"The principles and doctrines of the priesthood are sublime and supernal. The more we study the doctrine and potential and apply the practical purpose of the priesthood, the more our souls will be expanded and our understanding enlarged, and we will see what the Lord has in store for us." Your Potential, Your Privilege," Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2011 General Conference
I knew I wouldn't get too far through the readings during the lesson because when I read chapter 13, I was overwhelmed with how much information is given to us about the Holy Priesthood and Preordination. Whenever a definition for the "Priesthood" is asked for in church, someone always says "the power given to men to act in the name of God." This is true, but there is much more to that and I'm finding it is a definition that just won't suffice without explaining its purpose.
In my readings I discovered four purposes for this power given to men and blessings given to both men and women. Bruce R. McConkie, in Mormon Doctrine, said: Women do not have the priesthood conferred upon them and are not ordained to offices therein, but they are entitled to all priesthood blessings (pg 594 Priestesses). Women receive the same blessings men do from the priesthood, and this is more than just blessings that are conferred by the "laying on of hands." So, in my estimation, just because women are not ordained to the priesthood, since the same blessings can be received there is no inequality here. Neither women nor men should unrighteously pursue the priesthood authority for recognition or status. The priesthood is given to help serve others, not to self serve. Women and men can do this alike, there are just different modes of delivery at times.
Now to Alma.
In chapter 12, Alma and Amulek had just finished telling the people the plan of salvation beginning with conditions in the Garden of Eden and the fall of Adam and Eve. He talked to them about spiritual death and temporal death, the consequences of each and the way to overcome both through the Savior.
As a review, here is the logic chain or pattern that Alma presents to the people:
Adam partakes of the fruit
spiritual death (separation from God) as well as physical death introduced
opposition and agency are essential to prepare to meet God
time given to repent and prepare to return to God
repentance comes through the atonement
judgment will come after this life
While recalling the stories of their ancient fathers, Alma asks the people to recall that it was at that time the Lord ordained priests. Why would Alma talk about the Priesthood as the next step in the Plan of Salvation? Because in order for the Plan of Salvation to be effective there needed to be teachers to teach the plan and organization for God's followers and both needed to be authorized from God. The priesthood is the name of that authority.
The first purpose of the Priesthood:
Alma 13:1
1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people. (These things means, the Plan of Salvation that Alma just listed in ch 12).
Second purpose of the Priesthood:
Alma 13:2
2 And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.
The manner that they were ordained refers to being ordained before this life, in a pre-mortal existence, to hold the priesthood. This is taught to us in verses 3-5:
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, are called with a holy calling, 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 on account of their faith, 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.
5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared—
I learned during my study that this is what "many are called, but few are chosen" refers to (D&C 121:40), explained by Harold B. Lee:
“God may have called and chosen men in the spirit world or in their first estate to do a certain work, but whether they will accept that calling here and magnify it by faithful service and good works while in mortality is a matter in which it is their right and privilege to exercise their free agency to choose good or evil. “. . . I fear there are many among us who because of their faithfulness in the spirit world were ‘called’ to do a great work here, but like reckless spendthrifts they are exercising their free agency in riotous living and are losing their birthright and the blessings that were theirs had they proved faithful to their calling. Hence as the Lord has said, ‘there are many called but few are chosen’” (Harold B. Lee, Decisions for Successful Living [1973], 169).
Third purpose of the Priesthood:
Alma 13:6-7
6 And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest—
7 This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things—
There needed to be teachers of laws and consequences, a channel of accountability for our choices. Under the direction of the priesthood, this is the way it is and has been done from eternity to eternity.
Fourth purpose of the Priesthood:
Alma 13:13-16
13 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.
14 Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of Melchizedek, who was also a high priest after this same order which I have spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever.
15 And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed.
16 Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord.
This high priesthood is called the Melchizedek Priesthood in order to protect the name of whose priesthood it really is: Jesus Christ. President Uchtdorf reminds of this by helping us remember the "why" of the Priesthood:
From the newest ordained deacon to the most senior high priest, we all have lists of what we could and should do in our priesthood responsibilities. The what is important in our work, and we need to attend to it. But it is in the why of priesthood service that we discover the fire, passion, and power of the priesthood. The what of priesthood service teaches us what to do. The why inspires our soul. The what informs, but the why transforms. President Uchtdorf, “The Why of Priesthood Service,” April 2012.Again, this service and these blessings can be experienced by both men and women in our different assignments and responsibilities. How blessed we are.
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