The Priesthood

Hebrews 5:4 is today's scripture mastery.  In it, Paul teaches about who will receive the priesthood:

4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

It is not up to us if we receive the priesthood.  We can not just decide one day that we want it, and take it upon ourselves to preach the gospel and baptize.  The priesthood is not something that we can buy the right to.  We learn that from Peter in Acts 8:18-20:

 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,

 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

 20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

We must prepare ourselves for receiving the priesthood by living righteously, by keeping the commandments.  We must desire to use it to serve others.  If we are living righteously, we may be blessed with the ordination to the priesthood.  We will receive it by "the laying on of hands by those who are in authority." (Article of Faith #5)

God is a God of order.  He has a very specific way of doing things.  I have heard it explained like this:

Suppose you, an ordinary citizen, saw a person speeding past you on the freeway.  You know that this is against the law, so you accelerate past them, pull them over, and try to give them a ticket.  Would the ticket you gave them be valid?  Would the judge in court honor it?  Of course not.  It is the same with the priesthood.  We must be given the priesthood by one who is authorized to give it to us.  Just as a police officer must receive the authority he has from those that have the authority above him.

Similarly, a police officer should be held to a high standard, and can't take his authority as an opportunity to take advantage of others.  He can not, for example, pull over anybody he wants, pull them out of the car, and beat them--just because he feels like it.  The authority he has must be used within certain bounds.  Similarly, a priesthood holder must not use his priesthood to hold a position of dominion over others.  Doctrine and Covenants 121:36-37 says this:

 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.

There is a sad story in the scriptures about a man who tried to use the priesthood for his personal gain. This is the story of Gehazi, who was a servant of the prophet Elisha.  Elisha had just healed the man Naaman from his leprosy, and had refused any payment for the service.  Gehazi had thought that he could profit from it, and followed after Naaman's party, and lied saying that Elisha had changed his mind, and wanted something in return.  This is found in 2 Kings 5:20-27.  We read in verse 27 that Gehazi was punished for this by receiving Naaman's leprosy.

The priesthood is given to us to bless the lives of others.  It is not given to prop us up in power over others, or to make us wealthy, or to make us better than others in any way.  Those who hold the priesthood, must follow the example of Jesus.  He never used his priesthood to bring himself glory or riches or honor--He used it freely to help the sick and needy, and to bless the lives of those around Him.