2024 April General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session

Rejoice in the Gift of Priesthood Keys
President Russell M. Nelson
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Main Points

  • Priesthood keys govern how the priesthood of God may be used to bring about the Lord’s purposes and bless all who accept the restored gospel. 
  • The Kirtland Temple has unusual significance in the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Several events that took place there had been prophesied for millennia and were essential for the Lord’s restored Church to fulfill its latter-day mission.
  • The promise Christ gave of the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836, applies to every dedicated temple today: “I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.”
  • The significance of the restoration of Priesthood keys to the earth cannot be overstated.
  • Joseph Smith’s dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple is a tutorial about how the temple spiritually empowers you and me to meet the challenges of life in these last days.
  • Understanding the spiritual privileges made possible in the temple is vital to each of us today.

Gospel Principles taught

Our Heavenly Family, Jesus Christ, Agency, The Priesthood, Priesthood Organization, The Lord’s Covenant People, Missionary Work, The Family can be Eternal, Eternal Marriage, Temple Work & Family History, Gathering of Israel 

Gospel Doctrine taught

Priesthood and Priesthood Keys, Ordinances and Covenants, The Restoration, Marriage and Family, Agency, The Covenant Path

Scriptures

Look for Jesus Christ:

  • Testimony of Christ.
    • The Prophet recorded that the Savior’s “eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters.”
    • My dear brothers and sisters, I testify that this is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He stands at its head. We are His disciples.
  • Christ’s own words.
    • “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.”
    • “I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.”

Inspiring Words & Phrases

  • Jesus Christ…declared that He had accepted the temple as His house and made this stunning promise: “I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.” This significant promise applies to every dedicated temple today.
  • Then Elijah the prophet appeared. His appearance fulfilled Malachi’s promise that before the Second Coming, the Lord would send Elijah to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”10 Elijah conferred the keys of the sealing power upon Joseph Smith.
  • The significance of these keys being returned to the earth by three heavenly messengers under the direction of the Lord cannot be overstated.
  • The power of these priesthood keys is infinite and breathtaking.
  • Without priesthood keys, none of us would have access to essential ordinances and covenants that bind us to our loved ones eternally and allow us eventually to live with God.
  • Priesthood keys distinguish The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from any other organization on earth. Many other organizations can and do make your life better here in mortality. But no other organization can and will influence your life after death.
  • Priesthood keys give us the authority to extend all of the blessings promised to Abraham to every covenant-keeping man and woman. Temple work makes these exquisite blessings available to all of God’s children, regardless of where or when they lived or now live. Let us rejoice that priesthood keys are once again on the earth!
  • The sealing power is supernal evidence of how much God loves all of His children everywhere and wants each of them to choose to return home to Him.
  • How much does it increase your confidence to know that, as an endowed woman or man armed with the power of God, you do not have to face life alone? What courage does it give you to know that angels really will help you?
  • The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has in store for each of us, for the temple is the only place on earth where we may receive all of the blessings promised to Abraham.

Lists

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery experienced a series of remarkable visions in the Kirtland Temple on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1836:

  • Jesus Christ appeared. He affirmed His identity as the Savior and accepted the Kirtland Temple as His House.
  • Moses appeared. He conferred upon Joseph Smith the keys for the gathering of Israel and the return of the ten tribes.
  • Elias appeared. He committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham to Joseph.
  • Elijah the prophet appeared. Elijah conferred the keys of the sealing power upon Joseph Smith.

About priesthood keys:

  • Constitute the authority and power of presidency. 
  • Govern how the priesthood of God may be used to bring about the Lord’s purposes.
  • Bless all who accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • Gave Joseph Smith authority to organize the Church in 1830.

Different priesthood keys mentioned:

  • Keys of the Aaronic priesthood
  • Keys of the Melchizedek priesthood
  • Keys of the Gathering of Israel
  • Keys of the Gospel of Abraham
  • Keys of the Sealing Power

These keys are essential in order to authorize Joseph Smith and all succeeding Presidents of the Lord’s Church

  • To gather Israel on both sides of the veil
  • To bless all covenant children with the blessings of Abraham
  • To place a ratifying seal on priesthood ordinances and covenants
  • To seal families eternally
  • make it possible for every covenant-keeping man and woman to enjoy incredible personal spiritual privileges.

