In my blog series here, I discuss gene-culture coevolution and argue that certain personalities and character traits were selected for during the 1800s when plural marriage (i.e. polygamy was practiced among Mormons). Thus there was a type of funneling process where difficult, disagreeable, and unfriendly types chose (and choose today) not to be part of the LDS fold; and so over time there was a filtering in of mostly happy, strong, agreeable and civilized type people into Mormonism, so that the early LDS polygamists unintentionally selectively bred a kind of quasi-ethnicity as a cultural identity that became known as the "Mormons."
In the book Joseph Smith's Quorum of the Anointed, in the forward Todd Compton basically confirms what I think which is that the LDS Priesthood is in part connected to plural marriage which we see with Abraham 2:11, as Compton writes on pages 4-6 (emphasis added):
Foreword by Todd Compton
This is an important book, documenting a key chapter in Latter-day Saint history that few Mormons know about. The Quorum of Anointed (also known as the Holy Order) was the secret, elite group which founding prophet Joseph Smith organized and to which he revealed for the first time the ordinances of washing and anointing, the endowment, and the “fullness of the priesthood”—the foundation of modern LDS temple ritual. …
… Joseph Smith undoubtedly stood at the center of things; around him revolved a number of social circles, many of them secret, that only occasionally intersected. There was the extremely secret inner circle of those who had been introduced to, and were beginning to practice, plural marriage; there was the Council of Fifty, the sub rosa political kingdom of the church, which would privately crown Joseph Smith king of the theocratic kingdom of God. … the women’s Relief Society, led by Emma Smith, who was generally an opponent of polygamy and did not know of many of her husband’s plural marriages; and her counselors, Elizabeth Whitney, the mother of one of Joseph’s wives, and Sarah Cleveland, herself a wife of Joseph. Finally, there was the circle documented in this book, the Holy Order, the Quorum of the Anointed, sometimes simply called the priesthood, intersecting with all these groups. …
… The editors of this volume suggest that the Quorum of the Anointed [again, “sometimes simply called the priesthood”], to which Joseph Smith introduced the LDS temple rites, was closely connected to his introduction of plural marriage to his most trusted disciples. The Quorum of the Anointed facilitated the teaching of secrecy; and Joseph’s polygamy, which could have had disastrous legal implications and caused adverse publicity if it became public knowledge, was one of the main reasons secrecy was needed. In addition, sometimes the reward of entering the quorum gave Mormons motivation for accepting polygamy.
Thus the priesthood was connected to plural marriage as the keys to raise up a righteous seed, seed meaning a Peoplehood (a Mormon People), just as Abraham's seed raised up the Israelites; and Jesus’ supernatural seed was implanted in multiple Brides/Christians who receive his divine sperma/DNA as pneuma (pronounced nooma). Thus, just as Jesus supernaturally seeded multiple brides (Christians), breeding a Christian People (i.e. the Jesus People), the priesthood is the Order of the Son of God (see D&C 107:3) as in it is the order of seeding a People (see Abraham 2:11) through plural marriage. Thus the priesthood was the order of plural marriage, the power seal friends and couples and produce a People.
The priesthood order was ultimately a Circle of Friends: “... I [Christ] say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends ..” (D&C 84:77; compare John 15:15). So after Christ repeatedly refers to LDS Christians as his friends in scripture, we then read about the greeting ritual of the LDS School of the Prophets in D&C 88 (emphasis added):
3 Wherefore, I [Christ] now send upon you another Comforter, even upon you my friends, that it may abide in your hearts, even the Holy Spirit of promise; ...
62 And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings …
117 Therefore, verily I say unto you, my friends, call your solemn assembly, …
127 And again, the order of the house prepared for the presidency of the school of the prophets, established for their instruction in all things that are expedient for them, even for all the officers of the church, or in other words, those who are called to the ministry in the church, beginning at the high priests, even down to the deacons—
128 And this shall be the order of the house of the presidency of the school:
130 And when he cometh into the house of God, for he should be first in the house—behold, this is beautiful, that he may be an example—
131 Let him offer himself in prayer upon his knees before God, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant.
132 And when any shall come in after him, let the teacher arise, and, with uplifted hands to heaven, yea, even directly, salute his brother or brethren with these words:
133 Art thou a brother or brethren? I salute you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in token or remembrance of the everlasting covenant, in which covenant I receive you to fellowship, in a determination that is fixed, immovable, and unchangeable, to be your friend and brother through the grace of God in the bonds of love, to walk in all the commandments of God blameless, in thanksgiving, forever and ever. Amen.
