When we talk of power in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we talk of something very different from how business or other organizations function. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims to the world that priesthood keys and authority that were given anciently to the Lord’s leaders by the Lord (such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elijah in Old Testament times, and Peter, James and John in New Testament times) have been restored to earth to and through Joseph Smith (see Joseph Smith—History 1:72; D&C 27:12; D&C 110:11–12). Why were these keys restored? This scripture in Moses 1 sums up God’s purpose of His work: “For behold, this is my awork and my bglory—to bring to pass the cimmortality and deternal elife of man.”
When we talk of priesthood keys, authority, and power in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are not talking about the power of people to do God’s work, but rather, we believe that “All priesthood keys ultimately come from Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ.” (See New Era article, “Priesthood Keys.”)
The end purpose of the Church is to provide all of Heavenly Father’s children the opportunity to receive the saving ordinances of the gospel — both those who are living and those who have died without this opportunity. These ordinances bind individuals to God and can bind marriage and family relationships beyond the grave. These ordinances are about reaching our full and eternal potential as children of divine parents. Where earthly organizations may provide opportunity for earthly development, the mission of the Church looks far beyond this earth life to helping us reach our eternal potential.
As the Savior said to Peter right before giving him keys on the Mount of Transfiguration, “I will agive unto thee the bkeys of the ckingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt dbind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
In a recent post, we shared insights from a recent Relief Society [Mormon women] training about how divine power and the blessings of the priesthood that can flow into an individual’s life. Those blessings are available because God has restored priesthood keys and authority to earth.
[You can read more about the restoration of priesthood keys and authority and church organization on this page, “The Church of Jesus Christ, an Established Pattern.”
Learn more about how the Church of Jesus Christ is organized.]
