Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith

by Joseph F. Smith

"Or in other words, the presiding high priest over the high priesthood of the Church."

It is well to remember that the term "high priesthood," as frequently used, has reference to the Melchizedek Priesthood, in contradistinction to the "lesser," or Aaronic Priesthood.—Improvement Era, Vol. 5, p. 549, May, 1902.

AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH. I have the right to bless. I hold the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the office and power of patriarch. It is my right to bless; for all the keys and authority and power pertaining to the government of the Church and to the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood are centered in the presiding officer of the Church. There is no business nor office, within the Church, that the President of the Church may not fill, and may not do, if it is necessary, or if it is required of him to do it. He holds the office of patriarch; he holds the office of high priest and of apostle, of seventy, of elder, of bishop and of priest, teacher and deacon in the Church; all these belong to the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they can officiate in any and in all of these callings when occasion requires.—Oct. C. R., 1915, p. 7.

RELATION OF MEMBERS OF FIRST PRESIDENCY. I desire to make another remark or two before we close our conference. I will call your attention to the fact that the Lord in the beginning of this work revealed that there should be three high priests to preside over the high priesthood of his Church and over the whole Church. (Doctrine and Covenants 107:22, 64, 65, 66, 67, 91 and 92.) He conferred upon them all the authority necessary to preside over all the affairs of the Church. They hold the keys of the house of God and of the ordinances of the gospel, and of every blessing which has been restored to the earth in this dispensation. This authority is vested in a presidency of three high priests. They are three presidents. The Lord himself so calls them. (Doctrine and Covenants section 107:29.) But there is one presiding president, and his counselors are presidents also. I propose that my counselors and fellow presidents in the First Presidency shall share with me in the responsibility of every act which I shall perform in this capacity. I do not propose to take the reins in my own hands to do as I please; but I propose to do as my brethren and I agree upon, and as the Spirit of the Lord manifests to us. I have always held, and do hold, and trust I always shall hold, that it is wrong for one man to exercise all the authority and power of presidency in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I dare not assume such a responsibility, and I will not, so long as I can have men like these (pointing to Presidents Winder and Lund) to stand by and counsel with me in the labors we have to perform, and in doing all those things that shall tend to the peace, advancement and happiness of the people of God and the building up of Zion. If at any time my brethren of the apostleship shall see in me a disposition to depart from this principle, or a forgetfulness on my part of this covenant that I make today before this body of priesthood, I ask them in the name of my Father, that they will come to me, as my brethren, as counselors in the priesthood, as watchmen on the towers of Zion, and remind me of this covenant and promise which I make to the body of the Church in general conference assembled at this time. The Lord never did intend that one man should have all power, and for that reason he has placed in his Church, presidents, apostles, high priests, seventies, elders and the various officers of the lesser priesthood, all of which are essential in their order and place according to the authority bestowed on them. The Lord never did anything that was not essential or that was superfluous. There is a use for every branch of the priesthood that he has established in his Church. We want every man to learn his duty, and we expect every man will do his duty as faithfully as he knows how, and carry off his portion of the responsibility of building up Zion in the latter days.

I felt like I wanted to say that much to these my brethren who bear the holy priesthood—men who wield influence for the salvation of souls, who set good examples before the people among whom they dwell, who teach them the right way, admonish them from sin, lead them in the path of duty, and enable them to stand firm and steadfast in the faith of the gospel, wherewith they have been made free from sin and from the grasp of Satan. God bless all Israel, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.—Oct. C. R. (Special), 1901, p. 82.

DUTIES OF APOSTLES. The duty of the twelve apostles of the Church is to preach the gospel to the world, to send it to the inhabitants of the earth and to bear testimony of Jesus Christ the Son of God, as living witnesses of his divine mission. That is their special calling and they are always under the direction of the Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when that presidency is intact, and there is never at the same time two equal heads in the Church—never. The Lord never ordained any such thing, nor designed it. There is always a head in the Church, and if the Presidency of the Church are removed by death or other cause, then the next head of the Church is the Twelve Apostles, until a presidency is again organized of three presiding high priests who have the right to hold the office of First Presidency over the Church; and, according to the doctrine laid down by President Wilford Woodruff, who saw the necessity for it, and that of President Lorenzo Snow, if the president should die, his counselors are then released from that presidency, and it is the duty of the Twelve Apostles to proceed at once, in the manner that has been pointed out, to see that the First Presidency is reorganized, so that there may be no deficiency in the working and order of the priesthood in the Church.—Apr C. R., 1913, pp. 4, 5.

TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLES. For instance these twelve disciples of Christ are supposed to be eye and ear witnesses of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. It is not permissible for them to say, I believe, simply; I have accepted it simply because I believe it. Read the revelation; the Lord informs us they must know, they must get the knowledge for themselves. It must be with them as if they had seen with their eyes and heard with their cars and they know the truth. That is their mission, to testify of Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen from the dead and clothed now with almighty power at the right hand of God, the Savior of the world. That is their mission, and their duty, and that is the doctrine and the truth that it is their duty to preach to the world and see that it is preached to the world. Where they can not go themselves they are to have the help of others called to their assistance, the seventies first, also the elders and the high priests. Those who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, who are not otherwise appointed, are under their direction to preach the gospel to the world and to declare the truth—that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph is a prophet of God, and was authorized and qualified to lay the foundation of the kingdom of God. And when I say kingdom of God I mean what I say. Christ is the King—not man. No man is king of the kingdom of God; God is the King of it, and we acknowledge him and him only as Sovereign of his Kingdom.—April C. R., 1916, p. 6. (Doctrine and Covenants 18:26-33.)

THE PRESIDING BISHOPRIC. Before we get through with the conference, we expect to bear some reports from the Presiding Bishopric, who are the temporal custodians of the means of the Church, and whose duty it is to account for the receipt and disbursement of these funds; and you will be surprised, perhaps, to learn how generally and universally, in the Church, the means gathered from the tithes of the people are disposed of for the benefit of all the people—and not a few.—April C. R., 1912, p. 6.

WHEN TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES. If you have a question to ask, or some problem that you are not sure you are able to solve, I would suggest to you that you figure it out yourselves and reach the very best conclusion that you can of the matter; and then, if you are still not quite satisfied with it, and you cannot get sufficient of the Spirit of the Lord to reveal to you the absolute truth, as to whether you are right or wrong, just submit to us your conclusion, and we think we can answer that a good deal easier and quicker than we can solve your questions in the way they are generally put to us.—April C. R., 1910, p. 45.

NO NEED TO POINT OUT DEFECTS OF CHURCH LEADERS. I do not think it is my right or prerogative to point out the supposed defects of the Prophet Joseph Smith, or Brigham Young, or any other of the leaders of the Church. Let the Lord God Almighty judge them and speak for or against them as it may seem to him good—but not me; it is not for me, my brethren, to do this. Our enemies may have taken advantage of us, in times gone by, because of unwise things that may have been said. Some of us may now give to the world the same opportunity to speak evil against us, because of that which we say, which should not be spoken at all.—Oct. C. R., 1909, pp. 124-125.