What is “his holy order, which was after the order of his Son”?

Thomas R. Valletta

“Alma’s teachings about the Melchizedek Priesthood are in part a response to … unjust exercise of authority. The Lord God, Alma says ‘ordained priests, after his holy order … ’ (Alma 13:1). This order is implicitly set against the unrighteous dominion of the lawyers and judges.

“The word order appears fourteen times in Alma’s teachings about the priesthood in Alma 13; forms of ordain appear seven times; and ordinance or ordinances appears three times. The English words order, ordain, and ordinances all stem from the same root: Latin ordo, which means literally a straight row or regular series. To ordain originally meant ‘to put in order’ and still has the force of that meaning” (Rust, Feasting on the Word, 129).

The Book of Mormon Study Guide: Start to Finish

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