Adam Stands Next.—Next to the Savior in divine authority, stands Adam, Ancient of Days, the father of the whole human family. So says Joseph the Prophet, in his great discourse on Priesthood. "The priesthood was first given to Adam; he obtained the First Presidency, and held the keys of it from generation to generation. He obtained it .. before the world was formed. . He had dominion given him over every living creature. He is Michael the Archangel."[[10]]
Noah's Position.—"Then to Noah, who is Gabriel; he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood. He was called of God to this office, and was the father of all living in his day, and to him was given the dominion. These men held keys first on earth and then in heaven."[[11]]
These inspired utterances regarding Adam and Noah ought to set at rest the question with which they deal. They are a sufficient answer to the charge, sometimes made, that the Latter-day Saints rank Joseph Smith as next in dignity and power to Jesus Christ. It is fitting that the Prophet himself should supply the refutation.
An Everlasting Principle.—He goes on to say: "The Priesthood is an everlasting principle, and existed with God from eternity, and will to eternity, without beginning of days or end of years. The keys have to be brought from heaven whenever the Gospel is sent. When they are revealed from heaven, it is by Adam's authority."[[12]]
Succession and Descent.—From Adam, the Priesthood descended through the following line: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Esaias, Gad, Jeremy, Elihu, Caleb, Jethro and Moses.[[13]] Says the Prophet "The Savior, Moses and Elias gave the keys to Peter, James and John, on the Mount, when they were transfigured before him." He then asks: "How have we come at the Priesthood in the last days?"—and answers thus: "It came down, down, in regular succession. Peter, James and John had it given to them, and they gave it to others." The "others" include Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the earliest Elders of the Latter-day Church.[[14]]
Agents of the Almighty.—Inherent in the Priesthood is the principle of representation. So plenary and far-reaching are its powers, that when those holding this authority are in the line of their duty, and possess the spirit of their calling, their official acts and utterances are as valid and as binding as if the Lord himself were present, doing and saying what his servants do and say for him.
This is what it means to bear the Priesthood. It constitutes men agents of the Almighty, transacting sacred business in the interest of the one who sent them. These agents should represent their Principal fairly and faithfully, reflecting, as far as possible, his intelligence and goodness, living so near to him that when their letter of instructions (the written word) falls short, the Spirit that indited it, resting upon them as a continual benediction, can give "line upon line" of revelation, flash upon flash of inspired thought, to illumine and make plain the path they are to tread.
"And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."[[15]]
No Unrighteous Dominion.—A tremendous power for frail mortal man to wield! Yes, and to guard against its abuse, the exercise of this divine prerogative is hedged about with certain conditions and limitations. Thus:
"No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy and without guile, reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy."[[16]]