Some examples of how the Priesthood is used on the earth can be found in the scriptures. In Old Testament times, high priests (men with the Priesthood) were responsible for participating in rituals—such as offering animal sacrifices (see here), being anointed with oil (Exodus 40:15; Leviticus 21:10), and wearing special clothing (Exodus 40:12-14; 39:27-29; 28:35-38; 29:4-9). The rituals had to be performed in certain ways, according to laws that were given by God through the prophets. Importantly, the rituals had symbolism behind them—they were references to something greater.

The New Testament mentions another way the Priesthood is used on the earth—to perform ordinances such as baptism. An ordinance is a type of ritual that is an outward expression of a person’s commitment to God. Ordinances must be done in a certain way and must be performed in the name of Jesus Christ, because He is the intermediary between us and God. When a person desires “to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people” (Mosiah 8:18), he or she comes to a priest and asks to be baptized. If the person has repented of past sins and is committed to living a pure life, the priest (and witnesses) go to a pool of water (or river or ocean, etc.); the priest says a prayer using specific words, and he immerses the person completely under water. This is a symbol of death and rebirth (Romans 6). Baptism is just one of several ordinances that God invites his people to accept throughout their lives.

Jesus Christ also was baptized. He was baptized by John the Baptist, because he was one who had authority from God to baptize.

The Priesthood is needed on the earth to do God’s work in our day, just as it was in olden times. However, in order for man to possess this authority, it needed to be passed on from someone who had it previously. In 1829 Joseph Smith was visited by John the Baptist and Peter, James, and John, who were resurrected (reference). They gave him the priesthood, and Joseph Smith then ordained other men to share in this responsibility. Joseph Smith also used that authority to organize The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This authority has been passed on over the years to other men who have used it to carry forward the work of God.

The New Testament mentions another way the Priesthood can be used: to anoint and bless the sick (see James 5:14-15). Anyone (whether they have the Priesthood or not) can pray for someone who is sick, and the Lord promises that faithful prayers will be answered (Matthew 21:22), though not always in the way we expect. A Priesthood blessing, given by someone who is acting under God’s authority, may be used to heal a sick person, as Jesus Christ did during His ministry. Jesus healed the sick and cured "all manner of disease" (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 9:35; Matthew 12:15). The apostles and others with authority from God also healed the sick: "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick….” (James 5:14-15) If you ask most Mormons, they can probably tell you of experiences they have had where a Priesthood holder gave them (or someone they love) a blessing of healing, and they felt a miracle happened as a result.

The Priesthood usually operates within a hierarchical structure of leadership. The men at the top of this structure share their responsibilities with people "below" them in the hierarchy. This helps to maintain order so that Priesthood holders can communicate God’s will to everyone within the church. This hierarchy is often is useful in very practical ways. For example, consider the scenario of a natural disaster like a flood or earthquake occurring. A few men who hold the Priesthood would be responsible for helping all people in that geographical area as much as possible. A few leaders at the top of the hierarchy would coordinate with leaders lower in the hierarchy to make sure every church member were accounted for and helped and that non-Mormons also were helped. This happens often (see here and here).

This is a very basic overview. More detail can be found here and here. However, below are several more points about the Priesthood:

• Even though the Priesthood is organized in a hierarchy, men don’t choose their positions or campaign for a higher position. They are called of God (through Priesthood holders above them in the hierarchy who pray to know what is best), and they must choose whether to accept.
• Priesthood holders are not compensated with money for their efforts. And they often sacrifice long hours to fulfill their responsibilities.
• Having Priesthood authority doesn’t make one man better than another. It just means that man has accepted responsibilities that others haven’t.
• Women are not given Priesthood authority but rather play a supporting role. While this may seem limiting to some, all women in the Church that I know are comfortable with this. Here you can read more about the roles women play in the Church.
• Priesthood holders must be men of God. They must be compassionate (Hebrews 5:2), virtuous, loving, patient, kind, humble, and diligent (Doctrine and Covenants 4:5-6) or else this power will have no effect for them (Doctrine and Covenants 121:36-42).
• The Priesthood is not hereditary. One can only receive it if they are worthy. The Priesthood is available to all men who fulfill the necessary requirements, regardless of race, wealth, social status, etc.

Several years ago, then-president/prophet of the Mormon church, Gordon B. Hinckley, spoke to the women of the Church in this talk. If you read it, you will get some sense for the importance of women in the Church and how they are viewed by its most prominent leaders.

