Teach
As Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery continued the translation of the Book of Mormon. They had a question about baptism. They wanted to know if they could be baptized for the remission of their sins. They went to the woods to pray and ask Heavenly Father about it. After they asked, a Heavenly Messenger visited them.
Read Joseph Smith History 1:72
72 The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized.
Continue Teaching
Immediately after John the Baptist, the same John that baptized Jesus, conferred the Aaronic priesthood on Joseph and Oliver, Joseph baptized Oliver Cowdery. Then, Oliver baptized Joseph.
What are priesthood keys?
Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife, Ruth, offered this explanation about priesthood keys:
“The term priesthood keys is used in two different ways. The first refers to a specific right or privilege conferred upon all who receive the Aaronic or Melchizedek Priesthood. … For instance, Aaronic Priesthood holders receive the keys of the ministering of angels and the keys of the preparatory gospel of repentance and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins (see Doctrine and Covenants 13:1; 84:26–27). Melchizedek Priesthood holders receive the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, the key of the knowledge of God, and the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the Church (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:19; 107:18). …
“The second way the term priesthood keys is used refers to leadership. Priesthood leaders receive additional priesthood keys, the right to preside over an organizational division of the Church or a quorum. In this regard, priesthood keys are the authority and power to direct, lead, and govern in the Church” (The Melchizedek Priesthood: Understanding the Doctrine, Living the Principles [2018], 26).
The Aaronic Priesthood deals with the temporal and outward ordinances of the law and the gospel. In the church, today, a young man receives the Aaronic Priesthood in the January of the year that they turn 12 years old. Deacons, Teachers, and Priests are the different offices of the Aaronic Priesthood. Men and young men who hold the Aaronic Priesthood can bless and pass the sacrament, collect fast offerings, baptize people, and begin their callings as ministers. According to D&C, chapter 13, the Aaronic Priesthood “holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.”
Discuss
How does the Priesthood bless your life?
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