JASON - If you need the priesthood to
baptise or vise versa, how was Joseph Smith able to
baptise? It seems that John the baptist should of
appeared and baptised Joesph first and then give him
the priesthood.
JOEL - The order of events in the restoration of the Aaronic
Priesthood is interesting. Here are the relevant
scriptures that record the event:
68 We still continued the work of translation, when,
in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day
went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord
respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we
found mentioned in the translation of the plates.
While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon
the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud
of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he
ordained us, saying:
69 "Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of
Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds
the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the
gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for
the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken
again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer
again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
70 He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power
of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but
that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he
commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us
directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and
that afterwards he should baptize me.
71 Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized
him first, and afterwards he baptized me—after which I
laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the
Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands
on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood—for so we
were commanded."(J.S. History 1:68-71)
Notice that John the Baptist first "confered" the
aaronic priesthood upon Joseph and Oliver which gave
them authority to baptize each other, which they did.
After being baptized they then "ordained" each other
into the Aaronic priesthood, thus setting the pattern
of being baptized first before being ordained into the
priesthood.
Among the reasons suggested for this unusual pattern,
other than “for so we were commanded,” are the
following:
First, John the Baptist confering the Priesthood upon
them before baptism, is contrary to the order of the
organized Church, therefore they were commanded to
confer the Priesthood upon each other again in the
regular way; after they were baptized. Second, the
angel did for them that which they could not do for
themselves. There was no one living in mortality who
held the keys of this Priesthood, therefore it was
necessary that this messenger, who held the keys of
the Aaronic Priesthood in the Dispensation of the
Meridian of Time, should be sent to confer this power.
It is contrary to the order of heaven for those who
have passed beyond the veil to officiate and labor for
the living on the earth, only wherein mortal man
cannot act, and thereby it becomes necessary for those
who have passed through the resurrection to act for
them. Otherwise John would have followed the regular
order, which is practiced in the Church, and would
have first baptized Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
and then conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood.
(See Joseph Fielding Smith, Essentials in Church
History, 27th ed. (1974), 58.)