Without these keys: 

  • You could not be endowed with the power of God.
  • The Church could serve only as a significant teaching and humanitarian organization but not much more. 
  • None of us would have access to essential ordinances and covenants that bind us to our loved ones eternally and allow us eventually to live with God.

I invite you to consider carefully the following three statements:

  • The gathering of Israel is evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere.
  • The gospel of Abraham is further evidence that God loves all of His children everywhere. He invites all to come unto Him—“black and white, bond and free, male and female; … all are alike unto God.”
  • The sealing power is supernal evidence of how much God loves all of His children everywhere and wants each of them to choose to return home to Him.

The Temple is: 

  • a house of prayer 
  • a house of fasting 
  • a house of faith
  • a house of learning
  • a house of glory
  • a house of order 
  • a house of God

This list of attributes is much more than a description of a temple. It is a promise about what will happen to those who serve and worship in the house of the Lord. They can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation, greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power.

New Temples announced: 

Invitations/Challenges

  • I hope you will repeatedly study the messages of this conference throughout the coming months.
  • I invite you to ponder what the Lord’s promise (“I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.”) means for you personally. 
  • Consider how your life would be different if priesthood keys had not been restored to the earth.
  • I encourage you to study that prayer (the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple), recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 109.
  • How much does it increase your confidence to know that, as an endowed woman or man armed with the power of God, you do not have to face life alone? What courage does it give you to know that angels really will help you?
  • Let us rejoice in the restoration of priesthood keys, which make it possible for you and me to enjoy every spiritual blessing we are willing and worthy to receive.

Blessings/Promises

  • This list of attributes (“a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”) is much more than a description of a temple. It is a promise about what will happen to those who serve and worship in the house of the Lord. They can expect to receive answers to prayer, personal revelation, greater faith, strength, comfort, increased knowledge, and increased power. 
  • Time in the temple will help you to think celestial and to catch a vision of who you really are, who you can become, and the kind of life you can have forever. 
  • Regular temple worship will enhance the way you see yourself and how you fit into God’s magnificent plan. I promise you that.
  • We are also promised that in the temple we may “receive a fullness of the Holy Ghost.” Imagine what that promise means in terms of having the heavens open for each earnest seeker of eternal truth.
  • all who worship in the temple will have the power of God and angels having “charge over them.”
  • “no combination of wickedness” will prevail over those who worship in the house of the Lord.
  • My dear brothers and sisters, here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshiping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing!

Stories:

  • 40 years ago to the day, on April 7, 1984, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Russell M. Nelson were sustained to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
  • When Russell M. Nelson was born (Sept 9, 1924), there were only six functioning temples in the Church:St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake City, Utah; as well as in Cardston, Alberta, Canada; and Laie, Hawaii; as well as the Nauvoo and Kirtland temples, which the Saints had to leave when they moved west. The Nauvoo was destroyed by arson, and rebuilt and dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinkley. The Kirtland temple was first desecrated by enemies of the Church, then acquired by the Community of Christ, and now (along with several historic sites in Nauvoo) has been purchased by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Application Ideas

  1. Make a plan of how you personally will follow the Prophet’s instruction to ‘repeatedly study the messages’ of the April 2024 General Conference throughout the coming months.
  2. Accept the prophet’s challenge to ponder what the Lord’s promise to manifest himself to his people in mercy in His house means to you personally. Write your feelings and any impressions you have in your journal or study journal.
  3. Read and ponder D&C 109. 
  4. Make an effort to visit a temple this week, even if it’s only the temple grounds. If you don’t live near a temple, you might consider a virtual tour of the Kirtland Temple, the Orem, Utah temple or the Saratoga Springs Temple.
  5. Pray for an increased understanding and love of the temple.

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