person successfully completes both rounds of trials, he is then “sanctified by the Spirit” (D&C 84:33) and “it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full” (Alma 12:10).

The white cloth represents the power, spirit, light and glory with which God anointed Jehovah to be the Savior of the world before the creation of the earth. In fact, the title ‘Christ’ means ‘Anointed One’. The Lord revealed to Isaiah what his anointing specifically was for: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3).

The Apostle Peter described how God also anointed Christ at the time of this baptism, and the purpose of that anointing: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38).

The prophet Lehi saw the Savior in vision after he had been anointed with God’s spirit: “And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.” (1 Nephi 1:9). The white cloth represents the brightness of Christ’s luster, which is his power, spirit, light and glory.

When Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, “his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). His light is, among other things, a protective covering, shielding him during spiritual warfare. In order for Christ to have performed the atoning sacrifice, he had to allow his protective covering of light to be opened so that all the sins of the world could be loaded into him.

The sacrament table represents an altar of sacrifice. Altars are designed with right angles, just like typical sacrament tables in LDS chapels. For Christ, the altar was the Garden of Gethsemane and then the cross, which was also made of right angles.

Step 2: The Congregation Sings a Hymn

After eating the last supper of the Passover, Christ and his disciples sang a hymn before he went to the Garden of Gethsemane to perform the atoning sacrifice (see Matthew 26:30). When we sing the sacrament hymn, we are re-enacting the hymn that Christ sang with his disciples. We are also singing a “song of redeeming love” (Alma 5:26).

Step 3: The Bread is Broken

While the congregation sings a hymn, the priests stand up, pull the white cloth away from the bread, and then break the bread into little pieces. The priests represent God the Father, the bread represents Christ, and the act of breaking the bread represents the atoning sacrifice when God “laid on [Christ] the iniquities of us all” (Isaiah 53:3), which “suffering caused [Christ], even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that [he] might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink” (D&C 19:18).

An angel told King Benjamin that Christ would suffer “more than man can suffer, except it be unto death” (Mosiah 3:7). Alma the Younger describes the suffering that he experienced for his sins after an angel appeared to him and his partners in crime, the sons of King Mosiah (grandsons of King Benjamin), and told him to stop destroying the spirituality and testimonies of the members of the church at that time and place. His ensuing suffering is likely the greatest suffering that “man can suffer, except it be unto death.” Alma also mentions the one thing that would have made his suffering worse, which is what Christ did suffer – “But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins. Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments. Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction; yea, and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.  Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God, to be judged of my deeds.” (Alma 36:12-15).

The one thing that would have made Alma’s suffering worse would have been to go into the presence of God in his sinful state. When Christ took his sins upon us, he suffered what Alma did suffer and more, because Christ “he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth” (D&C 88:6). He stood in the presence of God while he was in our sinful state, but did not “become extinct.” In this way, God the Father inflicted the greatest suffering on Christ his son. However, Christ healed from the ordeal and thus gained the knowledge to “justify many; for he [bore] their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11). He arose “with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2). He suffered for us “according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance” (Alma 7:13).

Step 4: Prayers on the Bread and the Water

The priest who says the sacramental prayer represents Christ, in his role as our mediator and advocate with Father, offering an intercessory prayer to God during the atoning sacrifice. The priest who stands during sacramental prayer represents God the Father listening to the intercessory prayer.

The great intercessory prayer that Christ offered as part of the atoning sacrifice is found in John 17. The sacramental prayers have much of the same intent as that prayer. In the great intercessory prayer, Christ’s pleading to the Father on our behalf included the following – “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. … And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:17-24).

Step 5: Pass the Bread and the Water

The Deacons who assist in passing the sacrament represent Christ in his ongoing mission to search for his people and to find them, and to “bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.” (Alma 34:15). As the Deacon extends his arm with the tray, his arm represents “an invitation unto all men” (Alma 5:33) and Christ’s “arm of mercy [that] hath atoned for [our] sins” (D&C 29:1) extended towards us. The hands of the Deacons passing the sacrament symbolize this truth – “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?” (Jeremiah 23:23).

