Who Was Melchizedek?

We always hear Melchizedek's name at church, but do we really know who he was and why the priesthood holds his name? in this post I want to share what I learned by studying the scriptures related to Melchizedek.

Melchizedek was the high priest on the times of Abraham. He blessed Abraham when he rescued Lot from being captive, and Abraham paid him his tithing of everything he had.

He was the King of Salem, he led his people in such a good way that all of them repented from bad ways of doing things. For helping his people to repent he was called the prince of peace.

Melchizedek is a great example of how a priesthood holder has to be. He is said to be the greatest of all priests, because he was always doing what the Lord needed from him and he helped many people during his reign. He had a mighty faith and his position before the eyes of the Lord and of his people was important to have him as a prototype of the son of God.

Something important to know is that the Melchizedek Priesthood received this name because of the way he lived his life, and the way he served the Lord, it is also because the name of the priesthood was “Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God” and it was necessary to avoid too frequent repetition of the name of Deity.

References:

JST Genesis 14:25-40

Alma 13:14-15

D&C 84:14, 107:1-4

Institute Student Manual Commentary for Genesis 14:18 pages 67-68

I hope you can have time to study these references by yourself, to deepen your understanding on this topic.