Shawn McCraney discusses the importance of questioning the legitimacy of the LDS Church's historical narrative regarding the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, emphasizing that these claims of angelic visitations are critical to the authority the LDS Church claims over its members. He references the work of scholars such as Grant Palmer and Dan Vogel to challenge the authenticity of Joseph Smith’s accounts and argues that no exclusive priesthood authority is necessary since, according to the Bible, Jesus serves as the ultimate high priest for all believers.
Mormonism claims exclusive authority based on a restored priesthood through angelic visitations to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, yet historical evidence suggests that the narrative of these events was progressively developed and retroactively attributed to them. The idea of a priesthood being necessary is debated, as historical accounts, including the Book of Commandments and other scriptures, indicate that divine calling, rather than angelic ordination, was the basis for authority in LDS and Christian tradition.
Joseph Smith's evolving claims of divine ordination through angelic visitations, including those by John the Baptist and apostles Peter, James, and John, seem to have emerged amid challenges to his credibility and were absent from early records and testimonies of the time. This suggests that foundational Mormon claims about divine authority align more with strategic narrative adaptations over time rather than historical events, challenging the notion of their exclusive divine authority compared to any believer called to serve by faith.
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LIVE! From the Mecca of Mormonism, this is Heart of le’ Matteir, and I am Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion., your host. Welcome, one and all. Call your friends RIGHT NOW who live out of state – and remind them that they can see Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. live via the internet!
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Before we go to prayer and our message tonight, I’d like to take a minute and repeat a story I shared on the show sometime last year. Hopefully, it will help explain why I do what I do but perhaps more importantly, it will illustrate why I use the methods I use.
In Huntington Beach where I grew up (and live even to this day), there was a summer program called Junior Lifeguards . . . Ocean and first aid skills. Lifesaving techniques. Physical fitness. The top echelon of the Junior lifeguards was an elite group called the captains. They are the kids who in the following summers would be eligible to become ocean lifeguards.
When I was 15, the leader of Captains was a long-time legend by the name of Ray Bray. (His assistant's name was Mike Eich). Mr. Bray was known to be ferocious, attacking, and demanding to the point of near brutality. He had a no-holds-barred approach to getting inside a person and cleaning house. One summer afternoon, after I had been a pupil of Mr. Bray’s without too much difficulty, he sort of nudged me and asked: Do you wanna go swim the pier? “Sure,” I said. And we headed across the sand toward the water.
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In the LDS Mission Training Center, they used to teach an illustration to help missionaries explain to investigators the need for having the proper authority to act in God’s name. It went something like this: The LDS Church today has an “official” story about the priesthood – the Aaronic and Melchizidek – being restored to the earth. Long story short, they say Joseph and Oliver Cowdery went to the woods to pray about baptism while the Book of Mormon was being translated, and while praying about it John the Baptist appeared and laid hands on their heads and gave them the Aaronic Priesthood.
In an unknown amount of days later, Smith claims Peter, James, and John appeared to him and Cowdery and bestowed the Melchizedek priesthood upon them too. Simply put, the Aaronic priesthood is considered a “lesser priesthood” and is generally active in the temporal affairs of the LDS Church. The Melchizedek priesthood, or the higher priesthood, is generally involved in the spiritual matters in the LDS Church.
Now again – and for clarity's sake – I am not going to spend time arguing the fact that the priesthood was not transferable to men or that it is wholly unnecessary since the Bible teaches us that Jesus is our great and final high Priest. But let me argue the legitimacy of the LDS historical accounts of angelic visitations in the first place. This is important both to the authentication of Joseph’s claims, and to the fact that Mormonism has no more direct-line authority than any other protestant group on earth. My advance thanks and recognition for the work and research expertise of Grant Palmer, Dan Vogel, Utah Lighthouse Ministries, and Dean C Jessee in the areas of Church history relative to these priesthood claims.
