Priest

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. In the Book of Mormon, priests were described as those who baptized, administered “the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church,” and taught “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” A June 1829 revelation directed the ordination of priests for the purpose of declaring the gospel. The “Articles and Covenants” of the church directed priests to “preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament” of the Lord’s Supper. Priests were also to visit and support members; to “ordain other priests, teachers, and deacons”; and to lead meetings in the absence of an elder. Those ordained to be priests in the October 1831 conference of the church were ordained to the lesser priesthood. Later on, however, priest came to be understood as a specific office within the lesser priesthood, later called the Aaronic priesthood.