While the sacrament is being passed, the Priests watch. They represent God the Father watching the work of salvation being carried out. Their eyes represent God’s eyes – “The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.” (Psalm 34:15). As God watches us, he hopes that we accept the offering of the atonement and that we live righteous lives that will bring us back to his presence. God has a personalized plan of salvation for each one of us that he adjusts as necessary, depending on the path of life that we choose. The Priests’ eyes are like the eyes of God as he watches our life and adjusts our individual plans. The piece of bread that we eat in a given week is slightly different than the piece we ate the previous week, symbolizing adjustments in God’s work with us, based on our own choices and performance.

Step 6: Partake of the Bread and the Water

As we extend our hand to take the bread and the water, we exercise our agency to accept the gifts of the atonement. We “partake of the fruit of the tree of life” and “eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely” (Alma 5:34). We “partake of the goodness of God, that [we] might enter into his rest” (Jacob 1:7).

God gave Moses instructions on how to sanctify his brother Aaron and the other priests who would minister in the tabernacle so that they would be fit for temple service. One of the sanctifying acts was to eat bread made for the tabernacle – “And Aaron and his sons shall eat the . . . the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them” (Exodus 29:32-33). When we take the sacrament, we also become more sanctified. To sanctify means the same thing as to make holy. The apostle Peter tells us something that Christ had said – “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). We become more holy, or sanctified, when we take the sacrament.

After King Benjamin had given the sermon that an angel had given to him, the people who heard it asked God in prayer, “O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified” (Mosiah 4:2). Drinking the water of the sacrament is one way in which the “atoning blood of Christ” is applied to us. The result for the people of King Benjamin was that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come” (Mosiah 4:3). The Spirit of the Lord applies the power of the atoning blood of Christ, which is the same spirit requested in the sacramental prayers – “that they may always have his spirit to be with them.”

God’s desire is that we accept the mercies offered to us in the sacrament. He is pained when we do not accept them. Alma the Younger quoted Zenock, an ancient Israelite prophet, when he was teaching the Zoramites about faith – “Thou art angry, O Lord, with this people, because they will not understand thy mercies which thou hast bestowed upon them because of thy Son.” (Alma 33:16). We must exercise our agency to accept the gifts and mercies that God offers, otherwise God’s effort is wasted and he is unable to rejoice with us – “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.” (D&C 88:33).

Step 7: Returning the Empty Trays of Bread and Water

When the Deacons return the empty trays of bread and water, they represent Christ returning and reporting to the Father to tell him that we have accepted the gift offered. Christ and his Father then counsel together to decide on how to best assist each of us to continue to progress spiritually by offering us gifts, sending divine aid, and putting us through additional trials. Jesus had something like this in mind when he told his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. … Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” (John 14:2-3, 28).

Eventually, Christ will help us fulfill what is written in this revelation – “And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will. Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you; … purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean; That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation; that I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise, which I have made unto you, when I will.” (D&C 88:67-69, 74-75).

The Faith of Nephi and Lehi Facilitates Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost for 300 Lamanites

The prophet Moroni made the observation that “it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost” (Ether 12:14). The record of this event is found in Helaman 5. That account tells us that the brothers Nephi and Lehi (great-grandchildren of Alma the Younger) went on something like a preaching tour to both Nephites and Lamanites. They preached with “such great power and authority” (Helaman 5:18) that thousands of people were convinced to repent and be baptized. After arriving in a certain region controlled by Lamanites, they were “cast into prison many days without food” (Helaman 5:22). At this point, a mob or perhaps an organized army of about 300 angry Lamanites went into the prison to execute Nephi and Lehi. At some point in this operation of trying to slay the two brothers, and it might have been before they had even touched Nephi and Lehi or it might have been when Nephi’s and Lehi’s heads were on the chopping block, “Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.” (Helaman 5:23). Nephi and Lehi then started preaching to the mob and there was an earthquake right at that moment. Then the mob was “overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them.” (Helaman 5:28). Then they heard a voice from heaven that pierced them to the soul telling them three times to stop the operation of executing the brother prophets and to repent. For added dramatic effect, God caused some more earthquakes that were big enough to be felt but not so big that the prison building would fall over.

