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Were the priests and teachers among the Nephites as recorded in the Book of Mormon functioning as part of the Aaronic Priesthood?

Gramps,

When King Mosiah gave Alma authority to set the church in order - Alma ordained Priests and Teachers. Jacob and Joseph were ordained as Priests and teachers of this people. Is this the same office referred to in D&C 20 as part of the Aaronic Priesthood? Later, in Alma 4:7 teachers and priests and elders were consecrated by Alma. I am just trying to figure out what the office of a priest and/or teacher was in the days of Mosiah-Alma. Thanks

Terryl, from Arizona

Dear Terryl,

The answer to your question was aptly given by President Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., in his Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.3, p.86, as follows:

“The Nephites did not officiate under the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood. They were not descendants of Aaron, and there were no Levites among them. There is no evidence in the Book of Mormon that they held the Aaronic Priesthood until after the ministry of the resurrected Lord among them, but the Book of Mormon tells us definitely, in many places, that the priesthood which they held and under which they officiated was the Priesthood after the holy order, the order of the Son of God. This higher priesthood can officiate in every ordinance of the gospel, and Jacob and Joseph, for instance, were consecrated priests and teachers after this order.”

Gramps

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