Joseph Smith's developing theology did not simply replace priesthood ordination with biological lineage. Rather, priesthood authority increasingly acquired a hereditary, patriarchal, and reproductive dimension alongside its ecclesiastical dimension. There is substantial scriptural support for my theory, particularly when you connect Abraham 2:9–11, D&C 68:15–21, D&C 84:6–16, D&C 86:8–11, D&C 110:12, and D&C 132:19–37.
Some Mormon scriptures explicitly connect priesthood to ancestry, while others maintain that priesthood authority requires ordination, divine appointment, or the transmission of keys.
My theory distinguishes three concepts:
- Ecclesiastical priesthood: Authority to preach, baptize, ordain, and administer the church.
- Lineage-based priesthood: Authority, privileges, or divine promises associated with descent from Abraham, Levi, Aaron, Joseph, and Ephraim.
- Dynastic or reproductive priesthood: Eternal plural marriage, and the continuation of posterity as dimensions of exaltation.
These concepts overlap in Joseph Smith's later 1840s theology, but they are not identical.
The strongest scriptural evidence:
| Scripture | Lineage | Supportive Evidence:
| Abraham 2:9–11 | Abraham's literal seed and priesthood blessings | Very strong |
| D&C 68:15–21 | Literal descendants of Aaron have a hereditary right to the bishopric | Very strong|
| D&C 84:6–16 | Priesthood transmitted through a named patriarchal lineage | Very strong |
| D&C 86:8–11 | Priesthood remaining through the lineage of the fathers| Very strong |
|D&C 107:40–57| Patriarchal priesthood descending from Adam through his descendants | Very strong |
|D&C 110:12 | Abrahamic blessings promised to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and their seed | Strong |
|D&C 113:5–6 | A descendant of Jesse and Joseph who holds priesthood keys = Joseph Smith. LDS commentators, including Sidney B. Sperry, have identified Joseph Smith as a plausible fulfillment of the passage. The LDS Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual reproduces Sperry's argument that Joseph Smith fits the description because of his priesthood keys and role in gathering Israel | Strong |
|D&C 132:19–37 | Eternal marriage, continuation of seed, Abraham's posterity, and plural wives | Very strong for reproductive exaltation |
| D&C 133:26–34 | Tribes from the north and Ephraim's birthright | Strong for Ephraimite identity |
|D&C 124:91–96 | Patriarchal office and inherited blessings in Hyrum Smith's family | Strong |
Note that several of these passages were written before the 1836 Kirtland Temple vision on the dispensation of. Tje gospel of Abraham. So lineage theology was already developing in the early 1830s; the later Nauvoo teachings connected it more explicitly to eternal marriage and increase.
D&C 86:8–10: Priesthood inherited through the flesh: This passage, dated December 6, 1832, is one of the most compelling sources for my position. D&C 86:8–10 states:
"With whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers—"
And then:
"For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh"
Verse 10 continues by stating that priesthood must remain through the recipients and their lineage until the restoration of all things.
This is not simply a description of a religious office. It makes a claim about ancestral inheritance and legitimate priesthood heirs.
The LDS Church's own scripture commentary interprets the passage as describing an inherited right to receive and use priesthood power, although it distinguishes this from a priesthood line of ordination.
Full sources:
[Doctrine and Covenants 86](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/86?lang=eng)
[Church commentary on D&C 86](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/section-86-the-parable-of-the-wheat-and-the-tares?lang=eng)
D&C 113: Joseph Smith, Jesse, Ephraim, and priesthood by lineage:
D&C 113:4 describes a servant who is partly descended from Jesse and Ephraim, or the house of Joseph, which was Joseph Smith. Verse 6 describes a descendant of Jesse and Joseph to whom priesthood and kingdom keys rightfully belong. But verse 8 is then particularly striking: "Zion, has a right to by lineage." Here the revelation explicitly identifies priesthood authority as something Zion possesses a hereditary right to reclaim.
