2.85 For I Have Given Him the Keys

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus calls us the salt of the earth, a bold reminder that our lives are meant to carry his flavor, his truth, and his love to the world. Join me each day to explore one verse of scripture and one thought, striving to stay full of savor and truly live as savory salt. Hello, my friends, great to have you with me.

Today, let's be anxiously engaged in a good cause and bring to pass much righteousness. Welcome back to our discussion inside of Doctrine and Covenants sections 27 and 28, as well as your reading this week of 2 Nephi chapters 28 to 32. We're going to be getting to those here on the tail end of the week.

But first, we're going to take one more look inside of Doctrine and Covenants section 28 here. There may be one more tomorrow. I'm still debating about that one.

Our look today talks about the difference in the Lord's kingdom between chaos and order. And I'll let you know right now, Elder Renlund has an incredible talk, "A Framework for Personal Revelation." I will make sure that you have that link inside of this podcast episode. Let's get to our verse for today and see what it has to say.

Inside of Doctrine and Covenants section 28, we have an interesting thing happen in the early Church. And we start to have people receiving revelations that they believe are directly related to leadership of the Church. And so there starts to be a little bit of chaos over who's receiving revelation for whom, right?

And we find out in verse 2, the Lord says that no one's appointed to receive revelation for the Church, except it be Joseph Smith Jr. That is not our verse for today, but that is an important context as we dive into our verse for today. In Doctrine and Covenants, section 28, verse 7.

It says in verse 7, "For I have given him the keys of the mysteries and the revelations which are sealed, until I shall appoint unto them another in his stead." Now we get here a line of authority from the Lord, and it happens through this idea of keys of the mysteries and the revelations which are sealed. We learn here from the Lord that the prophet, one, not only is the one to receive revelation for the entire Church, but, two, that the Lord will make sure that he will appoint others in his stead as he deems necessary. That is vital for those of us in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It helps us know in whom we can trust. The Lord specifically has let us know in Doctrine and Covenants section 28 that there is an order to the operation. It's phrased by Elder Renlund as a framework, and it is so vital for us.

Can we receive personal revelation in our lives? Absolutely. Will that personal revelation ever contradict revelation given to us from a living prophet or the head of the Church, Jesus Christ?

No, it will not. And that's a vital importance for us today. My friends, I know that I have found great security in my life by following the words of the prophets.

I am so grateful for the conference talks that talk about the importance of following our living prophet. And I am grateful at this time of this recording for our living prophet, President Russell M. Nelson.

I truly do believe that he is the head of the Church and that he holds the keys of the mysteries and the revelations from the Lord, and that as I lean into what he has to say, my life will increase in light, in understanding, in blessings from the Lord, and I will be in alignment with the will of Jesus Christ. This is a short one today, but it is an important one. The Lord works within a framework.

He works in order, not chaos. And that is a very stabilizing thought for me going forward, because as I see the world in chaos, I know I can turn to a living prophet and find order from a living prophet—he who speaks for the Lord Jesus Christ. That's all for today, my friends.

Lift up your hearts and rejoice. Cleave unto the covenants you have made. And together we will be savory salt. For more information, visit us at www.fema.org.