Priesthood vs. Priestcraft

2 Nephi 26:23 states, “The Lord God worketh not in darkness.” Verse 24 continues, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world, for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, He commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.”

Verses 25-28 expound on this same idea. By contrast, verse 29 talks of “Priestcraft”, prefacing the discussion with a direct statement that “He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts.” Continuing, the term is defined: “For behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.”

Verses 30 and 31 conclude this line of reasoning: “Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish. But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.”

The word “priestcraft” seems like an opposing form of “Priesthood”. But if Priesthood is the authority of God, how are these two terms related?

One can consider the word “Priesthood” in connection with its suffix, particularly when considering other words with this suffix such as, “sisterhood”, “brotherhood”, “neighborhood”, etc. What do these words have in common? The suffix “hood” can be understood to mean something like “The close association of”. So for instance, a “sisterhood” is a close association of sisters (or more commonly, women). A “brotherhood” is a close association of brothers (or men). A “neighborhood” is a close association of neighbors. Put this way, “Priesthood” is a close association of priests, similar to the kingdom of Priests as found in the scriptures (for instance, Revelation 1:6). But what are “priests”? 

The Bible Dictionary defines a Priest in the Old Testament times as follows, “The essential idea of a Hebrew priest was that of a mediator between his people and God by representing them officially in worship and sacrifice. By virtue of his office he was able to draw nigh to God, while they, because of their sins and infirmities, must needs stand afar off. The priest exercised his office mainly at the altar by offering the sacrifices and above all the incense (Num. 16:40; 18:2–3, 5, 7; Deut. 33:10) but also by teaching the people the law (Lev. 10:10, 11; Deut. 33:10; Mal. 2:7), by communicating to them the divine will (Num. 27:21), and by blessing them in the name of the Lord (Num. 6:22–27).”

Whether we are ordained as Priests in the Aaronic Priesthood or not, all Latter-day Saints are part of what Exodus 19:6 calls “A kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. As Latter-day Saints serve as a mediator between someone and God, they are serving in a priestly function. For instance, when a Latter-day Saint teaches, shares an impression, prays for, visits, ministers to, or blesses others in the name of the Lord, he or she serves in a priestly function.

To summarize, the idea of “Priesthood” could be understood as a close association of Latter-day Saints (or Christians) that serve others and each other in a priestly manner, building up the kingdom of God by serving as a mediator in imitation of and in the name of Jesus Christ. This is in sharp contrast to “priestcraft”, where individuals skillfully (implied by the word craft) build themselves up at the expense of others. They do not seek the welfare of Zion.

On Prophetic Foreknowledge

Some suppose that as we believe in prophets and prophecy, we therefore believe that prophets have clear, explicit future predictions and understandings. However, as we consider sacred history, ancient and modern, we are confronted with the contrary idea that as Latter-day Saints, we often possess no special access to the future, regardless of our righteousness. Even when we receive clear impressions or promptings indicating a course of action, rarely do we know at the time of the impression the reasons or consequences for following or not following. Our knowledge and perspective is inherently limited to those items which are most needful and pressing for us to know.

Let us briefly examine the role of prophets and limitations with regards to their clairvoyance. In the Bible Dictionary, we read

“The work of a Hebrew prophet was to act as God’s messenger and make known God’s will. The message was usually prefaced with the words ‘Thus saith Jehovah.’ He taught men about God’s character, showing the full meaning of His dealings with Israel in the past. It was therefore part of the prophetic office to preserve and edit the records of the nation’s history; and such historical books as Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings were known by the Jews as the former Prophets. It was also the prophet’s duty to denounce sin and foretell its punishment and to redress, so far as he could, both public and private wrongs. He was to be, above all, a preacher of righteousness. When the people had fallen away from a true faith in Jehovah, the prophets had to try to restore that faith and remove false views about the character of God and the nature of the divine requirement. In certain cases prophets predicted future events, such as the very important prophecies announcing the coming of Messiah’s kingdom; but as a rule a prophet was a forthteller rather than a foreteller.”

Thus, the biblical idea of a prophet as a forthteller rather than a foreteller suggests that prophets may lack specific knowledge of the future. Certainly predicting future events was at most a less significant part of the biblical prophetic office. This seems consistent with what we read throughout scripture. For instance, consider the timing of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Paul evidently believed that the return of Jesus was imminent, as implied in 1 Thessalonians and elsewhere. Similarly, early Latter-day Saints, including Joseph Smith, believed that the Second Coming was similarly imminent.