As an Independent-Mormon I interpret this as my priesthood is less an office and more a lineal inheritance from my Mormon Ephraimite Great-grandfathers who were designated "pure blooded Ephraimites," and called to build Zion through their seed as polygamists.
Full sources:
[Doctrine and Covenants 113](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/113?lang=eng)
[Church commentary on D&C 113](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/doctrine-and-covenants-student-manual/section-113-isaiah-interpreted?lang=eng)
D&C 68:15–21 identifies a hereditary claim to the bishopric for a literal descendant of Aaron, specifically the firstborn who meets the prescribed conditions. This is a clear example of a priesthood office associated with biological descent. However, the revelation does not establish that every descendant of Aaron automatically becomes a bishop. The individual must have his lineage established and receive the necessary authorization and ordination. But the point is, there is a strong emphasis on lineage.
Full source:
[Doctrine and Covenants 68](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/68?lang=eng)
This establishes a crucial distinction for my theory: lineage could confer a hereditary claim to priesthood authority without eliminating the requirement for ecclesiastical appointment during the 1800s. So that hereditary was primary, and priesthood offices were organize the practice of plural marriage with according to one historians I was listening to made up as much as around 40% of Mormons in the 1850s.
Abraham 2:11: The seed of the body and priesthood:
This is the theological centerpiece of my interpretation. Abraham 2:9 promises that Abraham's descendants will carry the ministry and priesthood to the nations. Verse 10 adds an important qualification: people who receive the gospel can also be accounted Abraham's seed. Then verse 11 explicitly associates Abraham's priesthood with his seed, including his literal bodily descendants. The passage states:
"In thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood)"
And clarifies:
"The literal seed, or the seed of the body"
This is unusually explicit language connecting hereditary descent and priesthood. This means Abraham's priesthood was in part his reproductive capacity. The text explicitly teaches that Abraham's biological descendants inherit a priesthood-related promise and that his posterity will transmit religious blessings to future generations. Abraham 2 establishes hereditary priesthood promises; D&C 132 subsequently connects Abraham's posterity to eternal marriage, plural marriage, and continuing increase. The texts basically teache that priesthood is identical to sperm, sexual capacity, or biological reproduction, especially when we keep in mind that the person who dictated the words come from Joseph smith, who said that basically the priesthood is the power of reproducing eternal lives.
Sons of Levi, Holding Keys of the First Principles of the Gospel, Are Heirs to Aaronic Priesthood by Lineage — Martha Jane Knowlton Coray (March 21, 1841):
Joseph Read the 2 & 3d Chapters of Malichi & stated that there was a preistHood Confered upon the sons of Levi throughout the Jenerations of the Jews, & he also said they was born heirs to that prestHood By Linage or Decent & held the Keys of the first principles of the Gospel — for this — he quoted concerning Jesus coming to John to be Baptized of Jhon that he (Jesus) Might Enter into the Kingdom as Jhon held the Keys, suffer it to be so now &c he also Brought up Zacharias pleading with the Lord in the temple that he might have seed so that the preistHood might be preserved
Discourse, circa 21 March 1841, as Reported by William P. McIntire, p. 17, The Joseph Smith Papers.
3 Grand Orders of Priesthood Related to Calling & Election, Temple, Patriarchal Authority, and Levitical Priesthood — Willard Richards (August 27, 1843) [[ephasis added]]:
told an anecdote of the Episcopali[a]n pri[e]st— who said he had the pr[i]esthood of A[a]ron— but not of Melichsedch [Melchizedek]— and bore this testimony that I never have found the man who claimed the pri[e]sthood of Melchisideck.
The law was given under Aaron for the purpose of pouring out Jud[g]ments— and destructi[o]ns. ...
