In a letter dated July31, 1906 to Joseph Brigham Keeler, Francis M. Lyman (1840-1916), then a counslor in the First Presidency, wrote:
MY DEAR BROTHER: In early days it was not the custom of the Bishop of my ward to bring the boys of twelve years of age and over into the quorums of the Lesser Priesthood, nor to give them in a practical way the training they should have.
My first ordination was to the office of Elder, at the age of sixteen years. I have always regretted that I was not ordained successively to the offices of the Lesser Priesthood, and thereby trained in the duties thereof. (Joseph Brigham Keeler, First Steps in Church Government [Salt Lake City: The Deseret News, 1906; repr., Delhi, India: Facsimile Publisher, 2018], vii)
What was rather interesting is that Lyman was not initially ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood and set apart in the various offices thereof (deacon, teacher, and priest), but immediately to the Melchizedek Priesthood, something that is not practiced today (adult converts are ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood and then later to the Melchizedek Priesthood).
