Priesthood
Authority of the President of the Church
I have the right to bless. I hold the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the office and power of patriarch. It is my right to bless; for all the keys and authority and power pertaining to the government of the Church and to the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood are centered in the presiding officer of the Church. There is no business nor office, within the Church, that the President of the Church may not fill, and may not do, if it is necessary, or if it is required of him to do it. He holds the office of patriarch; he holds the office of high priest and of apostle, of seventy, of elder, of bishop and of priest, teacher and deacon in the Church; all these belong to the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they can officiate in any and in all of these callings when occasion requires.-Oct. C. R., 1915, p. 7.
Relation of Members of First Presidency
I desire to make another remark or two before we close our conference. I will call your attention to the fact that the Lord in the beginning of this work revealed that there should be three high priests to preside over the High Priesthood of his Church and over the whole Church. (Doctrine and Covenants 107:22, 64, 65, 66, 67, 91 and 92.) He conferred upon them all the authority necessary to preside over all the affairs of the Church. They hold the keys of the house of God and of the ordinances of the gospel, and of every blessing which has been restored to the earth in this dispensation. This authority is vested in a presidency of three high priests. They are three presidents. The Lord himself so calls them. (Doctrine and Covenants section 107:29.) But there is one presiding president, and his counselors are presidents also. I propose that my counselors and fellow presidents in the First Presidency shall share with me in the responsibility of every act which I shall perform in this capacity. I do not propose to take the reins in my own hands to do as I please; but I propose to do as my brethren and I agree upon, and as the Spirit of the Lord manifests to us. I have always held, and do hold, and trust I always shall hold, that it is wrong for one man to exercise all the authority and power of presidency in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I dare not assume such a responsibility, and I will not, so long as I can have men like these (pointing to Presidents Winder and Lund) to stand by and counsel with me in the labors we have to perform, and in doing all those things that shall tend to the peace, advancement and happiness of the people of God and the building up of Zion. If at any time my brethren of the apostleship shall see in me a disposition to depart from this principle, or a forgetfulness on my part of this covenant that I make today before this body of Priesthood, I ask them in the name of my Father, that they will come to me, as my brethren, as counselors in the Priesthood, as watchmen on the towers of Zion, and remind me of this covenant and promise which I make to the body of the Church in general conference assembled at this time. The Lord never did intend that one man should have all power, and for that reason he has placed in his Church, presidents, apostles, high priests, seventies, elders and the various officers of the lesser Priesthood, all of which are essential in their order and place according to the authority bestowed on them. The Lord never did anything that was not essential or that was superfluous. There is a use for every branch of the Priesthood that he has established in his Church. We want every man to learn his duty, and we expect every man will do his duty as faithfully as he knows how, and carry off his portion of the responsibility of building up Zion in the latter days.
I felt like I wanted to say that much to these my brethren who bear the holy Priesthood-men who wield influence for the salvation of souls, who set good examples before the people among whom they dwell, who teach them the right way, admonish them from sin, lead them in the path of duty, and enable them to stand firm and steadfast in the faith of the gospel, wherewith they have been made free from sin and from the grasp of Satan. God bless all Israel, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.-Oct. C. R. (Special), 1901, p. 82.
Duties of Apostles
The duty of the Twelve Apostles of the Church is to preach the gospel to the world, to send it to the inhabitants of the earth and to bear testimony of Jesus Christ the Son of God, as living witnesses of his divine mission. That is their special calling and they are always under the direction of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when that presidency is intact, and there is never at the same time two equal heads in the Church-never. The Lord never ordained any such thing, nor designed it. There is always a head in the Church, and if the Presidency of the Church are removed by death or other cause, then the next head of the Church is the Twelve Apostles, until a presidency is again organized of three presiding high priests who have the right to hold the office of First Presidency over the Church; and, according to the doctrine laid down by President Wilford Woodruff, who saw the necessity for it, and that of President Lorenzo Snow, if the president should die, his counselors are then released from that presidency, and it is the duty of the Twelve Apostles to proceed at once, in the manner that has been pointed out, to see that the First Presidency is reorganized, so that there may be no deficiency in the working and order of the Priesthood in the Church.-Apr C. R., 1913, pp. 4, 5.
