This week in Come Follow Me we are studying Doctrine and Covenants 18. In this chapter David Whitmer and Oliver Cowdery are commissioned to seek out twelve men to be apostles in the church (v. 37). This section was given in June 1829 so it is assumed that it came about because Peter, James, and John had already come and given Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Melchizedek Priesthood. There is no clear record of when this happened. We know it happened after John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood on May 15, 1839. Some historical records said it happened as Joseph and and Oliver were traveling between Harmony PA and Colesville (D&C 128: 20) There is only one time that Joseph and Oliver traveled to Colesville during this time period. So that is a likely time period.
One of my podcasts with Scott Woodward and Casey Griffiths, asked the question what exactly was restored by Peter, James, and John? In D&C 27:12 God says that he sent Peter, James, and John "by whom I confirmed you and ordained you apostles and to be especial witnesses in my name and to bear the keys of your ministry." It sounds like the main thing Peter, James, and John restored were the keys of the apostleship. In Joseph Smith's history Joseph states that the power of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost was given by the Lord to them in David Whitmer's home in the summer of 1829. (Church History Topics). We also know that the sealing power was given to Joseph Smith by Elijah in the Kirtland temple 1836. At that same time other messengers appeared and bestowed other keys.
So what keys do you have to have before you have the Melchizedek Priesthood? Does one have to be a Melchizedek Priesthood holder to be an apostle? Now they do, but did Jesus' original apostles have the Melchizedek Priesthood? They were ordained as apostles by Jesus, so maybe they did. Or maybe they just had the authority to be apostles.
This line of thought made me take a new look at what is meant by the Melchizedek Priesthood. In the current church, men are ordained as Elders as early as about 18 years old. When they become Elders it is understood that they hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, but they don' t have many of the keys that were restored to Joseph Smith. They can convey the gift of the Holy Ghost, and give priesthood blessings, but that is about it. As they progress in the gospel they may get more keys or they may not. They might become a bishop or a temple ordinance worker. Some become 70's or even Apostles. These passages in the Doctrine & Covenants make it sound like each of those keys were considered separate gifts. The term Melchizedek Priesthood wasn't even used in the church until 1835. When Paul says that Jesus was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 5:6) he is saying it because under the Mosaic Law a person couldn't be a high priest unless he was a Levite, and Jesus wasn't a Levite. So Paul was going to a time before the Mosaic Law to justify Jesus' priesthood.
I guess I am saying that the term Melchizedek Priesthood does not have a single clear meaning. In a newly ordained Elder it means one thing, and when we say that the Prophet holds all the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood, it means another. As a result, it makes sense to say there wasn't a single moment when the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored. Instead it was restored a piece at a time as those pieces, or keys, were needed. It may be that there are priesthood keys that we don't even have yet, that might given for the first time as part of the Millennium. I do think we have all the keys we need for right now, and they were given to Joseph Smith over the course of the restoration of the Gospel.
