Priesthood Authority

Principle: In God's church the leaders must be ordained into their positions

In Mosiah 18:18 it says, " Alma having authority from God , ordained priests ; even one priest to every fifty of their number did he ordain to preach unto them and teach them pertaining to the kingdom of God. "

My testimony is strengthened as I remember that even Jesus Christ prayed about whom he should choose as apostles; and that even before he was to finish his ministry on the earth; he would provide the Priesthood Keys to Peter and ordain him to be the leader and the prophet.

In Luke 6:12-17 Jesus Christ prays ALL night to decide whom He will call to be His apostles:

•12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

• 13 ¶And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

• 14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

• 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon called Zelotes,

• 16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

• 17 ¶And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judæa and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;

In Matthew 16:18-20 we read when Jesus Christ prophesied that He would be calling Peter to be the prophet and giving him the Priesthood.

• 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

• 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

• 20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

Only one week later Peter receives those keys that were promised on the Mount of Transfiguration - Luke 9 : 28-36:

•28 ¶And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

• 29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.

• 30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:

• 31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

• 32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.

• 33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.

• 34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

• 35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

• 36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

I know that it is a truth that one must be called of God in order to have authority and the Priesthood. I have felt the power that comes from having a true testimony of the leaders in the church being called and ordained of God to hold the Priesthood Keys.

keys are biblical symbols of power and authority
held by prophets for governing the kingdom of God.

“Keys symbolize power because they are given to those
who are judged trustworthy. . . . In the Old Testament keys belong
to the steward of the house, the trusted servant, the one that the
master has chosen for the household affairs. Thus, in the biblical
context, keys are dual images of trust and responsibility.  For the
one who gives the keys, they are symbols of trust and belief in the
character of the steward. For the one who receives the keys, they
are symbols of responsibility. While Jesus taught the Jewish leaders
that keys control access to revelation (see Luke 11:52), his statement
implied that, because the Jewish leaders did not fulfill their
responsibility in accessing and teaching the truth, they had lost the
keys which they had once held. The biblical references to keys
(Is. 22:22; Matt. 16:13–20; Luke 11:52; Rev. 1:18; 3:7) imply that
there are several keys associated with the kingdom of God.
As two of the foremost prophets in the Old Testament with
roles that embodied trust and responsibility, both Moses and
Elijah held keys for the governing of the kingdom. “

                                                                          Ryken, Wilhoit, and Longman discuss the meaning of keys in biblical texts.