For instance, Joseph Smith taught in D&C 130:14-17: “I was once praying very earnestly to know the time of the coming of the Son of Man, when I heard a voice repeat the following: Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man; therefore let this suffice, and trouble me no more on this matter. I was left thus, without being able to decide whether this coming referred to the beginning of the millennium or to some previous appearing, or whether I should die and thus see his face. I believe the coming of the Son of Man will not be any sooner than that time.”

From the scriptural record in each Gospel account, it seems that the earliest Christians were surprised, even shocked by the death and also the resurrection of Jesus. The disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24, for instance, seemed befuddled by the entire situation. At the time, neither of those events seemed intuitive or predictable to these earliest Christians. Only in hindsight, after the resurrection, did they see Christ in the Old Testament.

More recently, in his opening message to General Conference in April 2020, President Russell M. Nelson stated, “Little did I know, when I promised you at the October 2019 general conference that this April conference would be “memorable” and “unforgettable,” that speaking to a visible congregation of fewer than 10 people would make this conference so memorable and unforgettable for me! Yet the knowledge that you are participating by electronic transmission, and the choir’s beautiful rendition of “It Is Well with My Soul,” bring great comfort to my soul.”

While perhaps not extremely explicit, it indicates that President Nelson had at least a limited knowledge of the future, and perhaps did not foresee the pandemic before it occurred. Yes, many church members point to the blessing of a “home-centered, church-supported” church that was taught and in some ways, implemented shortly prior to the pandemic. Latter-day Saints can be grateful for the providential blessings from God without insisting that prophets had perfect clairvoyance into the future. All that is necessary is for prophets to discern and follow the will of God. But understanding all of the future implications is neither necessary nor realistic, and that perspective neither diminishes the blessings of following prophetic counsel nor the power, love, majesty, and foresight of loving Heavenly Parents who work through limited mortals to accomplish their work.

Similarly, we could point to prophetic wrestlings with the Priesthood ban, particularly by David O. McKay, as well as explanations and prognostications provided by Bruce R. McConkie which, after the June 1978 revelation was received, he explicitly repudiated.

These and other examples highlight the limited nature of prophetic insight into specific future events. This principle can help Latter-day Saints better understand prophetic limitations while not discounting the blessings of following prophetic counsel. In other words, specific future foreknowledge is not necessary for prophetic direction to be inspired, and for individuals to be blessed by following prophetic counsel.

Training to Listen

"It takes training, focus and the ability to create silence in the soul to learn how to listen, whether to God or to a fellow human being." -Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

In my life, I find myself most at peace when I take time to try and calm down spiritually so I may listen to the still, small voice.  Proper preparation, time, and mindset can help heaven feel close.

The above quotation from Rabbi Sacks sets the sacred task as "To learn how to listen".  Listening is not just the simple act of paying attention, but requires preparation.  Sheer focus is not enough; training and developed ability are required.

But as in the above quotation from Rabbi Sacks, such listening requires a silence in the soul.  It takes time and planning to clear out the clutter in our lives and make some space for breathing, for peace, for divinity.  There is always one more chore to get done, one more box to check, one more distraction.  And yet, God invites and empowers us to take time apart from the business, from the constant hum about us, inviting us to draw near, to seek, and to find.

How might we learn how to listen to God?  How might we prepare, or develop this ability?  As in a previous quotation, Rabbi Sacks meaningfully counsels, "Listen deeply to those you love and who love you."

With regards to improving or developing our ability to listen, might I suggest that the answers are as close as they are numerous.  Each of us, often many times a day, has multiple interactions with others.  How engaged are we in listening?  When someone else's lips move as they deliver a message to us, are we receiving the message as it is being delivered, or do we find ourselves drifting away or shutting down?  Do we interrupt?  Do we strive to thoughtfully enter that person's head space to better understand not only what they are saying, but where they speak from?

I know I have mountains of work left to do to improve my listening skills, particularly when it comes to focusing on the present, on the here and now, and the person right in front of me.

And we may suppose that the fruit of such efforts is not necessarily improved memorization or rote recitation, but a deeper understanding of the depth of humanity, of the motivation, and of the divine imprint of goodness on those we strive to listen to more charitably and deliberately.