What is the meaning of “Authority”?

[CV75]

40 minutes ago, 2BizE said:

What authority was used by Alma in the BoM to baptize people in the waters of Mormon?

Authority from God (Mosiah 18:13, 18 and 23:17). The record isn't explicit with the details but the authority was probably an office in the Melchizedek Priesthood that had been passed down from Lehi (through Nephi, etc. and Mosiah, and eventually his grandfather Zeniff).

Edited January 29, 2022 by CV75

[JustAnAustralian]

1 hour ago, 2BizE said:

What authority was used by Alma in the BoM to baptize people in the waters of Mormon?

Alma was referred to as a priest of Noah, Noah was the son of Zeniff. Zeniff was a righteous leader so presumably there were righteous priesthood holding priests under Zeniff. It's not unreasonable to expect that legitimate authority existed if if the holders were unrighteous. (Remember power and authority are different).

So if he already had the authority, all he needed to do was recommit which is what he did when he immersed himself.

[2BizE]

26 minutes ago, JustAnAustralian said:

Alma was referred to as a priest of Noah, Noah was the son of Zeniff. Zeniff was a righteous leader so presumably there were righteous priesthood holding priests under Zeniff. It's not unreasonable to expect that legitimate authority existed if if the holders were unrighteous. (Remember power and authority are different).

So if he already had the authority, all he needed to do was recommit which is what he did when he immersed himself.

So, it would not be unreasonable to assume that current Pope Francis received his priesthood authority through a similar line of authority as Alma.

[smac97]

2 hours ago, 2BizE said:

What authority was used by Alma in the BoM to baptize people in the waters of Mormon?

Apparently from either Zeniff or Noah.  See, e.g., here, here and here.

Thanks,

-Smac

[CV75]

51 minutes ago, 2BizE said:

So, it would not be unreasonable to assume that current Pope Francis received his priesthood authority through a similar line of authority as Alma.

No (lines of authority are a dime a dozen). but while Alma had a line of authority to organize a church, a more contemporary comparison might be President Nelson's line of authority and Pope Francis', and Christian leaders'.

Edited January 29, 2022 by CV75

[Navidad]

The word used over 100 times in the New Testament for authority is the word exousia which literally means "out of" or "to be outside of ones' self. It connotes power in that one is acting not in his own capacity, but on behalf of someone who has granted him or her, that person's authority. Interesting, it is a feminine word! Ha! It is used in the New Testament for power or authority for both disciples and demons. Therefore there is no indication that the authority (exousia) is used for beneficence or good or for evil. Christ here on earth had the exousia to forgive sins on behalf of the Father. It is referred to in the New Testament as the "domain" (exousia) of darkness in Colossians. So the granted exousia or authority could be used for good or for evil, or merely to control as in a civil power. I hope that helps.

[Alexi Nakatology]

11 hours ago, CV75 said:

The “garden and the gardener” is analogous to the covenants (wherein people learn to be disciples) and the disciples authorized to bring these covenants to others. Garden = covenants and gardener = chosen servant of God.

You can follow the authority (the power and laws – the covenants) of your garden to grow food or you can be chosen as a gardener to be followed (I prefer “heeded” as the Lord uses in 3 Nephi 12:1) by other gardeners. Actually, you can do both – garden and be chosen to show others to garden.

Similarly, you can keep the covenants of the Church/Israel/Zion to bring forth good fruit or you can be chosen by the Lord to be a servant to bring discipleship to other saints. Actually, you can do both – keep the covenants and show others to keep them.

The master gardener chooses you to be a gardener to show others how to garden. The Lord chooses you to be a servant to show others the covenant path.

Ah okay, the analogy, makes more sense then, thank you

[Alexi Nakatology]

2 minutes ago, Navidad said:

The word used over 100 times in the New Testament for authority is the word exousia which literally means "out of" or "to be outside of ones' self. It connotes power in that one is acting not in his own capacity, but on behalf of someone who has granted him or her, that person's authority. Interesting, it is a feminine word! Ha! It is used in the New Testament for power or authority for both disciples and demons. Therefore there is no indication that the authority (exousia) is used for beneficence or good or for evil. Christ here on earth had the exousia to forgive sins on behalf of the Father. It is referred to in the New Testament as the "domain" (exousia) of darkness in Colossians. So the granted exousia or authority could be used for good or for evil, or merely to control as in a civil power. I hope that helps.

Etymology 😎 I love etymology, thank you

Just realized too that “authority” shares a root with “author” as well 

[JLHPROF]

4 hours ago, CV75 said:

No (lines of authority are a dime a dozen). 

Especially in Mormonism (or whatever the correct term is, restorationist?).  There have been over 100 groups claiming a line of authority back to the Prophet Joseph.

[smac97]

17 hours ago, CV75 said:

No (lines of authority are a dime a dozen). but while Alma had a line of authority to organize a church, a more contemporary comparison might be President Nelson's line of authority and Pope Francis', and Christian leaders'.

Anyone interested in sorting out the Catholic claims of priesthood authority/ordination could benefit from watching this video:

The most pertinent part starts at about 5:35.  He goes on to note that there was a pretty substantial bottleneck in terms of priesthood ordination.  There are only four or five "lines of authority" in today's Roman Catholicism: 

• Scipione Rebiba (born in 1504 and consecrated as a bishop in 1541).  His purported consecrator was Giovanni Pietro Carafa.  Per the above video, 99% of all bishops alive today (over 1,500) are from the "Rebiba" line.
• Guillaume d'Estouteville (born in 1412 and consecrated as a bishop in 1453).  His consecrator is unknown.
• Johannes Wolfgang von Bodman (born in 1651 and consecrated as a bishop in 1686).  His consecrator is unknown.
• Francois de Bovet (born in 1745 and consecrated as a bishop in 1789).  His consecrator is unknown.
• Francesco Ravizza (born in 1616 and consecrated as a bishop in 1667).  

Per this website, the vast majority of ordinations come through Rebiba, with the others having very small lines (23 from d’Estouteville, 11 from von Bodman, 9 from de Bovet and 4 from Ravizza).

Thanks,

-Smac