In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the patriarchal priesthood is sometimes understood as one of types or "orders" of priesthood. The two commonly known orders are the Aaronic priesthood and the Melchizedek priesthood. The patriarchal priesthood should not be confused with the calling of the patriarch. The patriarchal priesthood is associated with the patriarchal order found in Mormonism and is especially connected with celestial marriage. Boyd K. Packer, an LDS Churchapostle, has explained that the patriarchal priesthood is included in the Melchizedek priesthood: "There are references to a patriarchal priesthood. The patriarchal order is not a third, separate priesthood. Whatever relates to the patriarchal order is embraced in the Melchizedek Priesthood. 'All other authorities or offices in the church are appendages to priesthood.' The patriarchal order is a part of the Melchizedek Priesthood which enables endowed and worthy men to preside over their posterity in time and eternity."
History
In Nauvoo, Illinois on August 27, 1843, while the Nauvoo Temple was being constructed, Joseph Smith, the first president of the restoredChurch of Christ, taught, using Hebrews as background material, the "Three Grand Orders" of priesthood: Eight years earlier, Smith had dictated a revelation that declared, "There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood". At the time of the 1843 Nauvoo discourse, the temple was under construction and Smith declared that knowledge of the "patriarchal authority" would be revealed in the temple. The Nauvoo Temple was constructed by 1844 and dedicated in 1846 by Orson Hyde. It was the first Latter Day Saint temple where the ordinance of celestial marriage was practiced. The oath of the priesthood referenced in, was revealed to Smith in a revelation in Kirtland, Ohio on September 22 and 23, 1832. This revelation is contained in the section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants and is referred to as the oath and covenant of the priesthood. It includes the following promise that has relation to the doctrine of exaltation. Bruce R. McConkie wrote regarding the subject: The word "patriarch" means "Father-Ruler" and part of the doctrine of the LDS Church is that there cannot be a patriarch without a matriarch. Latter-day Saints believe that a man and a woman can be joined in marriage for all eternity if done with the proper authority and in the temple. This celestial marriage is at the heart of the patriarchal order of the priesthood.
