Joseph Smith’s early revelations to family & friends; restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood

(D&C sections 4, 11–12, 14–16, 18–19)

by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best.)

Class Notes

Additional Reading

There has much scholarly debate on the date of the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The traditional view is that it took place in late May or early June 1829, within a few weeks after the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. A handful of scholars argue for a later date, however—some time in the summer of 1830.

• For an examination of the historical evidence, see Brian Q. Cannon and BYU Studies Staff, “Priesthood Restoration Documents,” BYU Studies 35, no. 4 (1995): 166–73. 

• Larry C. Porter argues for the earlier date in two articles: “Dating the Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood,” Ensign (June 1979): 5–10 and “The Restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods,” Ensign (December 1996): 30–47.

• In support of the later view, see Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism (Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1984), 162–63. Ben Park sums up the argument for the later date in “Dating the Melchizedek Priesthood Restoration,” The Juvenile Instructor, 4 August 2008.

• Michael Hubbard MacKay argues that the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored over a series of angelic and inspired events in “Event or Process? How ‘the Chamber of Old Father Whitmer’ Helps Us Understand Priesthood Restoration,” BYU Studies 60, no. 1 (2021): 71–101. John S. Thompson makes a similar argument in “Restoring Melchizedek Priesthood,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 62 (2024): 263–318.

Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

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