In The Grand Fundamental Principles of Mormonism: Joseph Smith's Unfinished Reformation, author Don Bradley argues that Joseph Smith was seeking to build a society of genuine friends bonded in friendship. One way to do this was through marriages between families through plural marriages where everyone is interconnected as sons in law and fathers in law and mothers in law and daughters in law, etc., as a circle of friends seeking to build Zion: by producing a righteous seed (a quasi-ethnic encultured Mormon People). This is why Don Bradley has recently argued as of 2023 (see this Ward Radio podcast episode starting at the 15 minute mark), that new research reveals Joseph’s motivations for plural marriage had more to do with generating a circle of friends bonded together through celestial sealings: as in many cases he was plurally married to women who were already months into a pregnancy and about to give birth to another man's child, and in that culture in the 1800s pregnant women did not have sex as that was considered taboo; and thus those particular polyandrous plural marriages would have most likely been sexless marriage sealings for eternity only. So obviously there was a different motive for such sealings which Bradley discusses.
If we then consider the motivations for temple rituals like baptism for the dead which was ultimately about bonding the dead to the living as eternal friends and brothers/sisters in the celestial realm, just as Joseph saw in vision his deceased brother Alvin in heaven. So sealings of deceased fathers to sons, deceased siblings to siblings, generated a great Chain of Belonging.
So as I see it, Joseph Smith was trying basically game the system of God's laws so to speak. In other words, I think he believed he found a loophole in God's laws and ordinances as found in the Bible. So for him, believing God was inspiring him, meant that just as God inspired him to compose the Book of Mormon and gather Israel, so too he believed that just as Christ gave the power to seal to his disciples, he could also seal or bind his loved ones and friends to him to secure their exaltation in heaven. As Episode 5: “Looking Toward Eternity” of the Nauvoo Temple Podcast explains (emphasis added):
Spencer: ... What do I mean when I say “sealing”? Joseph Smith taught that the keys of the priesthood contained the power to seal something on earth and have it sealed in heaven. In the Bible, Jesus is recorded granting this power to his apostle, Peter, in Matthew chapter 16 verse 19. “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” As Joseph Smith would teach, this sealing power had been restored to the earth and could be used to seal a marriage between a man and a woman, thus making their marital relationship extend for eternity. Early Latter-day Saints often referred to this doctrine as celestial marriage, and they soon understood the doctrine as sealing not just a man and woman to each other for eternity, but their posterity to them as well. Now, if we are to more fully understand the history of the sealing ordinance in Joseph Smith’s ministry as a prophet, we need to talk for just a moment about plural marriage. What appears to be in part the result of Joseph Smith trying to understand how several biblical prophets—such as Moses and Abraham—were permitted by God to have more than one wife, Joseph told some trusted friends that he had received a revelation commanding him to practice plural marriage. As a result, Joseph married multiple women and introduced the practice to close associates. ...
Sharalyn: Most of the early sealings were in fact plural marriages, and so when we talk about sealing, we can’t divorce it from plural marriage. They’re just very much a part of the same discussion. But these sealings, they occurred in a number of ways. There were sealings for life only, there were sealings for eternity only, or for time and eternity. And the problem that we have in even trying to explain sealings and, by default, plural marriage during this time frame is that we have a dearth of contemporary sources on plural marriage. It makes it really problematic to identify the type of sealing that is occurring in every circumstance. What we do know is that Joseph Smith privately taught the principles of celestial marriage and sealing to individuals. He would approach a family member about sealing prior to approaching the particular woman of that family about being sealed to him. Sealings were performed by Joseph Smith himself or with Joseph Smith’s permission. There was one point where Hyrum Smith ended up sealing a couple and Joseph wasn’t aware of it, and he rebuked his brother because Joseph was not aware of the sealing and Joseph had not given his permission for the sealing to occur. So, this was a very important component of the sealing, it had to be sanctioned by Joseph Smith himself. And this sealing could be extended to people through priesthood holders who were appointed by Joseph Smith. But the sealings were generally kept secret. Most members of the church weren’t even aware that they occurred.
... Spencer: So, when, under the direction of Joseph Smith, did the first sealings occur? That’s unclear. Some scholars argue that they occurred as early as the 1830s. We know that Joseph Smith was teaching about the endurance of marriage in the next life to some church members then, but the actual performance of sealings at that time is not documented. However, we do have records of sealings being performed in Nauvoo in 1841.
