The Book of Melchisedec II

The Spread of the Holy Order

1Now after Melchisedec had beheld the heavenly councils and the visions concerning the redemption of Zion, he returned again unto the sanctuary of the Most High in the city of Salem.

2And the Spirit of the Lord was indwelling in him, and the wisdom of heaven was given unto him concerning the deeper order of the covenant which the Lord had established among the children of men.

3Melchisedec assembled the high priests and the elders of the city together within the inner courts of the sanctuary.

4And he spoke unto them saying:

5My brethren, the Holy Order which the Lord hath restored among this people is greater than the order of kings and greater than the authority of nations.

6For this order was prepared before the foundation of the world and was established in heaven before the earth was formed.

7And the Lord revealed unto Melchisedec that the fulness of this order was not given unto man alone.

8But it was ordained that man and woman together should receive the covenant thereof.

9For the Lord had declared in the beginning that it was not good that man should be alone.

10And that the fulness of the covenant should be established in the union of a man and a woman who were bound together before God.

11And Melchisedec taught them saying:

12The power of the Holy Order is made perfect when a man and a woman become one flesh before the Lord.

13For the covenant of God is not given that men should walk alone in righteousness.

14But that families should be established in the covenant of heaven.

15And when a man and a woman enter into this covenant with pure hearts they become one in purpose, one in mind, one in strength, and one in love before the Lord.

16And the Lord revealed unto Melchisedec that such unions were to be sealed by the authority of the Holy Order.

17That their covenant should endure beyond the days of mortality.

18Even from eternity to eternity.

19From everlasting to everlasting.

20From time to time.

21And from condescension to condescension.

22For the Lord showed unto Melchisedec that the children of God would pass through many seasons of labor and ministry among the nations.

23And that those who were sealed in the covenant of the Holy Order would not be separated in the purposes of God.

24But would return again together in the work of redemption.

25And the Lord declared that this covenant was called after the name of the Son.

26For the Holy Order was established under the authority of the Son of God.

27And the Son was prepared from the foundation of the world to bring redemption unto all that would receive it.

28Yea the servants of the Holy Order labored under that authority to redeem Zion among the righteous.

29Now Melchisedec taught the elders saying:

30When a man and a woman enter into this covenant they are pronounced before heaven as king and queen, priest and priestess unto the Most High.

31And they become stewards of the covenant of God among the people.

32Therefore they labor together in unity to establish righteousness among their households and among the nation.

33And these covenants were performed in the sanctuaries of the Lord.

34For the sanctuary was the place where heaven and earth were joined together.

35And there the sacred ordinances of the Holy Order were administered.

36Yea Melchisedec instructed the priests concerning these sacred ceremonies.

37And he taught them the ordinances of covenant and endowment which prepared the people to walk before God.

38For the Spirit of the Lord, which dwelt in Melchisedec, bore witness of these things.

39For the Holy Spirit of Promise was upon him.

40Yea that Spirit carried the authority of the sealing power of heaven.

41And by that power covenants made in righteousness were bound upon the earth and sealed in heaven.

42And Melchisedec taught them that this order had been known among the righteous in former generations.

43For Enoch had established such a covenant among his people.

44Through that order the city of Enoch had walked in unity and holiness before the Lord.

45And Melchisedec desired that the same order should flourish among the people of Salem.

46Therefore many families entered into the covenant of the Holy Order.

47And they labored together in righteousness.

48Yea and Zion flourished among them.

49Nevertheless the Lord revealed unto Melchisedec that these sacred teachings would not remain upon the earth in their fulness.

50For in the generations to come the pride of men would cause these ordinances to be forgotten.

51And the covenant of the Holy Order would become hidden among the nations.

52Now behold Melchisedec saw again in vision that the Lord would raise up a servant in the latter days to restore these sacred things.

53And that servant would be mighty in faith and young in age.

54And through him the Lord would begin again the work of gathering and redeeming Zion.

55Yea the foundations of the covenant would be laid again among the children of men.

56And the sealing power of heaven would be restored upon the earth.

57Therefore families would again be bound together in the covenant of eternity.

58And those who had been sealed in righteousness would recognize one another again in the purposes of God.

59For the covenant of the Holy Order cannot be broken by death nor by the passing of generations.

60And the Lord declared that those who are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise shall remain united in the work of redemption.

61From eternity to eternity.

62From everlasting to everlasting.

63From time to time.

64And from condescension to condescension.

65And Melchisedec recorded these teachings among the sacred records of Salem.

66for the purpose that the righteous in future generations might understand the covenant of the Holy Order and the purposes of God concerning the redemption of Zion.