The Holy Order all the way back to Adam, part 3

In the first 2 posts in this series, we've looked at points 1-4 on this list:

1. The High Priest tradition is far older than Judaism, dating all the way back to Adam.
2. The Judaism we know today is a revised version of an older form of Judaism, formed in reaction to Christianity and also in reaction to the loss of the second temple.
3. Hebrew culture was fragmented even by the time of Lehi, with various groups condemning other groups as apostate from the true, ancient, covenant-and-temple-based religion.
4. The Old Testament as we know it was most likely written and edited by Jews who espoused a tradition which had long since rejected the original purpose of the Law of Moses. They intentionally left out much of the High Priestly tradition.
5. In order to have written the Book of Mormon (which clearly outlines this older, High Priestly tradition), Joseph Smith would have needed to have organized this complex and historically plausible theology by 1829, inserted in subtly into the text, and then stayed pretty quiet about it for a few years until he received revelations outlining the modern day restoration of these ancient practices, including the priesthood, the temple, eternal families, etc.

I've asserted many times on this blog that I don't believe it is reasonable to conclude that Joseph Smith authored the Book of Mormon.  I believe this for a host of reasons, not just the ones I'll be pointing out today.

I also recognize that many critics of the Book of Mormon are convinced that Joseph Smith (and perhaps others) conspired to create the book in order to bolster his plan to found a new American religion.  I believe they haven't studied the book in enough detail to address all the tasks he would need to accomplish in order to pull this off.  This post will attempt to list some of those tasks. I will not address internal consistency, intertextual connections, or any of the cultural and archaeological evidence, which can be found on other posts.

Joseph Smith's "to do" list

1. Accessing the sources. In order to weave this "Holy Order all the way back to Adam" theology into the Book of Mormon, Joseph would have needed access to resources. It's difficult to definitively conclude what kind of documents Joseph Smith could have had access to as he drafted the Book of Mormon. An early translation of the Book of Enoch existed in England (and maybe part of the US) by 1828/9, but there is no evidence it could be found in Palmyra, nor is there any evidence that Joseph was secretly ditching his duties as a day laborer in favor of studying at the library. Furthermore, talking to rabbis of his day would not have helped him.  Rabbis are trained in the rabbinical tradition, whose predecessor had actively suppressed the High Priest tradition thousands of years earlier.
2. Writing in secret. There is no evidence to support the idea that he was writing early drafts of the book in secret, or that he even had easy access to paper. There is strong evidence supporting the account that the book was dictated in a single draft in about 3 months, for the most part while he sat with his head buried in a hat for hours at a time surrounded by other people. In order to weave this theology into the Book of Mormon, he would have needed to compose it in secret, then commit it to memory.
3. Revisit the doctrine in later revelations. The text of the first draft of the Book of Mormon was finalized in 1829, but clear references to the "Holy Order" can be found in the Book of Moses, which was worked on in late 1830, revelations on the priesthood received in 1832 (see D&C 84:18-19 and D&C 107:40-41 for example), and in JST Bible passages such as this one. These passages connect to each other in big ways and in subtle ways. For example, the Book of Mormon teaches about "the first resurrection," which is also connected to baptism and sanctification -- this will be a topic of a future post.
4. Include concepts unknown to the world at the time but later confirmed/supported by new discoveries. Joseph's theology boldly proclaims:
• That the Bible had been corrupted around the time of Jesus. 
• That Adam was a great high priest. 
• That Enoch was the founder of a great city which was taken up to heaven and will play a part in the end of days.
• That Abraham paying tithes to Melchizedek was only a tiny part of a much more important story about the Priesthood. 
• That the temple of old must be restored in order to unite the human family and teach us how to walk back to the Garden of Eden and the presence of God. 

He turns out to have been really good at this.

Here we have an additional layer of evidence supporting Joseph Smith as the prophet of the restoration. It would be a remarkable feat to develop this theology over the course of decades of study, trial and error, and feedback from scholars, but Joseph seems to have accomplished an even more impressive set of tasks in a burst from the start.

I'm going to end this post with a passage from Alma-2's sermon in Ammonihah, where he outlines the character of "the Holy Order" to which he has been called. I believe this would have been the very earliest detailing of this order in modern-day revelation. I will include this part of the sermon in full to demonstrate that all the way back in 1829, this theology appeared in a very full form. To me this is remarkable, but it took me a long time to realize just how remarkable this is.

1 And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.
2 And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption.
3 And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.
4 And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.
5 Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten Son, who was prepared—
6 And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest—
7 This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things—
8 Now they were ordained after this manner—being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end—
9 Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen.
10 Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish;
11 Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.
12 Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.
13 And now, my brethren, I would that ye should humble yourselves before God, and bring forth fruit meet for repentance, that ye may also enter into that rest.
14 Yea, humble yourselves even as the people in the days of Melchizedek, who was also a high priest after this same order which I have spoken, who also took upon him the high priesthood forever.
15 And it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed.
16 Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord.
17 Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people had waxed strong in iniquity and abomination; yea, they had all gone astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness;
18 But Melchizedek having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the high priesthood according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under his father.
19 Now, there were many before him, and also there were many afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more particularly made mention. (Alma 13)