Speaking of the manner in which the priesthood is bestowed, Elder Boyd K. Packer said at the April 1993 general conference that one simple, obvious absolute has governed the bestowal of the priesthood from the beginning: " 'We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.' " (Articles of Faith 1:5.)
Elder Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve said, "The priesthood is conferred through ordination, not simply through making a covenant or receiving a blessing. It has been so since the beginning. . . . Specific ordination to an office in the priesthood is the way, and the only way, it has been or is now conferred.
"And the scriptures make it very clear that the only valid conferring of the priesthood comes from 'one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church.' " (D&C 42:11.)
Elder Packer noted that it was the resurrected John the Baptist, "under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek" (JS-H 1:72), who came, in person, to restore the Aaronic Priesthood (D&C 13), and it was Peter, James and John who came, in person, to restore the Melchizedek Priesthood. Elder Packer said that these are "facts in Church history except for which our claim to priesthood authority would be invalid."
He further said, "The Prophet Joseph Smith explained that the angel who appeared to Cornelius sent him to Peter to be taught because 'Peter could baptize, and angels could not, so long as there were legal officers in the flesh holding the keys of the kingdom, or the authority of the priesthood:' and that while the Lord called Paul as 'minister and. . . witness' on the road to Damascus, He sent him to Ananias to receive instruction and authority." (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 265.)
