“Ready to Receive the Melchizedek Priesthood?” Liahona, July 2015, 52–55
Ready to Receive the Melchizedek Priesthood?
“All those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break” (D&C 84:40).
Illustrations by John Kachik
Unlike the Aaronic Priesthood, which is received without an oath, the Melchizedek Priesthood is received with an oath made by Heavenly Father and with a covenant made between you and Him. The following ideas will help you understand key phrases in Doctrine and Covenants 84:33–44, where the Lord revealed the oath and covenant of the priesthood.
What is the oath made by our Heavenly Father?
“Rising to the possibilities of the oath and covenant brings the greatest of all the gifts of God: eternal life. That is a purpose of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Through keeping the covenants as we receive the priesthood and renewing them in the temple ceremonies, we are promised by an oath made by our Heavenly Father, Elohim, that we will gain the fulness of His glory and live as He lives.”
President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “Faith and the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood,” Liahona, May 2008, 61.
What is your part in the covenant?
“The covenant on man’s part is that he will magnify his calling in the priesthood [see D&C 84:33], and that he will live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, and that he will keep the commandments.”
President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972), “Magnifying Our Callings in the Priesthood,” in Conference Report, Apr. 1970, 59.
What does it mean to have your body renewed?
“I have seen that promise fulfilled in my own life and in the lives of others. A friend of mine served as a mission president. He told me that at the end of every day while he was serving, he could barely make it upstairs to bed at night wondering if he would have the strength to face another day. Then in the morning, he would find his strength and his courage restored. You have seen it in the lives of aged prophets who seemed to be renewed each time they stood to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ and the restored gospel. That is a promise for those who go forward in faith in their priesthood service.”
President Henry B. Eyring, “Faith and the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood,” Liahona, May 2008, 62.
What does it mean to receive the Lord?
“Men who worthily receive the priesthood receive the Lord Jesus Christ, and those who receive the Lord receive God the Father. And those who receive the Father receive all that He has. Incredible blessings flow from this oath and covenant to worthy men, women, and children in all the world.”
Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Covenants,” Liahona, Nov. 2011, 88.
Scripture Chain: Receiving the Lord
Receiving the priesthood is one way to receive the Lord. Read these verses to learn two more: John 13:20 and Doctrine and Covenants 112:20.