“Ordained… by Laying on His Hands”
Ordination-that is, the formal ritual by which the Priesthood, its offices, or the rights of presidency are conferred-must be done by the laying on of hands. Such is the order of heaven. The laying on of hands constitutes a visual and documentable event whereby the authority of the priesthood can be traced back to the Lord from whence it comes. The hands laid upon the head of the recipient of the ordination are a symbolic representation of the hands of the Lord (see D&C 36:2).
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