To the Latter-day Saints, who owe most of their knowledge concerning it to modern revelation, "Priesthood" means divine authority, conferred upon men chosen of God to officiate in his name and in his stead. It also signifies the men bearing that authority, the possession of which constitutes them legal representatives of the Almighty. "No man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." (Hebrews 5:4.) Necessity for a Priesthood.--The necessity for a priesthood is as obvious as the necessity for a gospel. The laws of God, like the laws of man, require officers and a government to administer them. God cannot be everywhere in person. He is omnipresent by his Spirit, his power, his authority, and his influence. But in person, being in the form of man, he is subject to certain limitations, imposed by eternal law and the very nature of things. There are some things that even the Omnipotent cannot do. I speak it with all reverence, and for a good purpose--the teaching of the truth in plainness. For instance, he cannot make something out of nothing, though many pious people ascribe to him that power--the power to perform the impossible and absurd. He cannot be in two or more places, at precisely one and the same time--not in person. Therefore, to carry on his work throughout the universe, he must have agents to represent him, and this is the fundamental fact underlying the necessity for a Priesthood and a Church organization. President Smith's Definition.--When we speak of Priesthood we mean God's authority, and the men holding that authority, to administer the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Let me cite here some remarks made by President Joseph F. Smith, at a general conference of the Church. Said he: "What is Priesthood? It is nothing more nor less than the power of God delegated to man, by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost; and act legitimately in assuming that authority--an authority that has been given in this day in which we live, by ministering angels and spirits from above, direct from the presence of Almighty God, who have come to the earth and administered the priesthood to the children of men. * * * It is the same power and priesthood that was committed to the disciples of Christ while he was upon the earth; that whatever should be bound on earth should be bound in heaven, and whatever should be loosed on earth should be loosed in heaven." The Principle of Representation.--Inherent in the Priesthood is the principle of representation. Priesthood, as President Smith affirms, is the delegated authority of God, and so plenary and far-reaching are its powers, that when those holding that authority are in the line of their duty, and have the spirit of their calling, their official acts and utterances are as valid as if God himself were personally present, doing and saying what his servants do and say for him.