Sinclair,
You asked: "What is a Melchizedek priesthood?"
Glen Cook responded:
"The Priesthood in the LDS Church is divided into the Aaronic, or
preparatory
priesthood, and the Melchizedek, or higher priesthood. There are various
offices in each. The young men you see in the white shirts, all with the
same first name of Elder, hold the office of Elder in the Melchizedek
Priesthood. Bishops are High Priests. They generally serve around five
years (at one time it was a decade and more). A ward generally consists of
around 300-500 members in a geographical area. The Bishop is a member of
that ward. He is responsible for both the spiritual and temporal welfare of
all (LDS and non-LDS) who reside in the ward boundaries."
I'm not Mormon so will not comment on Glen's answer; I added it since I
suspect that the Mormons may have been referring to the thing I usually go
to in trying to sort out the Melchizedec mystery. Its the sequence in
Hebrews 4 and 5. This Aaronic and Melchizedec polar structure appears to be
based on the very important dynamic of the Logos of God and the two-mouthed
sword, et al. It appears to be the Sword in the Stone archetype. Solve that
and be it and one gets to join the Aaron and Melchizedec club. "Knowing how"
does not necessarily mean "being able to." (I don't know where the Mormons
are in all of that.)
The other big Melchizedec reference is Genesis 14. I believe that the whole
chapter is describing the character and functions of "the" Melchizedec. One
has to translate all the proper nouns in the chapter, then put the meanings
into the described and expanded scenario to sort it out. I did it once at
the University years ago and even made sense of it; its much more complete
than the Hebrews reference but they appear to complement each other. With
the Hebrews reference, however one then has to go to the work of tracking
the Aaronic thread and then combine the two. To do that requires having to
figure out the whole 12-Tribes synergic unit and go from there. Now you're
into a two-year mind bending project and its more than a simple tin-can
sailor could bear so I've yet to do that. (At this late date I'm certain
that I never will.)
If you really need to know, and if I can find two days to find my Paper and
scan it, I could send you a large part of the mystery of Melchizedec as per
Genesis. At least, a good start. I dug deeper into it but eventually quit
from exhaustion and the pressing need to build a wood shed. If you wish to
put that kind of work into it yourself I can assist with some ideas. I don't
recommend it unless you wish to write a book with a new interpretation of
the Cabala based on both Jewish and Christian scriptures. That's the size of
the project, want it?
Blessed Be...
William of Crestone