Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
Published March 25, 2026 at 2:49 AM
Contributed by
Todd Morgan
Beaumont, CA, 92223
On May 15, 1829, while translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery considered the teachings on baptism and sought the authority to perform the ordinance. They retired to the woods near the Susquehanna River and Joseph’s home in Harmony, Pennsylvania, to pray. A messenger identifying himself as John the Baptist descended in a cloud of light, laid his hands upon them, and conferred the Aaronic Priesthood, with its keys of the ministering of angels, the gospel of repentance, and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. John explained that this priesthood did not then include authority to lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Afterward, Joseph and Oliver baptized each other, were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced. Joseph later recorded John’s promise concerning the priesthood’s continuing presence on earth.
In Their Own Words
“On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the gospel of repentance!—What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard. As in the blaze of day; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of the angel from glory—’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while his love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapt in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? No where: uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk, no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever! But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the holy priesthood, as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’”
— Oliver Cowdery, Letter II, Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 1 June 1905 (Vol. 67, No. 22). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1905-06-01_67_22 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Additional sources (periodical research): Steven C. Harper, “Oliver… LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Deseret Book; Doctrine and Covenants 13 (research confidence: high; source section: Signs, prophecies, and the latter-day outpouring) LeGrand Richards, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, Deseret Book; Doctrine and Covenants 13; 27 (research confidence: high; source section: Missionary miracles in the early Church and the Southern States Mission) LeGrand…
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