Priestcraft
2 Nephi 26:29-31
"He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion. Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish. But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish."
To simplify, it is the difference between Pride and Humility. It is the desire of the heart that creates Priestcraft. Elder Oaks states "The sin is in the desire, not in the act". A person can start out with righteous intentions to do good but pride takes over and the person starts doing right things for wrong reasons. They lose sight of building Zion and doing the Lord’s will and get caught in the adoration, glory, praise, money etc..of man. Therefore they do it for pride and not in humble service of the Lord.
When someone starts thinking “what will people think of “me” “more than what does God think of me, they are falling into pride. When the “me” or “I” or “my will,” “self” enter it is no longer focused on Father's will but the person's own desires and gratification. It is a very easy trap. Pride is the universal sin. Pride was Lucifer’s downfall, the downfall of many nations and our easiest downfall. The problem with pride is it can be so subtle and hidden that it is hard to recognize in ourselves, yet it is damning to the soul. Pride blinds us to the realization that we have pride. The only way not to have pride is to lose yourself completely in Father's will. People can think they are doing the will of the Father yet they can be only stroking their own egos. The key is to not think about self at all. Only about Father and His will. That is what is so evil about all the self-help movement. The occult is all about “me” “my” “I” “self”. When you are self-empowered you are no longer empowered by God. Therefore your actions now become practicing Priestcraft instead of being a powerful Priesthood holder of God. You now fall into the Priestcraft of Satan.
Elder Oaks quoted CS Lewis in April Conference 2009
C. S. Lewis explained this teaching of the Savior: “The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first—wanting to be the centre—wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake. . . . What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come . . . the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”
A selfish person is more interested in pleasing man—especially himself—than in pleasing God. He looks only to his own needs and desires. He walks “in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world” (D&C 1:16). Such a person becomes disconnected from the covenant promises of God (see D&C 1:15) and from the mortal friendship and assistance we all need in these tumultuous times. In contrast, if we love and serve one another as the Savior taught, we remain connected to our covenants and to our associates.
This is a perfect description of the New Age Occult. They focus completely on self-empowerment, put themselves up as a light unto the world and even call themselves God. They believe we can manifest our own desires and create our own happiness apart from Father They walk in their own way after the image of their own god whose image is the likeness of the world. They worship the world and believe the highest state for man to reach is to become “one” with the world. They are full of pride and walk in their own way after the example of the god of this world (Lucifer) and therefore are working for His kingdom. They use the scriptures and words of Prophets to teach these ideas and twist the biblical true meanings to fit their prideful ideology. Some know that this is what they are doing and others think they are just doing their own will, while others falsely think they are still doing work for Father, yet do not truly submit their will to Him. They are making themselves lights unto the world yet do not lead to Zion. They look for the honor and glory of man and not of Father. Many do this for money and fame yet there are some that do it to please themselves. These are acts of Priestcraft.
President Benson's talk Beware of Pride is really my all time favorite talk. If we read this talk again and again and were honestly looking into ourselves and abode by his counsel we would not participate in Priestcrafts.
Ezra Taft Benson, “Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, 4
“The Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Book of Mormon is the “record of a fallen people.” (D&C 20:9.) Why did they fall? This is one of the major messages of the Book of Mormon. Mormon gives the answer in the closing chapters of the book in these words: “Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.) And then, lest we miss that momentous Book of Mormon message from that fallen people, the Lord warns us in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39.)”
“The scriptures abound with evidences of the severe consequences of the sin of pride to individuals, groups, cities, and nations. “Pride goeth before destruction.” (Prov. 16:18.) It destroyed the Nephite nation and the city of Sodom. (See Moro. 8:27; Ezek. 16:49–50.)”
“Pride results in secret combinations which are built up to get power, gain, and glory of the world. (See Hel. 7:5; Ether 8:9, 16, 22–23; Moses 5:31.) This fruit of the sin of pride, namely secret combinations, brought down both the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations and has been and will yet be the cause of the fall of many nations. (See Ether 8:18–25.)”
“The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment. (See D&C 3:6–7; D&C 30:1–2; D&C 60:2.) “What will men think of me?” weighs heavier than “What will God think of me?”
“Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves”
“Pride is the universal sin, the great vice. Yes, pride is the universal sin, the great vice.”
“The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. (See Alma 7:23.) It is the broken heart and contrite spirit. (See 3 Ne. 9:20; 3 Ne. 12:19; D&C 20:37; D&C 59:8; Ps. 34:18; Isa. 57:15; Isa. 66:2.)”
“Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion. I repeat: Pride is the great stumbling block to Zion.