3 grand orders of pri[e]sthood referred to there
1st. King of Shiloam.— power & authority over that of Abraham holding the key of the power of endless life.—— ...
by the offering of Isaac.— if a man would attain— he must sacrific[e] all to attain. to the keys of the kingdom of an endless life
what was the power of Melchisedick twas not. P[riesthood] of Aaron— &c— a king and a pri[e]st to the most high Good [God]. a perfect law of Theocracy—holding keys of powe[r] & bless[in]gs stood as God to give laws to the people. administer[i]ng endless lives to the sons and daughte[r]s of Adam, kingly powe[r]s. of ano[i]nting.— Abram says Melchsidek.—away I have a pr[i]esthood.— ...
Discourse, 27 August 1843, as Reported by Willard Richards, pp. 71-74, The Joseph Smith Papers.
Melchizedek Priesthood the Power of an Endless Life — William Clayton (August 27, 1843):
He spoke concerning the priesthood of Melchisedek shewing that the sectarians never propossed to have it consequently never could save any one and would all be damned together. He showed that the power of the Melchisek P’d was to have the power of an “endless lives.”
Discourse, 27 August 1843, as Reported by William Clayton, pp. 102-103, The Joseph Smith Papers
(Source)
So when Abraham 2 is read alongside these quotes and D&C 132, we can see how the priesthood was the power to create endless lives, that is reproduce your seed. As the chosen lineage, the early Mormons were not bound by sectarian moral concepts like monogamy; and the priesthood was basically a theocracy, as Joseph says above; and so from a modern perspective as an independent Mormon this means that this concept of theocracy from a now individualized American point of view means to me that I am a free agent, a sovereign individual, and not bound by any institutional dogmatic Mormon Leadership or Community claiming to speak for God unless they can prove it by showing a legitimate Revelation and having it canonized by being voted on by me.
Additional evidence: D&C 107 and Abraham 1:
D&C 107:40–41 describes a priesthood order handed down from father to son and belonging to the literal descendants of a chosen lineage. It then traces that order from Adam through Seth and subsequent patriarchs.
The surrounding verses also describe Adam presiding over his posterity and receiving promises about the nations that would descend from him.
This presents priesthood as more than church administration. It places priesthood within a family hierarchy extending from the first patriarch through successive generations.
[Doctrine and Covenants 107](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/107?lang=eng)
Abraham 1:2–4, 26–27 is equally revealing. Abraham seeks the priesthood blessings of his fathers and describes a right transmitted through ancestral generations. The text then contrasts Abraham with Pharaoh, who is described as a righteous ruler but belonging to a lineage without the right to priesthood. This is perhaps the clearest example of priesthood eligibility being associated with ancestry rather than simply personal righteousness.
[Abraham 1](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/abr/1?lang=eng)
Ephraim and the tribes from the north:
D&C 133:26–34 describes the return of the northern tribes and the special place of Ephraim. Verse 34 declares that Ephraim's servants will crown the returning tribes with glory. This fits the broader Mormon interpretation of Ephraim as the birthright tribe with a special responsibility in gathering Israel. Ephraim has the birthright for leadership in gathering Israel and Ephraimites were entitled to practice plural marriage.
[D&C 133](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/133?lang=eng)
D&C 132: The convergence of lineage, priesthood, marriage, and eternal increase:
D&C 132:19 connects eternal marriage with priesthood keys, exaltation, and the continuation of seed.
D&C 132:30 identifies Joseph Smith as a descendant of Abraham and promises that Abraham's posterity will continue beyond mortality.
D&C 132:31 extends Abraham's promise to Joseph Smith.
D&C 132:34–37 then connects Abraham's plural marriages and children to the fulfillment of divine promises.
Finally, D&C 132:61–63 describes plural marriage under the law of the priesthood and associates it with multiplying, replenishing the earth, and bearing souls in the eternal worlds.
Taken together, these passages support the interpretation in which priesthood was about continuing posterity to obtain the highest form of exaltation among the Gods.
D&C 113:8, Abraham 2:11, and D&C 132:30–37 form a particularly revealing three-part textual sequence:
* D&C 113: Priesthood rights associated with lineage.
