The king would subdue all enemies under his feet and the priest would be mediator to offer sacrifice on behalf of the congregation (see D&C 76: 106). The covenant for ancient Israel allowed them to become "a peculiar treasure" and "a kingdom of priests" (Exodus 19: 5-6). Modern revelation describes those who reach exaltation as the "church of the Firstborn," and "They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory" (D&C 76: 54, 56). Of course if they are to have a "continuation of the seeds" there has to be queens and priestesses (see D&C 132: 19).
We should not be surprised that the Book of Mormon text begins with a reference to Nephi and his role as a king and priest. Before we even get to the story we can view the superscription introducing First Nephi. The explanation on the previous page states, "Introductions in a non-italic typeface, such as in 1 Nephi and immediately preceding Mosiah chapter 9, are also part of the sacred text." So directly under the heading reading, "THE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI" we read the words:
His Reign and Ministry
In other words, it is Nephi's reign as a king, and his ministry as a priest.
The text which follows supports the concept of a king and a priest. For example, Nephi is promised,
"And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren" (1 Nephi 2: 22). He is a ruler as a king, and a teacher as a priest. These roles are repeated several times throughout the early chapters.
There is even a distinction in the records. There is a kingly record and a priestly record. Nephi later explains,
"Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people" (1 Nephi 9: 4).
In the Old Testament only kings and priests were given access to the scriptures and particularly the book of the law. It states, "And it shall be, when he (the king) sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites" (Deuteronomy 17: 18).
The roles of king and priest are emphasized at the end of Nephi's life, as it states,
"Now Nephi began to be old, and he saw that he must soon die; wherefore, he anointed a man to be a king and a ruler over his people now, according to the reigns of the kings.
"The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defence, and having labored in all his days for their welfare" (Jacob 1: 9-10).
The role of priest was then carried on by Nephi's brothers Jacob and Joseph. Jacob explains, "For I, Jacob, and my brother Joseph had been consecrated priests and teachers of this people, by the hand of Nephi" (Jacob 1: 18).
In the Old Testament priests were consecrated according to a specific ordinance. It is an added testimony to the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, that this verse of consecration involves the "hand of Nephi." The Hebrew word for consecrate consists of two words--male and yad, and literally means "to fill the hand."
The ordinance of consecrating priests is explained in Exodus and Leviticus as follows:
"And he (Moses) took the fat, and the rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:
"And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:
"And he put all upon Aaron’s hands, and upon his sons’ hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the Lord" (Leviticus 8: 25-27).
As priests were consecrated their hands were filled with the elements of the sacrifice, which was a "ram of consecration" (Leviticus 8: 22).
No comments:
Post a Comment