We must cleanse the inner vessel by conquering pride. (See Alma 6:2–4; Matt. 23:25–26.)
We must yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit,” put off the prideful “natural man,” become “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” and become “as a child, submissive, meek, humble.” (Mosiah 3:19; see also Alma 13:28.)”
As we can see Pride is the real stumbling block and the path to Lucifer. We must realize we are nothing without the Lord and submit to His will in all things.
John 15:5
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Hel. 12: 7.
7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth. ( the dust of the earth obeys the will of the Father)
Moses 1: 10.
10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
Mosiah 4:11-12
11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
So we must recognizes our nothingness and be humble and willing to submit our will to the Lord. If we do not fully submit our will to Father and we “preach and set [our]selves up for a light unto the world, that [we] may get gain and praise of the world; but [we] seek not the welfare of Zion.” If we do this, we are committing priestcraft.
Stanley G. Ellis, “He Trusts Us!,” Ensign, Nov 2006, 51–52
The scriptures contain many passages of direction and warning to holders of the priesthood. One of the best is section 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In those few verses the Lord teaches us that the priesthood can only be exercised in righteousness. We should treat others with persuasion, patience, and kindness. He reminds us of the importance of charity and virtue in having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.
That section also warns us of those attitudes and actions that will cause us to lose our priesthood power. If we “aspire to the honors of men,” attempt to “cover our sins,” try to “gratify our pride” or “vain ambition,” or seek to “exercise control” over others, we lose the priesthood power (see vv. 35–37). From that point we would be practicing priestcraft. We would have left the service of God and would be putting ourselves in the service of Satan.
D&C 121
35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
We are not told we are just doing our will; we are told we are putting ourselves in the service of Satan. There is no “my own will”. We are either doing work for Father or Satan. The powers of the Priesthood can only be exercised by righteousness which is also selflessness and submitting to the Lords will.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Why Do We Serve?,” Ensign, Nov 1984, 12
Some may serve for hope of earthly reward. Such a man or woman might serve in Church positions or in private acts of mercy in an effort to achieve prominence or cultivate contacts that would increase income or aid in acquiring wealth. Others might serve in order to obtain worldly honors, prominence, or power.
The scriptures have a word for gospel service “for the sake of riches and honor”; it is “priestcraft.” (Alma 1:16.) Nephi said, “Priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.” (2 Ne. 26:29.). In these latter days, we are commanded to “seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion.” (D&C 6:6.) Unfortunately, not all who accomplish works under that heading are really intending to build up Zion or strengthen the faith of the people of God. Other motives can be at work.
Service that is ostensibly unselfish but is really for the sake of riches or honor surely comes within the Savior’s condemnation of those who “outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within … are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matt. 23:28.) Such service earns no gospel reward.
“I would that ye should do alms unto the poor,” the Savior declared, “but take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.” (3 Ne. 13:1; see also Matt.
6:1–2.)
The Savior continued:
“Therefore, when ye shall do your alms do not sound a trumpet before you, as will hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.” (3 Ne. 13:2; see also Matt. 6:2.)
In contrast, those who serve quietly, even “in secret,” qualify for the Savior’s promise that “thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” (3 Ne. 13:18; see also Matt. 6:4.)”
Our service must be strictly for the Lord and not for any other reason. If it is not we receive only the worldly rewards we obtained and forfeit Father’s rewards. For we did it for ourselves, not Him.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Ensign, Oct 1994, 11
“Misapplication of Spiritual Gifts”
“Satan will also attempt to cause our spiritual downfall through tempting us to misapply our spiritual gifts. The revelations tell us that “there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. … All these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:11, 26). Most of us have seen persons whom the adversary has led astray through a corruption of their spiritual gifts. My mother shared one such example, something she observed while attending Brigham Young University many years ago.
A man who lived in a community in Utah had a mighty gift of healing. People sought him out for blessings, many coming from outside his ward and stake. In time, he almost made a profession of giving blessings. As part of his travels to various communities, he visited the apartments of BYU students, asking if they wanted blessings. This man had lost sight of the revealed direction on spiritual gifts: “always remembering for what they are given” (D&C 46:8). A spiritual gift is given to benefit the children of God, not to magnify the prominence or to gratify the ego of the person who receives it. The professional healer who forgot that lesson gradually lost the companionship of the Spirit and was eventually excommunicated from the Church.”
It is easy to lose sight of who is behind the power which we hold and start giving ourselves the credit and the honor and enjoying the adoration of man.