* Abraham 2: Priesthood promises associated with Abraham's literal seed.
* D&C 132: Abraham's posterity and priesthood-authorized marriage associated with eternal increase.
I interpret D&C 132 as a way to institute plural marriage through a system that depends on divinely authorized covenants and particular sealing key given to Joseph Smith and passed on to Brigham Young and others who practiced polygamy in order to grow the tribe of Ephraimin the 1800s. When that was accomplished by about 1918 when most Mormon groups abandoned polygamy, the need for priesthood offices and administrators became obsolete.
My ancestors' patriarchal blessings and the meaning of Ephraimite identity:
A nineteenth-century patriarchal blessings identifying my ancestors as a pure-blooded Ephraimites, is evidence of how that ancestor's religious community understood lineage and covenant identity. Such blessings demonstrate that these concepts were not confined to scriptural texts. They were applied to actual converts and their descendants.
My family-history research revealed:
* My family patriarchs were identified as a literal biological descendant of Ephraim, rather than someone adopted into Israel through the gospel.
* The patriarchal blessings often promise priesthood, posterity, multiple wives, and an inheritance in Zion.
* The recipient of these patriarchal blessings went on to practice plural marriage and understood it as fulfilling those promises.
In a nutshell:
- Mormon scripture increasingly developed priesthood as a hereditary and patriarchal institution, though hereditary concepts were present by 1831–1832.
- Ephraimite ancestry was understood as a special birthright associated with gathering Israel and priesthood privileges. Eternal plural marriage became connected to Abrahamic posterity and priesthood sealing authority (D&C 132).
So a more historically defensible position is: Joseph Smith's developing priesthood theology incorporated the idea that certain sacred rights and promises were transmitted through ancestral lineages, especially those of Abraham, Joseph, and Ephraim. During the Nauvoo period, this hereditary and patriarchal conception of priesthood became closely associated with eternal plural marriage, and the continuation of posterity. Within this theological framework, plural marriage came to be understood as a restoration of the Abrahamic patriarchal order, through which priesthood-bearing families participated in the fulfillment of divine promises concerning eternal increase.
Since the modern LDS church now rejects the means of this increase and or even downplaying priesthood lineages, I think it's fair to say that for me as an Independent Mormon I do not recognize the current LDS church as completely authoritative in all things but are at this point it's more of a business corporation and family-based fraternity/club; which can be beneficial and helpful for organizing fellow Mormons and I do not frown on anyone maintaining friendships and social unity through the LDS church or any Mormon group or Institution; but for me the high demand controlling nature of the current LDS institutional church and its abandonment of many of many of the core teachings of the original oracles such as Brigham Young, Orson Pratt and Orson Hyde, etc. For me, as an Independent Mormon I derive my identity as a Mormon more from my heredity descending from Mormon polygamist Pioneer ancestors; and I see the priesthood as the principal of biological assent and growing in power as a sovereign individual today. In other words, I do not recognize anyone's so-called priesthood authority as an office with the right to judge me or tell me if I can or can't enter a temple; as I simply choose not to try and enter a Mormon temple at all because in my view temples were designed to teach the Adam-God doctrine and learn that God has a body (including a phallus), and priesthood was about continuing your seed via wives you were sealed to on the altar (all of which is now rejected by the institutional LDS Church). So I think temples served their purpose by about 1900. So until a new Prophet, Seer and Revelator can prove to me they received an actual Revelation and have it voted on and canonized (which I do not see happening in my lifetime), therefore I see Joseph Smith as the true prophet of the restoration with Brigham Young, Orson Pratt and Orson Hyde and John Taylor and those prior to 1900 fulfilling legitimate authoritative callings because they aligned more closely with Joseph Smith's original vision and the original scriptures. But today, I do not see the institutional Utah-based LDS Church fully embracing the true restored gospel as taught in Mormon scripture and in the Journal of Discourses.
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