Depiction of Joseph Smith Reading Bible

As a 14-year-old, Joseph lived in a time and place in which lots of different religions (mostly Christian) were seeking followers. Different members of Joseph’s family favored one church or the other, but he was confused about which church was the right one to follow. One day he was reading the Bible in James 1:5-6, which states:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

He describes his reaction to reading these verses this way:

Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different [churches] understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

So Joseph went one morning into the woods to pray. He described what happened in these words:

After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction–not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being–just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other–This is My Beloved Son.

Joseph was visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ.

No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the [religions] was right…and which I should join…I was answered that I must join none of them…many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time.

Depiction of Joseph Smith's Visit from God and Jesus

Joseph was told that these other churches contained part of the truth, but none of them contained a fulness of the truth. Important truths, as well as proper authority had been lost from the earth after the death of Christ’s apostles (e.g. Peter, James, John) and the resulting apostasy.

Prophets are called of God to relay important messages to people on the earth. Several prophets like Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Isaiah, and Paul, received messages from heavenly messengers so they could tell people God’s will in ancient days. Similarly, Joseph was asked to deliver messages to the world and reestablish the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth.

During the next 25 years, Joseph Smith led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the “Mormon church”), which grew to have tens of thousands of followers (and now has millions).

Joseph was assassinated in Carthage, Illinois in 1844 by a mob. John Taylor, one of Joseph’s successors as leader of the church, stated the following about Joseph’s contribution:

Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it. In the short space of twenty years, he has brought forth the Book of Mormon, which he translated by the gift and power of God, and has been the means of publishing it on two continents; has sent the fulness of the everlasting gospel, which it contained, to the four quarters of the earth; has brought forth…revelations and commandments…and instructions for the benefit of the children of men; gathered many thousands…founded a great city, and left a fame and name that cannot be slain. He lived great, and he died great in the eyes of God and his people; and like most of the Lord’s anointed in ancient times, has sealed his mission and his works with his own blood (Doctrine & Covenants 135:3)

Below are depictions of what Joseph Smith and his wife Emma looked like.

Joseph Smith

Emma Smith

For more information:

• The restoration of the Gospel
• The restoration of the Priesthood
• How can I know this is true?

Prophets are men who have been given authority from God to speak on His behalf.

He chooses a few men to be prophets and asks them to be His messengers to the rest of us. (This does not mean we cannot pray directly to God and receive answers to these prayers. It’s a beautiful truth that we can.) He tells these messengers specific laws that we should obey in order to please Him. He shows them the big picture, including why we are here on this earth, how to be truly happy, and how to reach “heaven” after we die. Prophets then share this information with us, and we are asked to follow these things without being able to see the entire “big picture.” It requires faith and humility to follow even when we don’t fully understand.

We can be confident that when we find a true prophet, following his teachings will mean following God’s will. One of our greatest desires in life should be to find out who God has called to be prophets.

God doesn’t ask us to trust men blindly. The Bible explains two ways to know whether a prophet is true: 1) “Ye shall know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16) and 2) “If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally.” (James 1:5) In other words, we can judge by what they do or what kind of impact they have on the world whether they are good men who could be called of God. And if any man claims to be a prophet, we can ask God to tell us in our minds and hearts whether it is true.

One bit of caution: even though they are great men, prophets are human beings with weaknesses just like the rest of us. For example, Moses felt inadequate to be a prophet because he said he was “slow of speech” (Exodus 4:10). Prophets can also be guilty of mistakes and sins. But that doesn’t make their messages any less important. Part of the challenge of having faith is to accept perfect messages delivered by imperfect men.

For more information:

• Heavenly Father reveals His gospel to all
• Jesus Christ established His church
• The great apostasy
• How can I know this is true?

Through power given him from God, Joseph translated the ancient writings on these plates into English and published them in 1830. He called this The Book of Mormon, because the prophet who did most of the inscribing was named Mormon. For a more detailed account of this, read the story in Joseph’s own words.

In 1981, the book was renamed with a sub-title and became, “The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” Part of the reason for this is that it tells of a visit from the resurrected Jesus (after his death) to the people in America. It includes many of the things he taught the people and testifies that He is the Son of God.

Some people think that the Mormons believe The Book of Mormon is meant to replace the Bible, but rather they see it as a complement to it. Both testify of Jesus Christ.

The entire text of this book can be found here.

Near the end of the book is a promise from Moroni:

Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

This is a challenge to anyone who reads the book. Though you may have your doubts, you can always ask God to know what is true.

Additional information:

• Request a free copy of The Book of Mormon
• Learn more about The Book of Mormon