The Role of the Holy Ghost in Ordinations

Church Educational System
A man may properly wire his house for electricity, observing the code most carefully. Still, if the power company refuses to connect the house to the power source, the lights and heat will not function in the house. A man could turn switches on in every room, and still there would be no power source for the house. Similarly, for the priesthood to be conferred, the person doing the ordaining must have the necessary power from the Lord. And this power is conveyed to another person only when the one ordaining has permission to do so.

The Prophet Joseph Smith spoke of the role of the Holy Ghost in performing ordinations:

“We believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost being enjoyed now, as much as it was in the Apostles’ days; we believe that it [the gift of the Holy Ghost] is necessary to make and to organize the Priesthood, that no man can be called to fill any office in the ministry without it; we also believe in prophecy, in tongues, in visions, and in revelations, in gifts, and in healings; and that these things cannot be enjoyed without the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 243)

Book of Mormon Student Manual (1996 Edition)

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