PRIESTHOOD KEYS
Good morning, Brothers and Sisters. My name is Matt Duncan.
Brother Johnson came and visited us last week. When my brother answered it and
said who it was, I rolled my eyes and said, ‘Oh great, a talk for me.’ Then he
told me the topic, which is the keys of the priesthood. I hadn’t prepared the
talk yet, and there are things I’ve learned since then. But even at the time I
realized that rolling my eyes wasn’t a very good priesthood response. So it’s
good I got this assignment. I’m also very glad I got this topic because I’ll
probably be serving in the Teacher’s Quorum Presidency. I should probably learn
some things, so I can be more effective.
I think I’d heard this before, but this week I read again
that Teacher’s Quorum President holds Priesthood keys, along with the Bishop,
the Deacon’s Quorum President, and the Elder’s Quorum President. Those are the
only people in the ward. That’s interesting.
When we have the priesthood and we’re worthy we can act in
God’s name, and do his work. You are allowed to exercise power in the name of
Jesus Christ. This means giving blessings, and doing your callings. It means
service, too, but you don’t have to have the priesthood to do that. This was a
question I had as I was looking things up. What is the difference between
priesthood and plain service? Where do the keys come in? It’s a bit confusing.
After some research, I think that these things are right. Church callings come from the people with the keys. My Mom works closely with
the Bishop, and she said that he has to approve pretty well all the callings in
the ward. This is not because he’s bossy. It’s because he has the Keys. The
Priesthood Keys are a bit different from the priesthood. They mean that you are
authorized to be in charge, to supervise, to make things happen. It’s like a
real key. If you don’t have it, and turn it, you can’t get in.
President Monson, or whoever is the prophet, holds all of
the Priesthood Keys and is in charge of what the church does and doesn’t do. He
can also give certain keys to other authorities in the church. That’s how the
stake president gets them. He passes them on to the Bishop, and the Bishop to
those other people I mentioned.
The Aaronic Priesthood, which holds the keys to the
ministering of angels, was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May
15, 1829. A few weeks later, the Melchizedek priesthood was given to Joseph and
Olvier, this time by Peter, James and John.
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| Rubens, The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek, 1626 |
I don’t have keys, but I have the priesthood. Am I doing a
good job? What job should I be doing? We counted up some things. Recently, my
dad and I helped a woman in our ward with a few things. You don’t need to have
priesthood keys to do service, but it’s a priesthood holder’s duty to help
those who are in need. Another example of not needing the priesthood keys or
even the priesthood for service is that our neighbours the Taylors let us use their house for
Thanksgiving Dinner. Yesterday, my immediate family and cousins were in the gym
playing volleyball and there were some kids who were looking pretty bored, so I
played with them. Also, my Mom was able to get food orders for several people. And, next week, it’s fast Sunday, we’re coming to your houses to collect fast
offerings. Sorry to remind you.
There are several times I’ve been helped by the priesthood. Not necessarily by the keys, but by the priesthood nonetheless. The first
example was my baptism. I was baptized by my dad, who has the priesthood. Then
I was given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then, I was ordained a deacon, once
again, by my dad. Then, I was ordained a teacher by my dad.
I’ve really enjoyed giving this talk, because, as I
mentioned before, I’m going to be in the Teacher’s Quorum presidency. Bear
testimony, close …
