In a pastoral letter dated May 1, 1848, with the opening line, “The True Shepherd to the Saints Emigrating from Great Britain and Ireland to America‑-Greeting,” James J. Strang wrote the following about Jesus’ reception of priesthood:
When Christ received the
dispensation of the gospel, though he found John the Baptist, a priest of the
order of Aaron, yet he could not receive the priesthood from him, but had a
dispensation and a higher priesthood immediately from God, who made him a high
priest by his oath. For when John baptized him, the voice of God was heard,
saying, “This is my Son, hear ye him;” and a messenger from heaven descended on
his head and designated him as the Messiah. (James J. Strang, Voree, May 1st,
1848, in James J. Strang: Teachings of a Mormon Prophet, ed. William
Shepard, Donna Falk, and Thelma Lewis [Burlington, Wis.: Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), 1977], 272, emphasis added)