God certainly had the attention of the mob and they were in a frame of mind where they were willing to make some drastic changes to their attitudes and belief structure. One of the members of the mob, Aminadab, a Nephite dissenter, happened to see Nephi and Lehi through the cloud of awful, solemn, and fearful darkness. He saw their faces shining and he saw that they were talking to someone, but he couldn’t see who they were talking to. The narrative doesn’t tell us how much time passed by from the moment that the cloud of darkness descended to the moment that Aminadab shouted to the rest of the mob to look at Nephi and Lehi. It could have been a few minutes, it could have been hours, it could have been an entire day or even longer. Well, the rest of the mob was impressed when they saw Nephi and Lehi’s shining faces. They asked Aminadab what to do to get rid of the cloud of darkness. He recommended, with certainty,  that they “repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.” (Helaman 5:41).

All the members of the mob “did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed.” (Helaman 5:42). The narrative does not tell us how much time they spent in prayer. I imagine that it was not just a couple of minutes, probably somewhere closer to an hour or more. I wouldn’t be surprised if three days went by from the time the cloud of darkness descended to this time when it dispersed because that would match the three days that Alma the Younger was in hell, the three days that Jonah was in the belly of the whale, the three days that Jesus was in the spirit world, and the three days of darkness in the Americas after Jesus was crucified. However long the mob was under the cloud of darkness, it was long enough for them to go from having every intention to carry out two murders to offering a sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit to God and Christ. After his crucifixion, Christ told the surviving Nephites and Lamanites that “whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.”

The baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost that the reformed mob members experienced included the following elements:

§  A pillar of fire encircled each of the men

§  The entire prison looked like it was on fire, but it didn’t burst into flames

§  They were “filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory” (Helaman 5:44)

§  Their hearts were filled with the Holy Spirit and with fire

§  They were able to speak with the tongue of angels and spoke marvelous words

§  They heard the voice of God saying “Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.” (Helaman 5:47)

§  Angels come down from heaven to minister to them

The point is that the 300 Lamanites were baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost because, according to Moroni’s commentary, of the faith of Nephi and Lehi. Christ explained that it was because of their own faith in him. Putting the two together, I would say that it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi in the first place that provided the setting for the Lamanites to exercise their own faith to be baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost.

Faith is a covenant where God dictates the terms, defines the objective, and provides the evidence that the covenant exists. Then it is up to the individual to do the work and undergo the trials of the covenant. After that, God fulfills his part of the covenant. The account in Helaman 5 does not specify the faith-covenant given to Nephi and Lehi. However, it was very likely that they were acting within the framework of a faith-covenant. The elements of that faith-covenant would possibly have been:

§  The objective was to baptize the Lamanites by fire and the Holy ghost

§  Nephi and Lehi were instructed by God to go to a particular city to preach the gospel; they were told that they had to be willing to lay down their lives for this covenant and they knew that they would be required to suffer and sacrifice themselves in some way even if their lives were not ultimately required

§  The evidence was a revelation consisting only of words to their minds, a vision, or an angelic message, along with a witness from the Holy Ghost

§  Nephi and Lehi showed their faith by works by going to the city in question to preach

§  God did his part by allowing Nephi and Lehi to be put into prison where they would be in contact with the group of people that God wanted to baptize with fire

§  Nephi and Lehi endured the trial of near failure by being put into prison, starved, and then nearly executed

§  After the mob attempted to kill them, they had a visit from either Christ himself or an angel and had a conversation with that being; the conversation included Nephi and Lehi asking for the whole faith-covenant to be a success so that in spite of the murderous disposition of the mob and the suffering that they had received in prison, that the members of the mob would be baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost

§  Nephi and Lehi’s works, sacrifice, suffering, obedience, and intercession created the conditions for the members of the mob to exercise their own faith and reach a state of being of having a broken heart and contrite spirit

§  The covenant was fulfilled by God when he baptized the reformed mob members by fire and the Holy Ghost

All of this information is nice to know. But what does it mean for me? How action can I take with this understanding? My question is this – is it possible for me as a priesthood holder to enter into a faith-covenant with God where I can facilitate the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost for other people? The answer coming to my mind right now is “yes, it is possible.” I’ll have to ponder on this to understand how to put it into practice, test it out, and write about it later.