Testimony of the Apostles
For instance these twelve disciples of Christ are supposed to be eye and ear witnesses of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. It is not permissible for them to say, I believe, simply; I have accepted it simply because I believe it. Read the revelation; the Lord informs us they must know, they must get the knowledge for themselves. It must be with them as if they had seen with their eyes and heard with their cars and they know the truth. That is their mission, to testify of Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead and clothed now with almighty power at the right hand of God, the Savior of the world. That is their mission, and their duty, and that is the doctrine and the truth that it is their duty to preach to the world and see that it is preached to the world. Where they can not go themselves they are to have the help of others called to their assistance, the seventies first, also the elders and the high priests. Those who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, who are not otherwise appointed, are under their direction to preach the gospel to the world and to declare the truth-that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph is a prophet of God, and was authorized and qualified to lay the foundation of the kingdom of God. And when I say kingdom of God I mean what I say. Christ is the King -not man. No man is king of the kingdom of God; God is the King of it, and we acknowledge him and him only as Sovereign of his Kingdom. -April C. R., 1916, p. 6. (Doctrine and Covenants 18:26-33.)
The Presiding Bishopric
Before we get through with the conference, we expect to bear some reports from the Presiding Bishopric, who are the temporal custodians of the means of the Church, and whose duty it is to account for the receipt and disbursement of these funds; and you will be surprised, perhaps, to learn how generally and universally, in the Church, the means gathered from the tithes of the people are disposed of for the benefit of all the people-and not a few.-April C. R., 1912, p. 6.
When to Submit Questions to the General Authorities
If you have a question to ask, or some problem that you are not sure you are able to solve, I would suggest to you that you figure it out yourselves and reach the very best conclusion that you can of the matter; and then, if you are still not quite satisfied with it, and you cannot get sufficient of the Spirit of the Lord to reveal to you the absolute truth, as to whether you are right or wrong, just submit to us your conclusion, and we think we can answer that a good deal easier and quicker than we can solve your questions in the way they are generally put to us.-April C. R., 1910, p. 45.
No Need to Point Out Defects of Church Leaders
I do not think it is my right or prerogative to point out the supposed defects of the Prophet Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young, or any other of the leaders of the Church. Let the Lord God Almighty judge them and speak for or against them as it may seem to him good-but not me; it is not for me, my brethren, to do this. Our enemies may have taken advantage of us, in times gone by, because of unwise things that may have been said. Some of us may now give to the world the same opportunity to speak evil against us, because of that which we say, which should not be spoken at all.-Oct. C. R., 1909, pp. 124-125.
Help the General Authorities
The general authorities of the Church will be presented possibly tomorrow, and if not then, the next day. We desire the brethren and sisters who come to the conference to come with their hearts full of the spirit of wisdom and of truth, and if you discern in us any lack of wisdom or of judgment, any failure in the performance of our duty, we desire that those who have superior experience and knowledge, and greater intelligence, will do us the honor and favor of coming to us individually and letting us know wherein we come short. We will give a thousand errors, if we can find them, or if they exist in us-any moment, for one truth.-April C. R., 1908, p. 8.
Temporal Support of General Authorities
There is not one of the general authorities in the Church who draws one dollar from the tithes of the people for his own use. Well, you may say, how do they live? I will give you the key: The Church helped to support in its infancy the sugar industry in this country, and it has some means invested in that enterprise. The Church helped to establish the Z. C. M. I., and it has a little interest in that, and in some other institutions which pay dividends. In other words, tithing funds were invested in these institutions, which give employment to many, for which the Trustee-in-Trust holds stock certificates, which are worth more today than what was given for them; and the dividends from these investments more than pay for the support of the general authorities of the Church. So we do not use one dollar of your tithing.-Apr. C. R., 1907, pp. 7, 8.
