Patriarch, patriarchs

A patriarch is called an evangelist in D&C 107:39–52. As such, patriarch is an ordained office in the Melchizedek Priesthood. The fathers from Adam to Jacob were all patriarchs of this kind. The word as used in the Bible seems to denote also a title of honor to early leaders of the Israelites, such as David (Acts 2:29) and the 12 sons of Jacob (Acts 7:8–9). The word is of Greek derivation and means father-ruler; the Hebrew word it translates is simply father.