It might seem a strange thing to have a person full of the knowledge of God who knowingly exposes himself to false sacraments and ordinances devoid of any authority while the priesthood exists upon the earth capable of truly sanctifying him through proper administrations. Yet this is precisely the state of things among us at the present.
How can this be? By the usurpation of divine rite, or the rites of the divine kingdom, by the overreach of mortal kingdoms.
We read in the both the ancient and modern revelations we have received that God has established earthly governments throughout the history of the world:
"Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power" (Rom. 13:1, CEV, emphasis added).
"We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments...and that all governments have a right to enact such laws as in their own judgments are best calculated to secure the public interest; at the same time, however, holding sacred the freedom of conscience" (D&C 134:5, emphasis added).
But the permitted existence of governments by God is not a sign of his endorsement of those governments; their existence is merely a byproduct of what God has suffered to exist. This mere tolerance even applies to the most inspired form of government currently in existence:
"The laws and constitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established,...should be maintained for the rights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; that every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment.
"Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood" (D&C 101:77 – 80, emphasis added).
Over time, rites or ordinances intended for initiates of God's kingdom were made the business of the state. God, however, never intended to recognize the validity of any of those claimed ordinances:
"All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity...are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead" (D&C 132:7, emphasis added).
As the apostle Orson Pratt explained regarding the ordinance of marriage:
"Another important question arises right here, in relation to those marriages administered without authority; it is this. Many of you Latter-day Saints when you embraced this Gospel in Great Britain, in Scandinavia, in various parts of the United States, and among the various nations—were men having families, wives and children; you were married by the laws of the respective nations among whom you dwelt; you were married till death should separate you; you were not married for eternity. When you came up here to this land you began to inquire more fully into the nature of the marriage covenant. You found that there should be an eternal covenant, an eternal union. The question then arises, will your former marriage be sufficient? Not at all. You would have no wife in the morning of the resurrection, no children that would be yours legally and lawfully. Why? Because your marriage was not legal, only legal so far as the laws of the land were concerned, only legal according to the traditions of men. What should you do, then, in order that you may be legally married, in order that your marriage may stand the test in the judgment day, in order that you may have claim upon your families after the resurrection? You should have the ceremony performed again. Every couple that was married abroad, among the nations, must be remarried, not by man's authority, but by divine authority. Your covenants should be eternal, and sealed by divine authority, and then you will have a claim upon each other. But what about your children, that were begotten while you were yet among the nations? Can you claim them in the morning of the resurrection? No: you cannot, unless they are sealed to you by proper authority—your sons and your daughters must be sealed to you, by one having authority from God; otherwise you have no claim upon them. Why? Because they were begotten under a marriage with which the Lord had nothing to do, only to suffer it; he suffered it for a wise purpose, that the human species might not be destroyed, or come to an end upon the earth; but as for commanding them he had nothing to do with that; consequently, not only your husbands and wives have to be remarried, by divine authority, but all of your children, that were born to you, under the old marriage, must be sealed to you in order that you may claim them in the morning of the resurrection" (JOD 29:293).
Among the usurped rites and ordinances scattered among the governments of the earth, examples include but are not limited to: establishing morality/lawgiving, tithing, marriage, and kingship/queenship. From the foregoing items it may be observed that earthly governments—when justly administered—have only ever imitated heavenly ones.
This shows that true government is a function of priesthood and leaning upon the fleshy arm of its administration without priesthood—even by wise and just rulers—is nothing less than trusting in dead works:
"And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them. And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me.... And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil.... When the wicked rule the people mourn" (D&C 98:4 – 5, 7, 9, emphasis added).
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