There is a reference to receiving the holy Priesthood by administering angels in Joseph Smith’s personal papers in November of 1832, but it wasn’t until 1834 – four years after there had been absolutely no mention of these visiting angels – that Joseph Smith mentions, as found in the Kirtland Council minutes, that his “priesthood office had been conferred upon me by the ministering of the angels of God.” But this was still not unequivocal.
Historical Claims of Priesthood Restoration
It wasn’t until September of 1834 that Oliver Cowdery made the official announcement:
Said he (JS History)
“Suppose you are driving down the street and suddenly an unmarked car speeds up to you and shouts for you to pull over to the side of the road . . .”
Mormonism today emphatically claims to be the only true church on the face of the earth and that it has the rightful authority – the priesthood authority – to act in God’s name by virtue of a “direct line.” Maintaining that there was a world-wide apostasy where the authority to act in God’s name was completely taken from the earth, Joseph Smith announced that the Aaronic priesthood authority was bestowed upon Him and Oliver Cowdery through an angelic visitations of John the Baptist, and that the Melchizedek priesthood was later given to him and Oliver Cowdery by the angelic visitation of Peter, James, and John. I am not going to address why such a priesthood is neither viable or necessary in the Body of Christ today. Our shows last December (#40 and #41) examined this angle at length.
Church Organization and Baptism
What I am going to examine is the historical claims of this priesthood restoration and, ONCE AGAIN, show how these claims – like the claims of the first vision, the Book of Mormon, and the nature of God – were progressive in nature and were formulated over a period of time and retroactively. What is the “priesthood” in the LDS church and what does it mean? Maybe these comments by members of the First Presidency regarding the Priesthood will facilitate understanding:
Shortly after the Book of Mormon was published, the Church of Christ (which later became . . .) was organized on April 6th 1830. Prior to this official event, both Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had baptized each other in the Susquehanna River. They also baptized Joseph’s younger brother Samuel. In a preliminary draft of the account, Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph’s mother recalls what led up to these baptisms:
The authority to baptize, based on this account, was given through the Urim and Thummim, and by no other means. Shortly thereafter, when Joseph and Oliver were at David Whitmer’s home, they received additional authority, but were told that a meeting would be held where they could ordain each other using this newfound power. Joseph Smith himself described how this additional authority was received. Said he:
So they received the calling to ordain each other and they did the ordaining at the first Church meeting on April 6th 1830. But there was no mention of any angels stepping in and giving them the authority!
Angelic Visitations and Authority
Again – NOW LISTEN – In being called to baptize one another, and then baptizing of each other, AND in authorized to ordain each other elders so as to “give the gift of the Holy Ghost,” no angelic ordinations are mentioned anywhere . . . at all . . . until years later.
In the Book of Commandments, chapter 24:1-12 – which was a precursor book to the Doctrine and Covenants – an outline is given for what qualified Joseph Smith as having the authority to do the things he did. It said:
- he had received a remission of his sins.
- he had received a call to this holy work by an angel who had given him the means to translate the BOM,
- that an angel showed the book to others,
- that the Church of Christ was organized on April 6th 1830,
- that on this same day, JS and Oliver C ordained each other, having been “called of God to do so, and
- by these great witnesses all will be judged.
Still no mention of an angelic visitor named John the Baptist or Peter, James, and John stepping in and transferring any supposed authority by the laying on of hands.
In fact, there are numerous biblical, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenant, and Pearl of Great Price evidences that provide a standard Christian answer for authority – the person must be called by God to do the work! It was God’s call from the burning bush to Moses, and His Spirit, through Aaron, called Aaron. The voice of God called Samuel, Saul, and David as kings. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, were called by the Lord in dreams and visions. So was Lehi in the BOM! Alma in the BOM was called by God – there was no direct line of authority from any angels. Read the Book of Mosiah if you don’t believe me!