Faith and Priesthood

During General Conference a few years ago, I was struck by something said by Bishop Richard Edgley – “Because of my faith, I have activated the power of the priesthood that I hold and have been a partaker of the sweetness of the gospel and have embraced the saving ordinances.” (Faith –The Choice is Yours, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/faith-the-choice-is-yours?lang=eng). According to Bishop Edgley, faith is what activates priesthood power. There is a very close relationship between faith and priesthood power. In some cases, the two principles of faith and priesthood are essentially the same.

Faith can be understood to be a covenant between God and man. The elements of such a covenant are:

1) The object, purpose, or final outcome of the covenant

2) The terms of the covenant, or what the two covenanting parties agree to do
3) Evidence that the covenant is valid and in force, such as a written revelation or simply a witness from the Holy Ghost
4) Man’s responsibility to do the physical work of the faith-covenant, to persevere through trials of the faith-covenant, to do the mental and spiritual work of praying, believing and hoping that God will do his part of the covenant
5) Fulfillment of the covenant where the original objective is accomplished

Joseph Smith understood that man may progress through successive points of faith (TPJS, p. 51) or degrees of faith (Lectures on Faith 7:9). He also understood that faith is a principle of power and that it was by His faith that God created the earth and the heavens and that by His faith he continues to govern all creation and existence:

13) As we receive by faith, all temporal blessings that we do receive, so we, in like manner, receive by faith all spiritual blessings, that we do receive. But faith is not only the principle of action, but of power, also, in all intelligent beings, whether in heaven, or on earth. Thus says the author of the epistle to the Hebrews. (11:3):

14) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God: so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

15) By this we understand that the principle of power, which existed in the bosom of God, by which the worlds were framed, was faith; and that it is by reason of this principle of power, existing in the Deity, that all created things exist—so that all things in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, exist by reason of faith, as it existed in HIM.

16) Had it not been for the principle of faith the worlds would never have been framed, neither would man have been formed of the dust—it is the principle by which Jehovah works, and through which he exercises power over all temporal, as well as eternal things. Take this principle or attribute, (for it is an attribute) from the Deity and he would cease to exist.

17) Who cannot see, that if God framed the worlds by faith, that it is by faith that he exercises power over them, and that faith is the principle of power? And that if the principle of power, it must be so in man as well as in the Deity? This is the testimony of all the sacred writers, and the lesson which they have been endeavoring to teach to man.

24) Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things: by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeably to the will of God. Without it, there is no power, and without power there could be no creation, nor existence! (Lectures on Faith 1:13-17, 24)

To summarize, faith is a covenant and a trial, has progressive levels, is a principle of power in man and is the power of God by which he creates and governs worlds. Priesthood is also a covenant and a trial, has progressive levels, is a principle of power in man and is the power of God by which he creates and governs worlds.

According to the Doctrine and Covenants, there is an “oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.” (D&C 84:39-40). When a man receives the priesthood, he is put under covenant. A covenant between man and God typically puts the man in a position of being tried or tested to see if he will fulfill his part of the covenant. Once the covenant, or faith-covenant, has been fulfilled, then the man is called ‘faithful’. A man must be faithful in obtaining progressive levels of priesthood, or fulfilling priesthood faith-covenants – “For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken [or fulfilling the covenant trials of two levels of priesthood], and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.” (D&C 84:33).

Joseph Smith revealed information about the ancient prophet Melchizedek and how faith, trials, covenants, and priesthood orders were all closely interrelated:

26) Now Melchizedek was a man of faith, who wrought righteousness; and when a child he feared God, and stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire.

27) And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch,

28) It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God;

29) And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.

30) For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course;

31) To put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world.

