Lessons from the Doctrine and Covenants 2021
Lesson No. Thirty-Eight

The Ecclesiastical and Patriarchal Orders of the Priesthood

There is a difference between the patriarchal and ecclesiastical orders of the priesthood – Some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often men, don’t recognize that there is a difference in how the priesthood is used in the home and how it is used in the Church.  Because the Church is an organization where there are different levels, a hierarchical structure, we sometimes need to make decisions for those who are serving under us.  This is the ecclesiastical order of the priesthood.  In the home the priesthood is used in a different way which is known as the patriarchal order of the priesthood.  In the patriarchal order of the priesthood the husband and wife work together in love and righteousness and make every decision together.

The ecclesiastical order of the priesthood is described in D&C 107 – The ecclesiastical order of the priesthood is a term used to describe the priesthood organization in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The priesthood by which the Lord’s Church, as an ecclesiastical organization, is organized and under which it functions, is hierarchical.  Priesthood keys and priesthood quorums and a hierarchical structure are central to the Church’s organization and function.  In the ecclesiastical order of the priesthood the President of the Church holds all the priesthood keys and presides over the entire Church.  He delegates priesthood keys to Bishops, stake presidents, mission presidents, and temple presidents to preside over their respective organizations until they are released.

The patriarchal order of the priesthood – President Ezra Taft Benson taught that both Adam and Eve “were commanded by God to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to enter into the order of the Son of God.  To enter into the order of the Son of God is the equivalent today of entering into the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is only received in the house of the Lord...

“The order of priesthood spoken of in the scriptures is sometimes referred to as the patriarchal order.  But this order is otherwise describe in modern revelation as an order of family government where a man and woman enter into a covenant with God – just as did Adam and Eve – to be sealed for eternity, to have posterity, and do the will and work of God though out their mortality” (Ensign, August, 1985).

The covenants and blessings of the patriarchal order are shared equally between a man and a woman as eternal companions.  The roles may be different, but they are equal and complementary.

If we keep our covenants we will never be released from our callings as mothers and fathers.  This is the order of priesthood in the celestial kingdom, and in which our Heavenly Parents live.   

The Family - A Proclamation to the World focuses on the patriarchal order of the priesthood – This Proclamation was announced to the world on September 23, 1995 and has proved to be prophetic.  The Proclamation focuses on the family, and it teaches us how to live in the patriarchal order of the priesthood in our homes:  “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.  By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.  Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.  In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.  Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized both on earth and in the spirit world –President Joseph Fielding Smith at the funeral services for Elder Richard L. Evans taught:  “The Church on earth has lost the services of one of its most able and competent leaders who was endowed with special talents and abilities which are seldom equaled. But the same Church, which has an even more perfect and effective organization among the righteous dead, has gained another pillar of strength to use in the great labors that are performed there” (Ensign, December 1971, emphasis added).  The Church in the spirit world may have a more perfect and effective organization than the Church on earth because it is more like the celestial kingdom which is perfectly organized by families in the patriarchal order of the priesthood.

Testimony – I have been married to a most remarkable companion for almost 54 years.  We love The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its leaders.  We rejoice in being able to serve in it according to ecclesiastical order of the priesthood.  Nevertheless, in our marriage we strive to live according to the patriarchal order of the priesthood.  In this way we can make our home a heaven on earth.