We can look at our various talents and spiritual gifts as individuals as different instruments in an orchestra. Just as an instrument cannot play itself, neither can we. We can be “played” either by Father or by Satan. So our spiritual gifts and talents that we have been given can be tuned by either one and we can be played by either musician for His music. The choice of who plays us is decided by whether we chose humility or pride. By this choice we get to choose who we permit to “play” us and the result will be either good or evil “music” depending on our choice. I pray we are humble and let the Master Musician tune us for His divine music and that we stay in tune with Father through the whole concert of life and that we are willing to play in harmony with all the other tuned instruments of Father in His great orchestra and let him bring forth His great musical master piece of Zion.
Dallin H. Oaks, “The Desires of Our Hearts,” Ensign, Jun 1986, 64
Sins of Desire
The best-known scriptural designation of sin on the basis of the desires of our hearts concerns sexual sin. The Savior declared:
“Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery;
“But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart.” (3 Ne. 12:27–28; see also Matt. 5:27–28.)
The New Testament also condemns anger and unrighteous feelings—another example of sins committed solely on the basis of thoughts. (See Matt. 5:22.)
The Book of Mormon illustrates this same principle in its definition of priestcraft, the sin committed by those who preach the gospel to gain personal advantage rather than to further the work of the Lord: “Priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.” (2 Ne. 26:29; see also Alma 1:16.)
Priestcraft is not a sin that is committed solely on the basis of our desires because it involves acts. Those acts become sinful only when they are done with the wrong desire, to get gain or praise. [color=#0000FF]The sin is in the desire, not in the act.[/color]
The same is true of those who draw near to the Lord with their lips but have removed their hearts far from him. (See Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8; 2 Ne. 27:25; JS—H 1:19.) Likewise, the Psalmist condemned the people of ancient Israel because “their heart was not right with [God].” (Ps. 78:37.)
When is our heart right with God? Our heart is right with God when we truly desire what is righteous, when we desire what God desires.”
The cause of Priestcraft is pride. “Priestcraft is not a sin that is committed solely on the basis of our desires because it involves acts. Those acts become sinful only when they are done with the wrong desire, to get gain or praise. The sin is in the desire, not in the act.”
The prideful desire of our heart leads to priestcraft and work in the service of Satan and his kingdom.
The humble desire in our hearts leads to righteously fulfilling the will of the Lord and building up Zion.
The New Age Occult teaches complete self-empowerment in all areas of life. To the point where they say that we are “God” and we are the Light of the world. When you are using these powers you are called Light workers. But these powers are not coming from Father for he ceases giving His powers to us when we are self-focused and not submitting our will to Him. So therefore the power comes from Lucifer to do his works of darkness in a manner which makes them appear as works of light. Pride is the key that unlocks the door to Lucifer’s kingdom and under his reign. Complete humility, submitting our will to Father is the only way into our Father’s Kingdom and exaltation.
Elder Bednar:
"In this regard, you and I are much like the long, thin strands of glass used to create the fiber-optic cables through which light signals are transmitted over very long distances. Just as the glass in these cables must be pure to conduct the light efficiently and effectively, so we should become and remain worthy conduits through whom the Spirit of the Lord can operate.
But brothers and sisters, we must be careful to remember in our service that we are conduits and channels; we are not the light. "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matthew 10:20). It is never about me and it is never about you. In fact, anything you or I do as an instructor that knowingly and intentionally draws attention to self-in the messages we present, in the methods we use, or in our personal demeanor-is a form of priestcraft that inhibits the teaching effectiveness of the Holy Ghost. "Doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? And if it be by some other way it is not of God" (D&C 50:17-18)."
"SEEK LEARNING BY FAITH" Address to CES Religious Educators February 3, 2006 Jordan Institute of Religion)
We must recognize that all our power comes from Father and be humble and know our nothingness and fully understand that we cannot be self-empowered. By self-empowerment we lose the empowerment of God and walk in the path of Lucifer.
“The antidote for pride is humility—meekness, submissiveness. It is the broken heart and contrite spirit” (Pres. Benson) We must accept the atonement of Christ the Lord, and become as a child, submissive, meek, humble and willing to submit to all thing the Lord wants to bestow on us and endure to the end and have faith unceasingly. Having Charity and always keep a constant prayer in our hearts, giving our will over to Father in all things.
All that we have is from Father; without Him we are nothing. The only thing that we have that is ours and ours alone is our will we get to use our free agency to decide if we submit that to Father in all things or not. That is the only gift that we can give back to Father if we chose to submit our will to Him. In doing so Father can give us all the gifts and blessings that heaven offers, joy beyond measure and exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom of God. What a small price to pay for such a great reward.