32) And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven. (JST Genesis 14:26-32)

The priesthood obviously has different levels to it. We frequently talk about two levels known as Aaronic and Melchizedek. Joseph Smith explained some of the differences between the different levels of priesthood:

Answer to the question, Was the Priesthood of Melchizedek taken away when Moses died? All Priesthood is Melchizedek, but there are different portions or degrees of it. That portion which brought Moses to speak with God face to face was taken away; but that which brought the ministry of angels remained. All the prophets had the Melchizedek Priesthood and were ordained by God himself. (TPJS, p. 180-181)

Joseph Smith said that “There are three grand orders of priesthood referred to” in Hebrews chapter 7 (TPJS, p. 322). These three orders likely correspond to the lesser (or Aaronic) priesthood, the greater (or Melchizedek) priesthood, and the “mysteries of the kingdom” that are referred to in D&C 84:18-26. Alma the Younger referred to three portions of “the word” using the same descriptors used in D&C 84 (the descriptors are lesser, greater, and mysteries) – “And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word [first level]; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word [second level], until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God [third level] until he know them in full.” (Alma 12:10). I would bet that the three grand orders of the priesthood and the three portions of “the word” all align with “the three principal rounds of Jacob’s ladder—the telestial, the terrestrial, and the celestial glories or kingdoms, where Paul saw and heard things which were not lawful for him to utter” (TPJS, p. 305). I would also bet that different degrees of faith that Lectures on Faith talks about would also align with the three degrees of glory. If you put it all into a table, it would look like this:

Portion of The Word Alma 12	Order of Priesthood Hebrews 7, D&C 84	Kingdom of Glory Jacob’s Ladder, D&C 76 and 88	Degree of Faith Lectures on Faith
Lesser portion	Lesser, Aaronic	Telestial	Principle of action
Greater portion	Greater, Melchizedek	Terrestrial	Principle of power
Mysteries of God	Mysteries of the kingdom, the knowledge of God, key and power of an endless life	Celestial	To lay hold upon eternal life, power to create or organize element and intelligence

If you mapped it all onto the layout of the tabernacle of Moses, it would something like this:

Like faith, priesthood is a principle of power in man, as described here – “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile” (D&C 121:41-42).

Brigham Young described priesthood as “the law by which the worlds are, were, and will continue for ever and ever. It is that system which brings worlds into existence and peoples them, gives them their revolutions—their days, weeks, months, years, their seasons and times and by which they are rolled up as a scroll, as it were, and go into a higher state of existence” (DBY, 130). President Marion Romney also understood that God’s priesthood is the power by which he created the earth – “Well, the priesthood, as I have come to understand it through studying, is power. It’s the power that God used in the Creation. It is the power that he used to feed the people in the days of Moses.” (Priesthood, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1982/04/priesthood?lang=eng).

Here are some additional passages of scripture, which all happen to be from The Book of Mormon, that describe the relationship between faith, power and priesthood orders:

20) I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord [this is a description of the Lord fulfilling his part of a faith-covenant] are over all those whom he hath chosen [you are chosen after you pass a trial of faith], because of their faith [because of doing the work of their faith-covenants], to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance [they are given powers associated with the celestial level]. (1 Nephi 1:20)

17) And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a vision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost [the power of the Holy Ghost is more or less the same as the power of the priesthood], which power he received by faith [the work of a faith-covenant] on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the Messiah who should come—I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men. (1 Nephi 10:17)

10) But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all things [this is the power to control elements at the celestial level] by faith [by doing the work and passing the trials of faith-covenants]; having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise—behold, I say, if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just shall rest upon them. (2 Nephi 1:10)

3) And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith [what degree of faith is this – 1^st or 2^nd?], are called with a holy calling [3^rd or celestial level of faith, priesthood and glory], yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.

4) And thus they have been called to this holy calling [advanced to the 3^rd level] on account of their faith [on account of fulfilling the 1^st and 2^ndlevels], while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.

10) Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God [the 3^rd level]; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;

11) Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. (Alma 13:3-4, 10-11)

28) And Alma and Amulek came forth out of the prison, and they were not hurt; for the Lord had granted unto them power [celestial level, or power to create], according to their faith which was in Christ [or, according to the fact that they fulfilled the faith-covenants corresponding to the telestial and terrestrial levels]. And they straightway came forth out of the prison; and they were loosed from their bands; and the prison had fallen to the earth, and every soul within the walls thereof, save it were Alma and Amulek, was slain; and they straightway came forth into the city. (Alma 14:28)

35) And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God. (Alma 18:35) [Notice the relationship between spirit, knowledge, power, faith and desire!]

10) Behold it was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God. (Ether 12:10) [Could it be that “the holy order of God” is the third grand order of priesthood, corresponding to a celestial glory, and that men, and women, reached that level after fulfilling the degrees of faith corresponding to telestial and terrestrial glories?]

33) And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me [or, if you have a faith-covenant and pass the associated trials] ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. (Moroni 7:33)

7) And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power [God fulfills his part of a faith-covenant], according to the faith of the children of men [or, as people fulfill their part of a faith-covenant], the same today and tomorrow, and forever. (Moroni 10:7)

Faithful in Keeping the Commandments

The word ‘commandment’ comes from Latin roots that mean ‘to put or give something into another person’s hand’. The roots of the word ‘commandment’ also mean ‘to give charge’. The first three elements of a faith-covenant can be considered a commandment (or a charge to do something). When we complete or fulfill a faith-covenant (the fifth element of a faith-covenant), then we can say that we have been “faithful” (“faith-covenant-fulfilling”). When God completes or fulfills his part of a covenant, he is also faithful. The five elements of a faith-covenant (or pistis) can be understood like this:

The “Commandment” (Charge given by God into your hand):

   1. The agreed-upon actions of the contract outlined in the covenant

   2. Mutually understood “substance” or purpose of the covenant

   3. Binding “evidence” (a handshake, signature, or appropriate other token or tokens)

The Trial, Work, and Hope:

   4. The trial of the covenant, which means that you have to do the “work” of the covenant; this part of the covenant is a functional “hope” – that is, acting or living as though the terms of the covenant were already fulfilled

Fulfillment or Faithfulness

   5. The conclusion or fulfillment of the terms of the covenant; at this point, the parties of the contract are said to be “faithful”

Here is a well-known story of Nephi (son of Lehi) retrieving the brass plates from Laban that exemplifies the process of receiving a “commandment” (faith-covenant) from God and keeping the “commandment” to the point that he was “faithful” and the covenant was fulfilled:

2) And it came to pass that [Lehi] spake unto me, saying: Behold I have dreamed a dream, in the which the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brethren shall return to Jerusalem.

3) For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass.

4) Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me that thou and thy brothers should go unto the house of Laban, and seek the records, and bring them down hither into the wilderness. (1 Nephi 3:2-4)

[This describes most of the agreement (that part that Nephi and his brothers would have to do) and the purpose or objective of the commandment-faith-covenant; the evidence is the dream that Lehi had where he very likely saw and spoke with the Lord about this covenant assignment]

5) And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord.

6) Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured.

7) And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. (1 Nephi 3:5-7)

[Nephi describes the Lord’s part of the agreement – He will prepare the way for the commandment-faith-covenant to be accomplished]

After Nephi’s brother Laman made an unsuccessful attempt to ask Laban for the brass plates, Laman and Lemuel were ready to go back their camp in the desert without having fulfilled the commandment. This would be a trial of their faith-covenant. This is what Nephi said about giving up at this point:

15) But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.

16) Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord (1 Nephi 3:15-16)

After making a second unsuccessful attempt (another trial of their faith-covenant) to get the plates from Laban by offering to purchase them, Laman and Lemuel were really mad. They started to beat Nephi and Sam with a stick (or a rod). Had they beat Nephi and Sam enough they would have killed them or seriously injured them to the point that they would not be able to get the plates. God was faithful in keeping his part of the agreement by sending an angel to stop the beating before it progressed too far and encourage them to try to get the plates again:

29) And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands. (1 Nephi 3:29)

Nephi went back to get the plates alone. He “was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” (1 Nephi 4:6). “The Lord that is faithful” (Isaiah 49:7) did prepare a way for Nephi to accomplish the covenant given to him. Nephi found Laban drunk in the street, severed his head and then put on Laban’s clothes in order to pretend that he was Laban and get the plates, which he successfully did. After returning to their camp in the desert, Nephi commented how he and his father had been faithful (fulfilled the faith-covenant) in keeping the commandments (faith-covenant) that the Lord had given to them:

20) And it came to pass that thus far I and my father had kept the commandments wherewith the Lord had commanded us.

