The Patriarchal Order | What Is the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood? (LDS)

Send us Fan MailWhat is the patriarchal order of the priesthood — and why does Doctrine and Covenants 131 call it the gateway to the highest degree of celestial glory? This episode lays the doctrinal foundation: the patriarchal order is the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, the order in which God Himself lives. Drawing on Elder Bruce R. McConkie's April 1982 talk "The Doctrine of the Priesthood" — teaching that God "lives in the family unit" and that we must receive and exercise His priesthood as He exercises it — we explore why exaltation is never awarded to a patriarch alone (a patriarch and matriarch together, per Doctrine and Covenants 131:2), President Russell M. Nelson's teaching that endowed women and men alike "receive a gift of God's priesthood power," and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's striking observation: "There may be wards and stakes in heaven, but I don't know anything about them... we are supposed to be practicing here what we are going to do there." We trace the order from Adam and Eve (Moses 5, Doctrine and Covenants 107:41) through the Abrahamic covenant to your own patriarchal blessing — and close with a remarkable account from a 76-year-old widower in England whose prayer for a name led to reuniting a husband and wife separated since 1906. Q: What is the patriarchal order of the priesthood, in LDS doctrine? A: It is the new and everlasting covenant of marriage — the order of the priesthood a person must enter to obtain the highest degree of celestial glory (Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–4). Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught it is the order in which God our Father Himself lives: "he lives in the family unit," and through this order we can create eternal family units patterned after His.Q: Do women hold priesthood power in the patriarchal order? A: Yes — President Russell M. Nelson taught that "every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants... has direct access to the power of God," and that those endowed in the temple "receive a gift of God's priesthood power." Camille Fronk Olsen adds that exaltation is not awarded to a patriarch alone — it requires a patriarch and a matriarch together.Q: How is the patriarchal order different from priesthood callings in the Church? A: Ecclesiastical callings — bishop, president, elder — are temporary; people are called and released. The titles of father and mother, by contrast, last forever. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught that the only governing unit we know of in heaven is the family: "We are supposed to be practicing here what we are going to do there."YouTube The Patriarchal Order Video: https://youtu.be/DexrDRpRqBYYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@UCAA9WnYhYvCp1ffCe-AGUQQ Website: Thinning of the Veil: https://www.thinningoftheveil.com/Book: "Patterns of Revelation":  https://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Revelation-Spiritual-Foundations-Hearing-ebook/dp/B0BWGLZ8VXEmail: [email protected]:Doctrine & Covenants 131:1-4Bruce R. McConkie, “The Doctrine of the Priesthood”, April 1982: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1982/04/the-doctrine-of-the-priesthood?lang=engIn Defense of Women, Jan Cisco, “Patriarchal Priesthood”, Dec. 2, 2021: https://indefenseofwomen.wordpress.com/2021/12/02/patriarchal-priesthood/Jeffrey R. Holland, March 8, 2016, Face 2 Face Russell M. Nelson, “Spiritual Treasures”, Oct. 2019: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/36nelson?lang=engCamille Fronk Olson, “The Matriarchs: Administrators of God's Covenantal Blessings,” in From Creation to Sinai: The Old Testament through the Lens of the Restoration, ed. Daniel L. Belnap and Aaron P. Schade (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book), 385‒425.Moses 5:9-11Eldred G. Smith, "All May Share in Adam’s Blessing", April 1971: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1971/04/all-may-share-in-adams-blessing?lang=engMoses 6:7-8, Genesis 12:3, Doctrine & Covenants 137:41-42D&C 86:8-11Theodore M. Burton, “Salvation for the Dead: A Missionary Activity,” April 1975: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1975/04/salvation-for-the-dead-a-missionary-activity?lang=engAbraham 2:9-11Ezra Taft Benson,  [Tambuli, Apr.–May 1986, 6; Ensign, Aug. 1985, 10.]Joseph Smith, TPJS 38-39Theodore M. Burton, “The Importance of Temples”, October 1967Support the show