Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood Mon.

This monument on Temple Square marks an event Latter-day Saints place at the heart of their faith's founding. They hold that on May 15, 1829, John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and conferred on them the Aaronic Priesthood — the authority to baptize — restoring, in their belief, a power lost since the early Christian church. The event itself is said to have taken place on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania; the monument stands here, among the temple grounds that became the spiritual center of the Latter-day Saint world.

What the plaque says

The authority to baptize is restored. Before Jesus Christ began His public ministry, He went to John the Baptist to be baptized. John had God's authority to baptize. This authority is called the Aaronic Priesthood. On May 15, 1829, John appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and gave them the Aaronic Priesthood. This event restored, or returned, God's priesthood authority to the earth. Doctrine and Covenants 13:1

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Temple Square — steps away
  The spiritual and architectural heart of Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake City — steps away
  Utah's capital and largest city — where the Wasatch Range meets the Great Salt Lake.
• Ensign Peak — 1.4 mi
  A short hike to the spot where Brigham Young surveyed the valley
• Liberty Park — 1.9 mi
  Salt Lake Citys beloved 80-acre urban park since 1882

More markers nearby

• The Testimony of Three Witnesses — steps away
• Hyrum Smith — steps away
• Joseph Smith — steps away
• The Law, Government, Liberty and The Way — steps away