Mormonism teaches that there are two
Priesthoods: The Aaronic priesthood and
the Melchizedek Priesthood. The LDS
Church claims that both of these
Priesthoods were restored to the earth
by Joseph Smith, and are necessary for
the life of The Church. Every worthy
Mormon man is expected to hold both the
Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods. but
is this biblical? Did Jesus hold both of
these priesthoods?
#1) Jesus did not have the
Aaronic priesthood. The Bible tells us
that Jesus is our High Priest. However,
the Bible also tells us that under the
Law of Moses, the only people allowed to
hold the Aaronic priesthood had to be
descendants of Aaron from the tribe of
Levi. Speaking of Jesus, Hebrews 7 says
"For the one of whom these things are
spoken to belonged to another tribe from
which no one has ever served at the
altar.
For it is evident that our Lord was
descended from Judah and in connection
with that tribe Moses said nothing about
priests." Jesus wasn't a Levite, he was
from the tribe of Judah, and no one from
the tribe of Judah has ever held the
Aaronic priesthood—including Christ
Himself! In other words, Jesus did not
hold the Aaronic Priesthood. So then, how
could he be called our High Priest? Well,
the author of Hebrews goes on to tell us
Jesus is a priest "after the order of
Melchizedek". On his way home from
rescuing his nephew Lot,
Abraham met Melchizedek: king of Salem.
Melchizedek is called a Priest of the
Most High God—demonstrating that priests
existed in the Old Testament outside of
the Law of Moses. Not only this, but
Hebrews explains that Melchizedek
Priesthood was greater than Aaron's
Priesthood. Jesus's priesthood is
kind of like the Melchizedek Priesthood:
it's outside of the Law of Moses and
it's better than the Aaronic Priesthood.
#3) Jesus is the only one who
has the Melchizedek Priesthood.
"He has become a priest, not on the basis of
a legal requirement concerning bodily
descent, but by the power of an
indestructible life." Jesus became a High
Priest after the order of Melchizedek
not because he was a descendant of Aaron
and Levi, but because he lived a sinless
life and was the only human who could be
the perfect mediator between God and man.
But more than this, only Jesus has been
appointed by God to be our High Priest
forever. Hebrews 7 says "and it was not
without an oath, for those who formerly
became Priests were made such without an
oath, but this one referring to Jesus was
made a Priest with an oath by the one
who said to him: "The Lord has sworn and
will not change his mind,
you are a priest forever." Hebrews
continues by explaining that "the former
priests were many a number because they
were prevented by death from continuing
in office, but he holds his priesthood
permanently, because he continues forever."
None of us could ever be perfect priests
because A: We're sinful. B: We will one
day die because of those sins. But Jesus
was sinless, rose from the dead, and will
never die again. Why is Aaron not our
High Priest today? Because Aaron was a
sinner, and he died because of those sins.
So were all of his descendants. All of
the High Priests have sinned and died,
but Jesus alone is our perfect, immortal
High Priest. "For the law appoints men in
their weaknesses as High Priests, but the
word of the oath, which came later than
the law, appoints a son who has been made
perfect forever." #4) Jesus'
Priesthood replaces the Aaronic
Priesthood. The author of Hebrews calls
the Aaronic Priesthood weak and useless,
and explains that it has vanished away
like the rest of the Old Covenant.
Hebrews says "now if perfection had been
attainable through the Levitical Priesthood (for under it the people
received the law), what further need would
there have been for another Priest to
arise after the order of Melchizedek,
rather than one named after the order of
Aaron?" We shouldn't expect anyone to hold
the Aaronic priesthood anymore because
Jesus has a new and better priesthood.
The LDS Church's teaching about the two
Priesthoods being restored to the earth
by Joseph Smith is not biblical. The
Bible makes it abundantly clear that
Jesus never held the Aaronic Priesthood,
and that He is the only one who has been
made a priest forever after the order of
Melchizedek.
