The Aaronic priesthood is the lesser of the two (or sometimes three) orders of priesthood recognized in the Latter Day Saint movement

Latter Day Saint movement

The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...

. The others are the Melchizedek priesthood and the rarely recognized Patriarchal priesthood

Patriarchal Priesthood

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the patriarchal priesthood is sometimes understood as one of types or "orders" of priesthood. The two commonly known orders are the Aaronic priesthood and the Melchizedek priesthood. The patriarchal priesthood should not be confused with the...

. Unlike the Melchizedek priesthood, which is modeled after the authority of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 and the Apostles, or the Patriarchal priesthood, which is modeled after the authority of Abraham

Abraham

Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

, the Aaronic priesthood is modeled after the priesthood of Aaron

Aaron

In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...

 the Levite, the first high priest of the Hebrews, and his descendents

Kohen

A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....

.