Priesthood Line of Authority

“Through the priesthood, God accomplishes the work of salvation and exaltation. The priesthood authority and keys needed to direct God’s work on earth were restored to the Prophet Joseph Smith. […] These keys are held by Church leaders today. They call and authorize others to assist in God’s work.”¹

A priesthood line of authority is “a sequential pattern of ordinations that can be followed back to the early beginnings of the Church and ultimately to the Savior.”² This orderly chain ensures that God’s priesthood authority has been received in an unbroken line from Jesus Christ and that “no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.”³ It is determined by the priesthood office held by an ordination’s officiator at the time the ordination occurs. For example, if a father who is an elder ordains his son to the office of elder, the son’s line of authority is traced through his father’s ordination to the office of elder. The line of authority would then follow the man who ordained the father, then the man who ordained him, and so on. If the father is later ordained to the office of high priest, his son’s line of authority remains unchanged, as he was ordained when his father was still an elder.

Some unique circumstances occasionally apply when researching a line of authority:

1. A priesthood line of authority is not recorded for Aaronic Priesthood conferral or ordinations.
2. A priesthood holder with the office of Seventy may be included in a member’s personal line of authority, but no separate line of authority is maintained for the office of Seventy.⁴
3. Ordained bishops and patriarchs trace their priesthood line of authority through their high priest ordination.
4. A priesthood line of authority may not be requested for someone whose membership has been withdrawn.

Although a line of authority is not an official Church record, a Melchizedek Priesthood line of authority can be requested from the Church Membership and Statistical Records Department. Members may request line of authority information for themselves, a child living at home or on a mission, or a deceased ancestor.

To request a line of authority, follow these instructions:

1. Send an email to lineofauthority@ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
2. To receive the priesthood line of authority request form in English, type “PLA” in the subject line. For Spanish, enter “PLA SP” in the subject line. For Portuguese, enter “PLA PT” in the subject line.
3. You will receive a return email with additional instructions for completing your request.

Sometimes, though, a line of authority (even one requested directly from the Church, as above) may be incomplete—in the past, priesthood ordinations were not always recorded as meticulously as they are today. An incomplete line of authority “does not negate the validity of a member’s priesthood ordination if it was authorized by the proper authority and recorded on the official records of the Church.”⁵ However, you may still want to complete the line as best you can, and the Church History Library can possibly help.

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Fundamentally, researching a priesthood line of authority involves finding who ordained a man to the priesthood, then finding who ordained him, and so on. It is also important to find when each ordination took place.

The library holds several records and collections that include information about an individual’s membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; specifically, the following are the best sources for finding information relevant to a line of authority:

Record of Members (CR 375 8)

This collection contains membership records from 1830 to 1970. Depending on how detailed the clerk was, these can contain useful information in tracing a line of authority. To navigate this collection, you will need to know where a person was living at the time of the ordination. The collection is available online through the Church History Catalog. You will need to sign in with your Church Account, then click on “Request Digital Access” on the portion you need and fill out the form to request access to needed portions.

Deceased Member Records (CR 298 7)

If a person in the line of authority died between 1941 and July 1988, you may be able to find some ordination information in this collection. It is broken into different sections of years and is alphabetical within those years. For help in finding the reel you need to view, talk to staff in the library. The collection is available on microfilm at the Church History Library.

Ward and Stake Histories and Minutes (LR series 2, 3, 11, 13)

As with the Record of Members, you will need to know where the individuals in the line of authority were living at the time of their ordination. It might take a significant amount of digging, but ordination information is often recorded in the manuscript history and general minutes. You can find these histories and minutes by searching the Church History Catalog for the name of the branch, ward, or stake where you believe the ordination took place. You can then visit the library to view them. (See “More on Local Records” in the library blog for additional insight about accessing these types of records.)

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When researching a line of authority, it can be helpful to know how to research where a Latter-day Saint lived during his life. For example, determining where a man lived at the time of his ordination may help locate records to identify who performed it. Additionally, if it is unknown who performed an ordination, knowing the location where the ordination occurred can narrow down the pool of priesthood holders who could have acted as officiator.

The following collections and resources can be helpful:

Available online

Church Census Records

A FamilySearch database compiled from census records held at the Church History Library. Includes the years 1914, 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935, 1940, 1950, 1955, and 1960. The collection can be searched by name, life event, and relationship.

Obituary Card Catalog (M205.1 D454o)

Compiled from the Journal History of the Church, Deseret News, and Salt Lake Tribune, this index provides information on obituaries and might be helpful in discovering where individuals lived. The resource, sometimes called the “Obituary index,” is available online through the Church History Catalog.

Missionary Record Index (CR 301 43)

A card index listing full-time missionaries set apart through 1971. The cards will occasionally list address and ward information and can be useful in helping figure out where a person was living at the time of ordination. Log in with your Church Account then click on “Request Digital Access” and fill out the form to request online access to needed portions.

Meetinghouse Locator

This resource, found on the main Church website, can be used to locate the current ward and stake within which an address falls. You may be able to use that to find stake or ward records in the library that could provide some information.

Encyclopedic History of the Church

Compiled by Andrew Jenson, this volume provides information on many of the early wards and stakes in the Church and often includes boundaries. It is available online through BYU-Idaho.

MormonPlaces

An online map of congregations, settlements, and other locations associated with the Church. The site provides information about their creation, leadership, and boundaries. It is hosted by Brigham Young University.

Available at the Library

City and County Directories

Located in the open stacks of the library, the directories are useful in providing address information for individuals living in some Utah cities.

If you cannot visit us to access your needed resource, please reach out through Ask Us.

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