Teachings
of the Presidents of the Church - Joseph
Fielding Smith
Lessons
11 & 12
“Honoring
the Priesthood Keys Restored through Joseph Smith”
&
“The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood”
Lesson
by Sister Missionaries Henderson & Johnson
The sister missionaries opened the
lesson with the question: “What is the
priesthood?”
Answers: “It is the power from God to act in His
behalf.” “The power to bless
others.” “The authority to speak and act
in the name of God to lead His children.”
What are priesthood keys? Keys open specific things and are very
powerful. Priesthood keys are the
authority to perform certain ordinances.
Joseph Fielding Smith said, “There
is a difference between receiving an office in the priesthood and in receiving
the keys of the priesthood. This we
should clearly understand…While all men hold the priesthood who are ordained to
any office, yet there are special, or directing, authorities, bestowed upon
those who are called to preside. These
authorities are called keys.”
“(Priesthood) keys are the right
of presidency; they are the power and
authority to govern and direct all
of the Lord’s affairs on earth.
Those who hold them have power to govern and control the manner in which
all others may serve in the priesthood.”
Keys are the authority to direct
the work. It helps us discern when the
proper authority is present.
Joseph Fielding Smith also said,
“No man can officiate in and confer the blessings of the temple without the
authority to do so being delegated to him by the President of the Church. No man can officiate in any capacity in the
Church without the virtue accompanying him in that act, as it is obtained
through the power and keys held by the President of the Church…To illustrate
what this means we are taught that no father has the right, although he may
hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, to baptize one of his own children without
first obtaining the sanction of his bishop.
When the sanction is obtained, the father is authorized to perform that
ordinance for his child…This applies to an apostle as well as to the elder in a
ward. Even the President of the Church
would never think to act in any matter of this kind without first recognizing
the bishop of his ward or the president of his stake and the authority which
had been delegated to the bishop or the president of the stake.”
Joseph Fielding Smith described
the restoration of the priesthood: “We
believe that following a long night of darkness, unbelief, and departure from
the truths of pure and perfect Christianity, the Lord in his infinite wisdom
has again restored to earth the fullness of the everlasting gospel.”
“We know that Joseph Smith is a
prophet; that the Father and the Son appeared to him in the spring of 1820 to
usher in this final gospel dispensation; that he translated the Book of Mormon
by the gift and power of God; that he received keys and authority from angels
sent for this very purpose; and that the Lord revealed to him the doctrines of
salvation.”
“The Lord does not recognize any
ordinance or ceremony, even though it be made or performed in his name, unless
it is in accordance with his will and done by one who is recognized as his
authorized servant. It was for that
reason that he sent from his presence holy messengers to Joseph Smith and
others, to restore that which had been take from the earth, even the fullness of
the gospel, and the fullness and the keys of priesthood.”
The sister missionaries asked, “How
does knowing the priesthood was restored impact you today?” Some answers were: “It gives us confidence in
the guidance we receive today.” “Modern revelation
is comforting because it is coming from authority.” “It increases our testimony
of Joseph Smith and we know that it is Heavenly Father’s gospel.”
Through the priesthood, Joseph
Smith restored the Church. This
authority was on the earth but was lost through the apostasy. Just as a diamond shines when placed on black
velvet, so does the priesthood once it was restored after the apostasy.
Joseph Fielding Smith said, “I
think we all know that the blessings of the priesthood are not confined to men
alone. These blessings are also poured
out upon our wives and daughters and upon all the faithful women of the
Church. These good sisters can prepare
themselves, by keeping the commandments and by serving in the Church, for the
blessings of the house of the lord. The
Lord offers to his daughters every spiritual gift and blessing that can be
obtained by his sons, for neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman
without the man in the Lord (see 1 Corinthians 11:11).
In closing the sister missionaries
bore their testimonies of the priesthood and told of the analogy that when men
hold the Priesthood, it is like an umbrella. We are all under that umbrella and it is
protecting us and receiving the blessings but it is the man that is holding the
umbrella.