Grant Palmer points out: “There are periods during which ordinations occur in an orderly succession, but
The Question of Authority in Early Mormonism
When the chain is broken, another prophet is called by God’s voice or by His Spirit to begin the cycle anew. This is the same with any legitimate Christian growth. Chuck Smith left denominationalism and followed the Lord. The Calvary Chapel movement today does ordain people, but the call is always from the Lord and if God wants to cut Calvary off at the knees and start a fresh work, He’ll do it! Even in the oft recited D&C, it reads that if a person has desires to serve God he is “called to the work.”
One of the witnesses to the Book of Mormon, David Whitmer, when interviewed in 1885 about different things in early LDS history said:
(Read quote)
William E McLellin, who did leave the Church, said later: “I joined the church in 1831. For years I never heard of John the Baptist ordaining Joseph and Oliver. I heard not of James, Peter, and John doing so.” He later continued: “I heard Joseph tell his experience of his ordination (by Cowdery) and the organization of the church, probably, more than twenty-times, to persons who, near the rise of the church, wished to know and hear about it. I never heard of Moroni, John (the Baptist) or Peter, James, and John.”
Emergence of Angelic Ordination Claims
So when did all this angels with authority stuff come into play and why?
Why was it four years before we have anything from anyone that claims these angelic beings brought God’s divine authority to the heads of Joseph and his cousin Oliver? No missionary who went out to share the gospel was quoted as using this reasoning for their right to act in God’s name. No journal offered a personal bit of praise for God restoring the priesthood back to the earth! No newspaper or anti-Mormon leaflet attacked Joseph for these claims. Why? Because, like so many other very important issues on Mormonism, they were added to the script!
But why, since it was a biblical and Book of Mormon precedent to have people receive authority without angelic visitation, would Joseph and Oliver begin to push these myths? Several key factors:
First, Joseph made things up as he went along. Imagination can go a long, long way in creating unity. Have you ever been involved in a project of some-sort and when you're deeply into it realize you have made a seemingly unfixable error and then suddenly there appears a solution that not only fixes the mistake, but fits remarkably well and goes completely unnoticed? I think this plays a part into explaining why and how.
Second, the early Church was facing some devastating events relative to Joseph’s credibility. In 1834, E.D. Howe’s scathing indictment against Mormonism (called Mormonism Unvailed) was coming out. Joseph Smith’s in-laws had issued signed affidavits about his treasure digging and motives to start Mormonism. Zion’s camp—a miserable but somewhat unifying experience for the Saints—tested many with regard to their allegiance to the Prophet. A group in Kirtland, Ohio had denounced Joseph Smith as a fraud for administering “under pretense of Divine Authority.” This Kirtland group retained a private investigator named Hurlbut to look into Joseph’s past in the hope of bringing him down from “the high station which he pretends to occupy.” Hurlbut traveled all over the place and collected all kinds of affidavits against Joseph Smith and the image of the man was being tarnished. History shows that when times got rough, Joseph saw more heavenly beings.
Hurlbut toured around and shared the information he discovered about Smith. In October of 1834, Oliver Cowdery, with the assistance of Joseph, wrote a rebuttal of Hurlbut’s findings in the Messenger and Advocate, and in addition to defending the prophet, introduced the idea of a nameless angel appearing and ordaining them. Not long thereafter, John the Baptist was assigned this important work. At the very same time, a declaration of Peter, James, and John was added to Doctrine and Covenants 27:8-13.
The Likely Truth About Priesthood Authority
Joseph said in 1829 that he was called by the Spirit. In 1832 he mentioned that angels attended these events. In 1834-35 the details became more and more clear, contrary to human nature where details, with time, become a bit muddled. In Joseph Smith’s mind, details, with time, became clearer and clearer. The bottom line on Mormonism and the direct line of priesthood authority they claim to have? Evidence seems to indicate that a Mormon has absolutely no more right to act in the name of God than any true believer who has been called to the work. All right, let’s go to the phones.
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