21) And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them and found that they were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments of the Lord unto our children.

22) Wherefore, it was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us, as we journeyed in the wilderness towards the land of promise. (1 Nephi 5:20-22)

The Way - Faith

Faith is at the beginning of The Way. To be more specific, “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” (4^th Article of Faith) is the beginning of The Way. The word ‘faith’ seems to take on different meanings in the scriptures. Joseph Smith understood that the word ‘faith’ has a spectrum of meaning, as implied in his statement about a man who “arrives at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with Him” (TJPS, p. 51) and in this statement in Lectures on Faith – “And what constitutes the real difference between a saved person and one not saved, is the difference in the degree of their faith: one's faith has become perfect enough to lay hold upon eternal life, and the other's has not” (Lectures on Faith 7:9). The scriptures make some attempts to differentiate these different degrees, points, or levels of faith. For example, in addition to plain faith, they talk about “a particle of faith” (Alma 32:27), “exceeding faith” and “exceedingly great faith” (Alma 13:3), and “strong faith” (Moroni 7:30).

At a very basic level, faith means belief – a mental and perhaps also an emotional acceptance of some principle. If the principle is true, then our belief would be rooted in some sort of spiritual confirmation. In other words, the work of the spirit is involved in acquiring belief in truth. In our case here, the principle of faith, or truth, would be that Jesus is the Christ and has power to redeem us from the fall. In the church, we would call this level of faith or belief a testimony. A more advanced level of faith can be called a “principle of action” (Lectures on Faith 1:6). This is where belief motivates us to action or works, because “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). This level of faith is where we make lifestyle changes. It is fairly physical in nature. We physically begin to do things to keep “thou-shalt” commandments and we physically stop doing other things to keep “thou-shalt-not” commandments. This type of faith is observable and even quantifiable. Another, even more advanced, level of faith can be called a “principle of power” (Lectures on Faith 1:19). This level of faith is almost indistinguishable from power of the priesthood. Faith as a principle of power is where we work with our minds, hearts, and words. It is fairly spiritual in nature and requires a high degree of familiarity and alignment with God and the power of his spirit. This type of faith is not easily observable and is more qualitative. Another level of faith, which could be thought of as being at least equivalent to, or else as a part of, faith as a principle of power, is faith “to lay hold upon eternal life” and to be “wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker and [be] caught up to dwell with him.”

My friend LeGrand Baker has explained how the word ‘faith’ can also mean covenant or the process of entering into and fulfilling a covenant.

In the New Testament, “faith” is translated from the Greek word pistis, which is all about making and keeping covenants. In Paul’s time, pistis was not a religious term. It was used either as a diplomatic word that had to do with making a treaty, or else as an economic term that had to do with securing the validity of a contract. The closest modern English equivalent in meaning is probably “contract”— a legally binding contract.

Early Christians shifted the focus of pistis to a religious term, and in time reduced it to mean simply believing without any further reference to the covenant, its object, or its evidence. Consequently, in today’s common usage the meaning of “faith” often slides along a continuum that ranges from wishing hard to just anticipating without any substantiating covenant to support the anticipation.

Paul defined pistis with succinct precision when he wrote:

11) Now pistis [our Bible translation reads “faith”] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

The closest English equivalent to pistis is “contract.” Just as with a legal contract, there are five parts of Paul’s definition of pistis. Three are stated. Two are implied because they are obviously so necessary that they are simply presupposed.

1. (presupposed by Paul) There must be a covenant or contract that defines the agreement and the methodology by which it will be accomplished.

 2. There must be a mutually understood “substance,” that is the object, objective, purpose, assurance, or intent of the covenant.

