Textual: Moroni has an interesting problem. He has decided to add to the record, but what should he add? His father has already produced a long and complex text that focuses on Christ while showing us the social and cultural traits that led to the Nephite demise. Moroni has created his own similar, although smaller, text that reinforced both the principle of faith and the need to be faithful to the promise of the land. What is left?
What Moroni gives us in Moroni chapters 2-6 is a category of information that is covered under the scholastic term liturgy. Moroni is not telling us doctrine at this point. He is telling us practice. These chapters give us important information about the actions that constituted the repeated rites of the church.
Moroni begins with the principle of authority, and specifically begins with the ultimate authority of the church. Chapter 2 deals with the ordination of the apostles to their position in the priesthood, and emphasizes that this ordination comes through Jesus Christ himself. The doctrine of Christ might be simply repentance and baptism, but the foundation of the practice of the church is priesthood authority.
“Ye Shall Have Power That to Him Upon Whom Ye Shall Lay Your Hands”
In Mormon’s account of the visit of the Savior to the New World we have a somewhat different account of the calling of the twelve:
3 Nephi 11:21-22.
21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.
22 And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you.
That these who are chosen to baptize are the twelve is confirmed in 3 Nephi 12:1. The apparent differences noticed here are related to the different functions to which the twelve were called. In the case of 3 Nephi, the emphasis is on the authority to baptize, and therefore the calling to the baptismal authority is emphasized. Note, however, that the wording of the ordination is not given in 3 Nephi, but it is here in Moroni. 3 Nephi gave us doctrine, and Moroni is giving us the practice or form. The fact that Moroni is giving us the words of Christ in ordination strongly suggests that these practices were traditional, and that Moroni is giving us a repeated form rather than a specific instance. In this case, the point is not just that the Lord said these words, but that they should become the model for our actions when we mimic the Lord in conferring the priesthood.
[And he called them by name]: This aspect of the personalization of ritual is continued in modern practice. Whenever we perform any priesthood function, the person for whom the rite is performed is called by name. The origins of this practice would be the same concept as the importance of using the name of the Christ as the enabler of the action. Names were important in the ancient world, and created an important and intimate situation. The person is named because this is an ordinance that is personal rather than generic.
[Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer;]: The first step in the transfer of authority is to establish the connection to the source of that power, God. Jesus is very clear that the power comes through God through the agency of Christ’s name. It is through Christ’s atonement that we have the right to approach God in prayer, and therefore we use Christ’s name as symbolic of the atonement we have accepted, and therefore the ability to converse with God in prayer. The Savior notes that this is not any type of prayer, but rather a “mighty” prayer. While he does not define what “mighty prayer” might be, we certainly understand that it requires a greater effort than rote prayer.
[and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands]: After prayer has established the connection to God, power may be transferred to another person. This is accomplished through the laying on of the hands. While the location of the hands on the recipient is not stated, it would be logical to presume that it would be the head. The modern practice of anointing the head is taken from the ancient practice, and one may suppose the same underlying origin for both the modern and the Nephite practice.
The Nephite practice clearly follows the practice from the Old World with respect to the association of the laying on of hands and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 8:17-19
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Acts 19:6
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
The New Testament texts give us the close correlation between action and receipt of the Holy Ghost. The material that is added in the case of the Book of Mormon liturgy is the information on the preparation for the ritual of the laying on of the hands (the fervent prayer) and the specifics of the verbal mechanism (calling the candidate by name, and performing the act in the name of Christ.)
[ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it]: The function of the transfer is to give the Holy Ghost. This is the important confirmation of the receipt of the blessings of God after baptism. In the Old World, it was the evidence of Christianity. There is no reason to suppose it was less important in the New World.
[for thus do mine apostles.] While the Old World apostles are not clearly noted, the implication here is that it is those of the Old World who would be performing such actions at the time Jesus spoke. Further, we have the implication that this mode of giving the gift of the Holy Ghost came from Christ himself, who taught the same rite in both the Old and the New Worlds.