Sharalyn: The broader context that we have for sealings occurring is in 1841 when Joseph Smith was sealed to three women, Louisa Beaman, Zina Huntington Jacobs, and Presendia Huntington Buell. Now, Joseph Bates Noble sealed Louisa Beaman to Joseph Smith. From that event, Noble recounts that Joseph taught him the principles of celestial marriage, and that Joseph Smith had received a revelation from God about it. Joseph also taught Marinda Nancy Hyde about celestial marriage in 1841. He was not sealed to her at that time; he was eventually sealed to her in 1843, but all in all, prior to Joseph Smith’s death, we only have approximately 100 men and women who were sealed in addition to Joseph being sealed to his wives. So again, we have a very, very small number of people who are being sealed.
Spencer: But were all sealings in Nauvoo plural marriages?
Sharalyn: No, they’re not. Some of them are life marriages of couples who had been civilly married who ended up being sealed, that Joseph extended the sealing blessings to them. There’s other individuals where we have a woman who is a church member who is civilly married to a man who’s not a member of the church, this woman is extended the blessings of the sealing to a man who is a member of the church. Part of the sense of this is that the sealing was granted these women an opportunity of exaltation that they simply did not have with the husband that they were civilly married to.
Spencer: And this seems to be the driving force behind the introduction of the sealing ordinance, this desire to connect the human family together in order to ensure that as many people as possible had the opportunity to receive ordinances that Latter-day Saints believed were essential for eternal life.
But it was often messy. This desire to connect the human family for a larger, spiritual purpose was a simple desire but not one that was always easy to implement. ...
... Spencer: A July 12, 1843, revelation from Joseph Smith, what today is Doctrine and Covenants section 132, describes both plural marriage and sealings. The Joseph Smith Papers has published an annotated version of this revelation with a historical introduction for those who are interested in studying this history in greater detail. ...
... Spencer: Now let’s talk about another temple ordinance that Joseph Smith introduced in Nauvoo even before the temple was completed. Let’s talk about the endowment.
Do you remember in episode 2 of this podcast when we talked about why Latter-day Saints built temples? We spoke about a general endowment of power, a gift of power, that would occur within the temple, an endowment that Latter-day Saints understood as coming closer to God. And the Saints felt that they had achieved this purpose in the Kirtland Temple. But, in Nauvoo, Joseph’s religious teachings took this notion further.
The endowment ritual consists of a re-enactment of the creation of the world. In the process, those participating in the ceremony make several covenants, promising to keep specific commandments of God, and are promised certain blessings in return. At the end of the ceremony, participants are symbolically welcomed back into the presence of God.
And while this ordinance is symbolic, Latter-day Saints then, and now, believe that keeping the covenants made in the endowment will in fact empower men and women to return to God’s presence after they die.
In describing the purpose of this ordinance, Brigham Young publicly stated, “Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being enabled to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation in spite of earth and hell.”
In 1842, even before the completion of the Nauvoo Temple, Joseph began to share the endowment ordinance with a small group of church members. He taught that it was revealed to him by God. We do not know much about that revelatory process. For instance, we don’t know if it was given to him all at once or over an extended period of time. And we don’t know to what extent experiences in and around Nauvoo served as catalysts to that process. But what appears clear from his history is that for some time before the completion of the temple, Joseph was preparing the Saints in Nauvoo to receive this ordinance. It was part of the restoration of the “fulness of the priesthood” that the January 1841 revelation had promised.
As I see it, Joseph Smith had come believe in the importance of teaching the first Mormons that God the Father has a body of flesh and bone and the body is not sinful and unholy. So the temple ritual of entering the presence of the Lord was in part meant to teach God the Father's embodiment. This is why the original temple endowment also included a criticism of the Catholic and Protestant creeds that believed a god without parts or passions. I discuss this in more detail in my document Toward a Theology of the Body.
Joseph Smith once said something along the lines of we need to get clever and seal as many to us as possible. I interpret this as Joseph truly believing he could produce a kind of written religious contract that God would be bound to uphold. The priesthood was the authority to do this, like the license of a real estate agent. As temple high priesthood, Joseph could seal couples and secure their exaltation. I think this was the core intention of the development of the priesthood. With the end of plural marriage around 1890, I believe this also ended the need for the priesthood. The ultimate aim of the priesthood was to seal friends and families in order to breed a new People and this had been accomplished by 1900. Thus the priesthood has fulfilled its purpose, just as the Old Testament priesthood had fulfilled its purpose of animal sacrifices in preparation of the sacrifice of Christ which nailed the law to the cross and ended to the need for Old Testament temple priests. So too, plural marriage through temple priests ended around 1900 and thus the priesthood ended around 1900 as well.