 3. There must be binding “evidence” (a handshake, signature, or appropriate other token or tokens) that validates the agreement and guarantees the fulfillment of the covenant.

 4. The next is a functional “hope.” That is, taking the covenant at full value and acting or living as though the terms of the covenant were already fulfilled.

 5. (implied by Paul) Finally, the conclusion or fulfillment of the terms of the covenant.

Pistis (faith) always indicates such a covenant and the covenantal process—whether formal and explicit, or informal and implicit— because a covenant is the foundation of pistis. Were it not for the covenant, “faith” would only be acting on prior experience, or just wishing. But with the covenant “faith” is power. (http://www.legrandlbaker.org/2014/02/12/1-nephi-219-legrand-baker-a-meaning-of-faith/)

One other aspect of “faith unto salvation” (1 Peter 1:5), or pistis, which ought to be mentioned, is the “trial of your faith” (1 Peter 1:9). Once a covenant of faith has been entered into with God, there is a period of trial before the covenant is fulfilled and God bestows the previously conditionally-promised gift. This period of trial is analogous to the 4^th part of a Paul’s definition of pistis above – “acting or living as though the terms of the covenant were already fulfilled.” Moroni commented that “you receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” (Ether 12:6). ‘Witness’ means attestation of fact from personal knowledge, a person who knows or sees anything, and it comes from the Germanic root word ‘wit’, which means to know. When the process of a faith-covenant is fulfilled, knowledge or even perfect knowledge is what is gained. With that in mind, Moroni could have said, “you do not receive perfect knowledge until after the trial period of the process of your faith-covenant.” A new and higher degree of faith-covenant may then begin.

 Alma the Younger explained how a faith-covenant becomes perfect knowledge by comparing the object of the faith covenant to a seed. He said that the object of the faith-covenant is to “believe in the Son of God, that he will come come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins” (Alma 33:22). Through a process of experimenting with the idea, fact, belief or truth, by letting it set in your heart, allowing the Spirit of the Lord to work with you, feeling the truth grow and recognizing it (see Alma 32:27-33), then you reach a point where your “knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant” (Alma 32:34). The covenant process of faith has been fulfilled in this one thing, which is to know whether or not Jesus is truly the Christ. However, there is more work to do and a greater faith-covenant process to complete in order to be fully converted to Christ and fully developed spiritually, such that you have within you “a tree springing up unto everlasting life” (Alma 32:41).

 
In The Book of Mormon, we are told how the brother of Jared completed a faith-covenant process that resulted in knowledge. After he had climbed up to the top of a mountain with 16 stones in his hands, he prayed, asking the Lord to touch the stones in order to light them up. “[A]nd he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting.” (Ether 3:19).

Priesthood as a Covenant Trial

Joseph Smith explained that one of the tests of being ordained to the priesthood is to not exercise unrighteous dominion, among other things. The nature of this trial is that you are first called to the priesthood, or you receive the status of being called, then if you live according to the way a priesthood holder ought to live, then you reach the status of being chosen. Otherwise, you remain in the status of simply being called. Joseph Smith observed that most men fail this test. This passage describes the nature of this particular test, along with other aspects of the priesthood that we have already discussed:

34) Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

35) Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

36) That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

37) That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

[The tests outlined are to see if you repent of your sins when necessary or if you cover them up, to see if you gratify your own ego trying to climb the hierarchy of church callings or not, to see if act like a dictator controlling your family and others at church under your stewardship or if you serve without regard to how others will respond. Notice that if you fail any of those tests the heavens, who are angels, will leave, implying that they are near when you are successfully on your way to fulfilling your priesthood duty. This is another proof of how close heavenly beings are to those who give faithful and proper priesthood service. Also notice that the Spirit of the Lord leaves when you fail any of these tests, and when it leaves it takes whatever priesthood you held with it, implying that it is the Spirit that gives real priesthood and authority, otherwise all you have is supposed priesthood and supposed authority.]

38) Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God.

39) We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

40) Hence many are called, but few are chosen. (D&C 121:34-40)

There are other covenant priesthood tests that we will investigate later.