1 Nephi 7:22
22. And it came to pass that we did come down unto the tent of our father. And after I and my brethren and all the house of Ishmael had come down unto the tent of my father, they did give thanks unto the Lord their God; and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him.
From Nephi’s statement, “and they did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto him,” one might ask, “Who were ‘they’?” Was it those who had tried to murder Nephi? One would expect that they would offer a sin offering. Or was it the head of each household— Lehi and Ishmael? One must have the priesthood to officiate in sacrifices and burnt offerings. We have already shown that Lehi could not have functioned in his office as a prophet without the Melchizedek priesthood. However, implicit in Nephi’s statement is the notion that others, besides Lehi, had the priesthood as well, and officiated in the ordinances performed. That implies, at least, that Ishmael also had the Melchizedek Priesthood, and so was probably one of the prophets whom the Lord had directed to warn the people in Jerusalem that they must repent.
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