LDS Priesthood Unveiled Appendix 1Alvin explained that the Bible account stated that God wasn’t too happy about the
people’s attitude. He expounded that God allowed Moses to establish an order of priesthood
by which the people lost their direct connection with God, which inhibited their own free
agency and caused them to give up their individual power and free will to a man—Moses—
exactly as they desired it!
The young Joseph was extremely impacted by what his older brother argued with
the more religious part of their family and friends about the Bible. He never forgot these
things as he embarked on his own mission to exemplify Moses in every way. He gave the
people what they desired, “and because they desired it God [did] it, that they may
stumble.”^45 And stumble they did and continue to do.
Alvin Smith was absolutely right! He discovered biblical proof of people giving up
their free will to the authority of others because of their innate fears and ignorance. He
argued these points with any preacher who dared attempt to convince him that he could not
learn from God without depending upon a religion and written scripture or upon a
“divinely chosen” spokesperson. Alvin was not afraid to approach God and ask for
information. As an atheist, Alvin believed that god only existed in the human mind. He
futilely argued the fact with others and would often offend those who constantly depended
on religious rhetoric to define their reality. But it was this older brother’s tenacity,
independence, and intelligence that one day motivated Joseph to search for the answers to
his own questions without depending on others. As the religion evolved that he was
mandated to suffer to come forth by his own hand, Joseph often reflected on what he had
learned from Alvin about biblical priesthood authority.
The Priesthood in Relation to Christ
In September 1823, Joseph was informed of the existence of the gold plates and
his mission to translate them. From this date until May 1829, Joseph never once
considered organizing a church, let alone introducing any specially designated authority
or priesthood, in order to fulfill his mission. His only concern was translating the record,
which contained a “fullness of the everlasting Gospel as delivered by the Savior.” And
when he was finished translating what Christ delivered to the ancient people, he knew
that Christ did not mention anything—not even a word—about priesthood. And in what
he had translated up to that point, Christ had not laid his hands upon anyone’s head to
give them power and authority over others.
The only power and authority that was given to Nephi and the other apostles
according to the part of the record that was translated at that time, was conveyed by the voice
of Christ alone. He never laid his hands upon them to confer this power. At one point, he
touched “with his finger” the disciples whom he had chosen, “save it were the three who
were to tarry.”^46 This gesture was certainly a far cry from the “laying on of hands” dictated
by the LDS/Mormons in their ordinations. What is not explained in the record was the
purpose for the touch—and it had nothing to do with conferring any power or authority, or
he would have also touched “the three who were to tarry.”
Thus, with a single touch, Christ, a resurrected being with advanced technology and
knowledge unknown to mortals, used his intelligence and power to manipulate the DNA
patterns of the other apostles so that they would live to “the age of a man.”^47 He basically
cured any inherited or acquired diseases and defects they had, and made them immune to
any others that might have ended their lives before the natural age at which a mortal man