It's no wonder that many Protestants (particularly Evangelicals) who engage in serious study of the New Testament find in its pages an organization that seems foreign and strange. During the Reformation, Protestants stripped themselves of what they considered unnecessarily superfluous beliefs, rituals, and organizational traits that they thought were corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church. Modern Evangelicals, their radical descendants and who ironically claim to place supreme authority on the Bible, now consist of a relatively loose body of Christians who have disregarded the hierarchical organization of the New Testament Church in favor a belief commonly referred to as the "priesthood of all believers". But such a belief cannot stand up to historical scrutiny. Cardinal John Newman, a convert to Catholicism from Anglicanism, once rightly said, "To be deep in history is to cease to
be a
Protestant" (emphasis added). Once one understands the functions and organization of the early Christian Church of the Bible, it's difficult to justify a belief in a "priesthood of all believers", which is in direct antithesis to the New Testament.
But I'm not especially interested in directly criticizing the beliefs of Evangelicals or other Protestants. Rather, a better approach may be to point out structural similarities between the early Christian Church of the New Testament and the modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and let conclusions be drawn from there.
Apostles. The New Testament describes the Apostles as being given to lead the Church (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11). Even after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, he continued to lead his Church through apostles, and further apostles were called (Acts 1:26). In the early Christian Church, the three leading apostles (Peter, James, and John) were clearly a leading group, with Peter receiving revelation to lead the Church (Acts 1-5, 8-10). The same is true of Apostles in the LDS Church.
Prophets. The New Testament describes there being ordained
prophets among the early Christians (Acts 13:1; 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11). After the resurrection and ascension of Christ, he still directed his Church through revelation given to apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:5). The same is true in the LDS Church.
Bishops. The New Testament describes some Christians being ordained to the office of
bishop (1 Tim. 3:1), who were to oversee the "flock", or their specific congregation of Christians (Acts 20:28). The same is true in the LDS Church.
Seventy. The New Testament describes Jesus calling "the seventy" who were sent on missionary services (Luke 10:1; 17), and early Christian documents describe this office as continuing into the early Christian Church as directly under the Apostles. The same is true in the LDS Church.
Elders. The New Testament describes some Christians being ordained to the office of
elder (sometimes called
presbyters), who were to be ordained in "every city" (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). The same is true in the LDS Church.
Teachers. The New Testament describes
teacher as an office that one is ordained to with specific duties (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11). The same is true in the LDS Church.
Deacons. The New testament describes
deacon as an office that one is ordained to with specific duties (Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:10-13). The same is true in the LDS Church.
Latter-day Saints do not claim to exactly mimic the organization of the early Christian Church; our belief in continuing revelation through a prophet of God means that the structure and organization of the Church is continually adapted to fit our circumstances. Nevertheless, the similarities are clear and in direct contrast to Protestantism which
does not claim to be lead by continuing revelation through a modern prophet and holds the Bible as its only standard.
It's no wonder that Joseph Smith felt it necessary to state our belief in a biblical Church organization as if it were something profound and that it was among the statements subsequently considered an "Article of Faith" by the LDS Church:
We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors [bishops], teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
Another similarity between the New Testament Church and the LDS Church is the manner in which men are called to the above offices. In many forms of Protestantism, particularly Evangelicalism, ministers claim to receive a personal "call" to the ministry and do not seek authority or permission from other ecclesiastical leaders. In contrast, the New Testament describes all members of the above offices as being called and ordained by previously-ordained men in a hierarchical structure.
For example, Jesus personally called Peter and Andrew on the shores of Galilee. The two fisherman did not just follow the Savior and take it upon themselves to be his apostles (Luke 6:13). Likewise, after Christ's ascension, the elders of the Church were called and ordained by the Apostles or Seventy (Acts 14:23); they did not receive a personal "call" to be elders in the Church. After Paul had his vision of Christ, he sought out Peter, James, and John (Gal. 2:9) for permission to preach, and was "ordained" as an apostle (1 Tim. 2:7).
In the letter to the Hebrews, the author succinctly states, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Heb. 5:4). And how was Aaron called of God? Revelation was given to Moses, God's current prophet, that Aaron should be made a priest (Ex. 28:1-4), and then Moses ordained him to it (Lev. 8:9-13). Aaron never experienced a personal "call" to be a priest; he was called by one having authority. The same practice is done in the LDS Church.
Again, it is no wonder that Joseph Smith felt it necessary to state, in contrast to the other Christian organizations of the time,
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.