D&C 84:6-19

Verses 6-31 of section 84 are called the “Parenthetical” verses, which DJR explains as meaning “it is basically a long explanation that could have a parenthesis at the beginning and one at the end. If you were to place these parentheses in your own scriptures as notes, you would have the following: 6. And the sons of Moses, (according to the Holy Priesthood which he received under the hand of his father-in-law, Jethro; … and continuing to verse 31… 31. Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses) –The sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron…” The IM comments “Smith and Sjodahl noted that in verse six is ‘the beginning of a sentence which is continued in … (verse) 31. All that intervenes is parenthetic, containing a statement regarding the lineage through which the Priesthood came to Moses and Aaron, and how it was restored in our day.’ Without the parenthetical insertion, the sentence would read, ‘And the sons of Moses, according to the Holy Priesthood… shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice.’” Very interesting concept here.

84:6-16 - DJR says that the lineage of the priesthood, as given by the Lord, demonstrates that “the priesthood must be passed from one man to another by the laying on of hands. Moses had a direct line of priesthood authority going back to Adam.” The Lord gives the lineage as follows: Moses-> Jethro. The IM asks “Who was Jethro and how sis he receive the priesthood?” and answers, “The descent of this authority, or divine power, from Adam to Moses is here given in the Lord’s own words to Joseph Smith. Moses received it from Jethro, a priest of the house of Midian. The Midianites were descendants of Abraham, through the children of Keturah, wife of Abraham, therefore the Midianites, who were neighbors to the Israelites in Palestine, were related to the Israelites, and were Hebrews. As descendants of Abraham they were entitled through their faithfulness to his blessings, and in the days of Moses and preceding them, in Midian the Priesthood was found.” It’s interesting because I had started to read a book called “The First Two Thousand Years,” by Cleon Skousen, and he mentions Jethro having the priesthood as indications that the gospel was more wide spread then just the Jews, or the descendants of Isaac. I always wondered why, in his old age, after Sarah died, Abraham remarried and had several more children, and I always wondered what happened to those children, who they are as far as ancestry goes. Looking at the situation as a whole, Abraham had Ishmael through Hagar, and Ishmael became the father of the Arab people. Abraham had Isaac through Sarah, and Isaac became the father of the Israelite people. Abraham had other children through Keturah, and they became the parents of the Midianites, and it seems like they were sufficiently righteous to retain the gospel among them and still hold priesthood authority. Does that mean that the Israelites were not able to keep their priesthood while they were enslaved in Egypt, through transgression? Something to think about. Moses-> Jethro -> Caleb -> Elihu -> Jeremy -> Gad -> Esaias -> “under the hand of God. This is an interesting phrase because verse 12 and 13 say, “And Esaias received it under the hand of God. Esaias also lived in the days of Abraham, and was blessed by him.” So does this mean that Esaias was literally given the priesthood by God himself or by an angelic being, or is it saying that he was ordained by Abraham who was serving as a proxy for God? Esaias -> Abraham -> Melchizedek -> “who received is through the linage of his fathers, even till Noah -> Enoch, through the lineage of their fathers -> Able -> Adam. I didn’t realize that Able was old enough to not only have the priesthood, but old enough to confer it. From Enoch to Adam is 7 generations, so Able conferred the priesthood on Enoch 6 generations later, that’s a pretty long time. For some reason I thought that Cain and Able were teenagers when that whole thing went down. Just as an aside, I googled “How old was Able when he was killed?” And a pretty insightful, though not LDS or concrete doctrinally, answer said, “The Bible account does not give us his exact age at the time of his murder, but his approximate age can be deduced… The third recorded son of Adam and Eve was born shortly after Abel’s death and when Adam was 130 years old. At the time of Seth’s birth Eve said: ‘God has appointed another seed in place of able, because Cain killed him.’ It is not at all likely that Even would have said this is a great many years had intervened; she evidently desired a son to replace the murdered Able, and so the birth of Seth must have occurred shortly after Abel’s death. It is possible, then, that Able may have been as much as a hundred years old at the time of his martyrdom.” I guess all I’m trying to say is that Cain and Able weren’t teenagers when all this happened, especially in light of Able conferring the priesthood on Enoch, six generations later.

84:17-19 - From verse 16 to 17, the Lord says, “And from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his brother, who received the priesthood by the commandments of God, by the hand of his father Adam, who was the first man- Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years.” DJR says that these verses teach that “the Priesthood is eternal,” and “the priesthood must be on earth in order for the Church of Jesus Christ to exist.” But which priesthood? There are two, the Aaronic and the Melchizedek. The Lord says that “this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.” The Lord doesn’t explicitly say that the Aaronic priesthood is the “lesser” priesthood, but by saying that the Melchizedek priesthood is “greater” it infers that it is more than the Aaronic priesthood. Concerning this “greater” priesthood, the IM quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith as teaching, “It is impossible for men to obtain the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom or the knowledge of God, without the authority of the priesthood. Secular learning, the study of the sciences, arts and history, will not reveal these vital truths to man. It is the Holy Priesthood that unlocks the door to heaven and reveals to man the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It is the Divine Authority which makes known the knowledge of God! Is there any wonder that the world today is groping in gross darkness concerning God and the things of his kingdom? We should also remember that these great truths are not made known even to members of the Church unless they place their lives in harmony with the law on which these blessings are predicated.” I think that this statement begs the question, since only men are ordained to the priesthood, does that mean that women are not entitled to the power of the priesthood in receiving knowledge concerning the mysteries of the kingdom of God? Or in other words, are only men allowed to receive knowledge from God because they hold the priesthood authority? I think the obvious answer here is, no, of course not. I feel that through my intensive study of the scriptures, I’ve learned things concerning the mysteries of God and they have been given to me, I didn’t figure most of them out on my own, it was divine revelation. But was I allowed to receive knowledge concerning God, the scriptures, personal revelation for myself and my family, because I’m a woman and therefore do not have priesthood authority? Of course not, that’s the difference between priesthood power and priesthood authority. The power of God is available to all who, like President Smith said “place their lives in harmony with the law on which these blessings are predicated.” The power, knowledge, revelation, teaching, testifying, molding and shaping are all there for any who desire it, and seek the Lord’s hand in all things, men and women alike.