JOHN THE BAPTIST

“Joseph Smith taught that the Aaronic Priesthood continued without interruption from Aaron to Zacharias: ‘The Levitical Priesthood is forever hereditary, fixed on the head of Aaron and his sons forever and was in active operation down to Zacharias the father of John. Zacharias would have had no child had not God given him a son. He sent his angel to declare unto Zacharias that his wife Elisabeth should bear him a son, whose name was to be called John. The keys of the Aaronic Priesthood were committed unto him’ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 319).

Had Zacharias not had a son, he would have had no one upon whom to confer the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood. John later had the privilege of conferring those keys on Joseph Smith (D&C 13).

Up to and during the meridian of time, the priesthood was perpetuated by lineage, from father to son. Today conferral of priesthood is determined by personal worthiness rather than lineage.

(Luke 1:6-7) Zacharias and Elisabeth were righteous and kept the commandments and the ordinances. They were old and childless. How hard it must have been for Elisabeth to be the daughter of an Aaronic priest, knowing the premium placed on lineage and yet having no child herself.

(Taken from Verse by Verse, The Four Gospels, page 34, Ogden and Skinner. The next quote is from page 40, of the same book).

Next we look to another miracle birth:

THE SAVIOR

…A note about the Holy Ghost’s role in preparing Mary for the divine Conception. Elder Melvin J. Ballard wrote: ‘And the Holy Ghost came upon her…and she came into the presence of the highest.’ No man or woman can live in mortality and survive the presence of the Highest except by the sustaining power of the Holy Ghost. So it came upon her to prepare her for admittance into the divine presence and the power of the Highest, who is the Father, was present and overshadowed her and the holy Child that was born of her was called the Son of God.

Men who deny this, or who think that it degrades our Father, have no true conception of the sacredness of the most marvelous power with which God has endowed mortal men, the power of creation. Even though that power may be abused and may become a mere harp of pleasure to the wicked, nevertheless it is the most sacred and holy and divine function with which God has endowed man. Made holy, it is retained by the Father of us all and in his exercise of that great and marvelous creative power and function; he did not debase himself, degrade himself, nor debauch his daughter. Thus Christ became the literal Son of a divine Father and no one else was worthy to be his father’ (Sermons and Missionary Services, 167).”