Order

I want to begin today by telling you about a real treat that is coming next month. My dear friend Yvonne Bent, who is a fantastic gospel scholar, is holding an event that many of you may want to attend. The title of the event is “About Sacred Geometry” and will be held October 14 and 15th at the Springville Museum of Art. Yvonne’s description reads “See distinct spiritual connections with science and the universe. Decipher the treasures you’ve seen all your life, but haven’t known how to unravel their mysteries. Understand the secrets known by Da Vinci, Euclid, Abraham, and Joseph.” Please go to www.aboutsacredgeometry.com for details.

The following ideas may seem rather dull to many of you but they are something that have been on my mind quite a bit lately. While in the temple a few months ago a friend asked me if I knew anything about the order of prayer. I had to admit that I knew nothing, however, I promised to find out what I could. After several weeks of studying, pondering, and praying, I feel I am beginning to understand a little. It is not my intention to disclose much on that topic in this setting, but I would like to discuss a few of my thoughts as I pondered this topic. Many of my thoughts contemplated what is meant by the word “order.”

It is really quite remarkable how many definitions there are for the word order. The dictionary has more than twenty. Please bear with me as I share a few of them as how they were are used in our daily speech.
1.I arranged them in order.
2.a. I checked to see that the shipping department was in order.
b. The escalator is in good working order.
3. a. The revolution overcame the old order
b. The police finally restored order.
4. A prescribed form or customary procedure: the order of worship
5. An authoritative indication to be obeyed: The Sargent ordered his men, or the Sargent received his orders.
6. A sales order.
7. A request of a customer at a restaurant.
8. A grade of the Christian ministry: the order of the priesthood.
9. A group living under religious rule: The Order of Saint Benedict
10. An organization of people united by a common fraternal bond or social aim: The United Order
11. A group of people upon whom a government or sovereign has formally conferred honor for unusual service or merit: the Fraternal Order of the Police
12. Degree of quality or importance; rank: poetry of a high order.
13. To give an order or orders; request that something be done or supplied.

Idioms:
in order that
So that.

in order to
For the purpose of.

in short order
With no delay; quickly.

on order
Requested but not yet delivered.

To Order
According to the buyer's specifications.

This list isn’t even complete and I am tired just thinking about it!

What does the Lord mean when using the word order? Consider the following:

2 And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption. Alma 13:2

3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.
4 But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood. D&C 107: 3-4

57 And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son. D&C 76:57

4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. Exodus 40:4

2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; D&C 131:2

16 Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord. Alma 13:16

7 And the Gods ordered the expanse, so that it divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so, even as they ordered.

It seems to be clear from these examples that the Lord uses all of the many definitions throughout the scriptures.

It appears that the definition above that best describes the order of prayer is number 4: A prescribed form or customary procedure: the order of worship. I’m not going to pretend that I know, however, that this is the intended definition.

Similarly I ask myself the meaning of the word order when used in the proper name of the Melchizedek Priesthood as found in D&C 107:3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. Once again, I will not pretend to know the answer, I am simply asking questions that may be significant in our personal gospel study.

My prayers are with each of you as you study the scriptures. I pray that you will find great joy in them as I have. I often feel like running to the room where I study the scriptures in the morning as I anticipate what will be revealed to me that day. I hope you can feel likewise.

God Bless