"whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God. And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord; For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him."
Let's leave aside for a moment the enlightening language of magnifying one's calling. Let's leave aside for a moment the voluntary walk in faith it takes to obtain--receive as the later verses amend it--the two priesthoods. Let's leave aside for a moment the fact that these divisions of the Priesthood are now being framed as things to obtain, not just a bundle of duties, not just a brotherhood, but a substance, or more properly a delegated power. Let's instead notice the chain of embedded receptions offered as an explanation of he results of faithful living, faithful Priesthood bearing.
The Savior isn't a self-help author. He doesn't tell us we can do it ourselves, we had it in us all along, all we needed was the right conditions and the right push. He doesn't offer a gospel of bootstraps, or DIY goodness.
He's also not merely a wish-fulfillment guru. Faith without works is, in fact, quite lifeless. He's not Santa Clause to lavish you with all you want with no strings attached. It's true that He wants your heart and since He can read it, He won't accept any less than full authenticity as you turn it over to Him for salvation.
Somewhere in between, He grants grace, but insists on justice. He describes Himself as a Father because when we accept Him, it's like a new birth, and we have to live a new life under new conditions of obedience and willingness to be led by Him directly--through His Spirit.
But He also describes Himself as an Intermediary, an Advocate, a Proxy for us, a Redeemer who buys us back from hell for another destination, a Savior who places Himself between us and the justice we deserve so that His grace can pull us out from our enslavement. He's an in-between. A Mediator. A High Priest.
The principle that He places Himself in an enabling position to grant us favorable terms on our eternity is a nested principle. He Himself organized that we would have fellows in positions of inspired enabling. Prophets speak for the Lord as the Lord speaks for His Father. Priests administer the sacrament as the Lord demonstrated the pattern of symbolically integrating His redeeming blood and flesh in living out a renewed covenant relationship with Him. This places them also in a position to enable coming unto Christ.
Every office of both Priesthoods includes functions of the same kind: mediating positions that enable some aspect of oneness with the Lord, some advancement or renewal of our relationship with Him, some symbolic locus of receiving Him and our inheritance with Him.
And it's by learning to accept those worthy ones He has placed in their positions of mediation that we learn to accept Him.
This is a bold, empowering doctrine: that we can serve as proxies for the covenant connection of others. Of each other. That receiving Him, is an analogous process to receiving love, service, blessings, symbolic administration of higher and holier communion from the very fellows of which our Zion will be composed.
But it's also dangerous: we have to trust in the people He's placed in their positions before we can accept the Lord. We can't fully commune with Him unless we're willing to accept the principle that both His ordinances and His ordained must be received for our personal covenant relationships to validate. Which means we have to approach our spouses, our Stake Presidents, our Bishops and our Apostles humbly, from a position of vulnerability, knowing they are fallible humans who could lead us astray, yet trusting God trusting them is representative of trusting the Father trusting the Son.
This doesn't mean we leap at every whim. But it does mean that when they are standing in their Priesthood functions, our test of receiving the Lord is shown in how we receive His servants.
I have a sudden urge to contact my ministering families.
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