CFN D&C 13 Keys

 

Notes on D and C 13

Remember that Messiah is the Hebrew word for anointed. It is the same as the Greek word Christos.

In Hebrew the word keys is actually a word meaning to open or to close which is what keys do. Most of the uses of the word key is used literally as a key to a door or box. There are occasional metaphoric uses of the word key such as in Isaiah where he speaks of a messianic figure who will have the key of the house of David.

The rabbis believed in 3 divine keys or powers that God usually reserved for himself. We do find these three powers mentioned in the stories of Elijah and Elijah

1 the key of rain: note that Elijah is given the power to seal and open the windows of heaven allowing rain to fall or to cause a famine

2 key of resurrection or the ability to open the graves of the dead. Note that Elisha raised the widows son who was dead but just back to mortality: he did not resurrect him. But that is seen as the same thing in the old Testament.

3 A key to open or close a woman’s womb, causing her infertility or causing a miraculous pregnancy in the lives of women through the old Testament.

I think that it is interesting that these are essentially the only metaphoric uses of the word key in the old Testament. This also suggests that in our day, women hold one of these keys since to a large extent at least in the western world women decide whether or not they will become pregnant, whether or not they will seek help to become pregnant.

I think that in telling young boys that they will hold the keys of ministering of angels and the gospel of repentance and baptism is not necessarily saying that they have final authority over any of that. Instead, I think that being ordained opens the door for them to learn about And then offer these actions to benefit the lives of others. For example I don’t think that the ministry of Angels implies that many young men will see angels even though Joseph did but rather that they will have the opportunity to act as angels. The Greek word Angelos means a messenger, not a semi divine being . The Hebrew word translated as an angel is the The Hebrew word translated as an angel is the word muck the word Malak which is derived from the word for king or Melek. This is a hint that the ironic priesthood is meant to prepare young men for the mesic priesthood. We find that this is exactly how Bishop use deacons and teachers: they use some as messengers during church services and to take messages to the homes of the members. The key to the ministry of Angels. is more probably a calling to learn how to minister as an angel or messenger. It is an opportunity for young men to look for and try to meet the needs of someone other than themselves. The key to the gospel of repentance I believe is to instruct young men in what they need to repent of and how to do that. Then they offer the opportunity to repent by passing the emblems of the Lord supper to the ward members. After four years of training, priests are then given the opportunity to bless the sacrament and to perform baptisms, both of which open the door to repentance. All of this can be seen as training, for going on a mission and for accepting callings which help people to repent

Rebecca Holt Stay