A Blessing Upon Stake Presidencies and Other Officers
May God bless the presidents of the stakes of Zion and their counselors, and all the officers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. May he help them to be pure, holy, honest, upright men, after God’s own heart, free from the sins of the world, broadminded, full of the love of truth, charity, the spirit of forgiveness, mercy and kindness, that they may be as fathers indeed in the midst of the people, and not tyrants. You, my brethren, are not called to be masters; you are called to be servants. Let those who would be great among you be the servants of all. Let us follow in the footsteps of our Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the perfect example for mankind. He is the only infallible rule and law, way and door into everlasting life. Let us follow the Son of God. Make him our exemplar, and our guide. Imitate him. Do his work. Become like unto him, as far as it lies within our powers to become like him that was perfect and without sin.-Apr. C. R., 1907, p. 118. (Doc. and Cov. 18:21-25.)
Counsel of Stake Presidents and Bishops
Above all things let me say to the presidents of stakes and counselors and presidents of missions, and to the bishops and their counselors-let me say to you all, live exemplary lives, so that you can each say to the people: “Come and follow me, follow my example, obey my precepts; be in union with me, and follow Christ.”-Oct. C. R., 1906, p. 8.
Duties of Stake Presidents
I want to say to these presidents of stakes who are present: you have my confidence, you have my love. I pray for you every day of my life, and I trust that you remember me and my brethren in your prayers. We understand the responsibilities that rest upon you in the discharge of your duties. You are fathers to the people; that great responsibility rests upon you; your labors are manifold and sometimes very difficult. We realize the burdens that you have to bear, the patience that you have to exercise and exhibit in the discharge of your duty, in order that you may avoid giving offense, and that you may reconcile the people, over whom you preside, to that which is right without using drastic measures. We understand this, and you have our sympathy, our fellowship, our love, and what strength you may derive from our faith and prayers that you may preside in righteousness over your different stakes of Zion, and that your brethren associated with you may be united with you, and that you may pull together in that which is right and proper for the upbuilding of Zion and the defense of the people of God.-Oct. C. R., 1905, p. 8.
Duty of High Councils
The duty of the high councils of the Church, when they are called to act upon questions involving the membership or standing of members of the Church, is to find out the truth, the facts, and then judge according to the truth and the facts that are brought to their understanding, always tempered with mercy, love, and kindness, and with the spirit in their souls to save and not to destroy; our aim should be to build up, and not to tear down. Our calling is to convey the spirit of love, truth, peace and good will to mankind throughout the world; that war may cease; that strife may come to an end, and that peace may prevail. -Apr. C. R., 1915, p. 5.
Duties of Patriarchs
We have a number of patriarchs in the Church whose duty it is to bestow blessings upon the heads of those who seek blessings at their hands. They are fathers. They hold the evangelical office in the Church. It is their business and right to bestow blessings upon the people, to make promises unto them in the name of the Lord, as it may be given them by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to comfort them in the hours of sorrow and trouble, to strengthen their faith by the promises that shall be made to them through the Spirit of God, and to be fathers indeed of the people, leading them into all truth.-Oct. C. R., 1904, p. 4.
Duties of High Priests
In addition to these organizations we have in each stake of Zion an organization called the high priests’ quorum, to which all high priests of the Church belong, including the presidency and the high councilors of the stake, and also the bishops and their counselors, all the patriarchs, and all others who have been ordained to the office of high priest in the Church, which office is the office of presidency in the Melchizedek Priesthood, not that every man who holds the office of high priest is a president.
Only he who is called, appointed and set apart to preside among the high priests holds the presiding authority and office.-Oct. C. R., 1904, p. 3.
Duties of High Priests’ Quorums
The high priests’ quorums should have their regular meetings. They should meet together as often as circumstances will permit or as necessity requires, and grow and unite together. They should establish their schools of instruction and enlightenment; for it is the duty of the high priests’ quorums to teach the principles of government, of union, of advancement and of growth in the kingdom of God. They are indeed the fathers of the people at large. In our high priests’ quorum are numbered the presidents of stakes and their counselors, bishops and counselors, patriarchs, and all that have been ordained to the office of high priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood. All such belong to the high priests’ quorum. They come under its supervision, and they should have a lively union with it, not a dead connection. They should be united with the quorum in such a way that they give it all the force that they can impart for good. They should give it their individual influence, their hearty support, their confidence, and the benefit of their advice and counsel. They should not pull apart, nor be disinterested in these matters.-Apr. C. R., 1907, p. 5.