Ordinance
Summary
A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were performed was typically given by revelation and generally administered by priesthood authority. JS taught that ordinances existed in all dispensations from the time of Adam and that the changing of ordinances contributed to the apostasy from Christ’s original church. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, baptism, confirmation, blessing, anointing, endowment, and sealing were types of ordinances. Some of these were to be performed in temples. In August 1840, JS taught that baptism could be performed vicariously for one’s deceased relatives. An 1841 revelation directed that certain ordinances could be performed by proxy in temples. See also “,” “,” “,” “,” and “.”
Links
- History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834]
- Account of Meetings, Revelation, and Blessing, 5–6 December 1834
- Answers to Questions, between circa 4 and circa 20 March 1832 [D&C 77]
- Appendix 3: “Articles of the Church of Christ,” June 1829
- Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by William Clayton
- Discourse, 1 March 1835
- Discourse, 12 November 1835
- Discourse, 28 July 1839, as Reported by James Mulholland
- Discourse, 6 April 1837
- Discourse, 7 July 1839, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff
- Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 2 July 1839, as Reported by Willard Richards
- Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 2 July 1839, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff
- Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by Unidentified Scribe
- Discourse, between circa 26 June and circa 4 August 1839–A, as Reported by Willard Richards
- History, circa Summer 1832
- Instruction on Priesthood, between circa 1 March and circa 4 May 1835 [D&C 107]
- Instruction on Priesthood, circa 5 October 1840
- Journal, 1835–1836
- Journal, 1839
- Letter from Robert D. Foster, 24 December 1839
- Letter from Warren Parrish, 25 January 1836
- Letter from Wilford Woodruff and Jonathan H. Hale, 18 September 1837
- Letter from the Presidency of Elders, 29 January 1836
- Letter to Church Leaders in Geneseo, New York, 23 November 1833
- Letter to John Smith, 2 July 1833
- Letter to Noah C. Saxton, 4 January 1833
- Letter to Orson Hyde and John E. Page, 14 May 1840
- Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 December 1840
- Letter to Saints Scattered Abroad, September 1840
- Letter to the Church, circa March 1834
- Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, 20 March 1839
- Letterbook 1
- Letterbook 2
- License for Frederick G. Williams, 25 February 1834
- License for John P. Greene, 25 February 1834
- Minutes and Blessings, 21 February 1835
- Minutes and Discourses, 5–7 October 1839
- Minutes and Prayer of Dedication, 27 March 1836 [D&C 109]
- Minutes, 16 September 1835
- Minutes, 30 March 1836
- Minutes, 4 April 1834
- Minutes, 6 April 1838
- Minutes, Discourse, and Blessings, 1 March 1835
- Note on Ordinations, circa 16 June 1831
- Resolution, circa 8 April 1838
- Revelation Book 1
- Revelation Book 2
- Revelation, 1 November 1831–B [D&C 1]
- Revelation, 11 November 1831–B [D&C 107 (partial)]
- Revelation, 11 September 1831 [D&C 64]
- Revelation, 12 November 1831 [D&C 70]
- Revelation, 12 July 1843 [D&C 132]
- Revelation, 12 March 1832 [D&C 79]
- Revelation, 16 April 1830 [D&C 22]
- Revelation, 19 January 1841 [D&C 124]
- Revelation, 22–23 September 1832 [D&C 84]
- Revelation, 3 January 1833 [D&C 88:127–137]
- Revelation, 4 December 1831–B [D&C 72:9–23]
- Revelation, 6 April 1830 [D&C 21]
- Revelation, 6 June 1831 [D&C 52]
- Revelation, 8 June 1831 [D&C 53]
- Revelation, circa June 1835 [D&C 68]
- Revelations printed in Evening and Morning Star, January 1835–June 1836
- Revelations printed in The Evening and the Morning Star, June 1832–June 1833
- Visions, 21 January 1836 [D&C 137]
- Visions, 3 April 1836 [D&C 110]