When Joseph Smith died there was some uncertainty about who would be the next leader of the church. For several years the quorum of the twelve apostles governed the church until Brigham Young eventually was called to be prophet. According to Wikipedia, Brigham Young relied upon current section 104 to make the argument that the Quorum of the Twelve should lead the church in the interim. That bring up the first question-- what does D&C 104:22-36 mean?
22 Of the aMelchizedek Priesthood, three bPresiding High Priests, chosen by the body, appointed and ordained to that office, and cupheld by the confidence, faith, and prayer of the church, form a quorum of the Presidency of the Church.24 And they form a quorum, aequal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned.26 And they form a quorum, equal in aauthority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or Apostles just named.
This makes sense for quorums that have priesthood keys. Priesthood "keys authorize priesthood holders to preside over and direct the Church within a jurisdiction, such as a stake, ward, or quorum." Some priesthood callings come with keys. Others do not, but use the keys of another through delegation. The President of the church has all the priesthood keys for the church, and is authorized to use them. Similarly, the Apostles have all the priesthood keys necessary to govern the church, but are not authorized to use them (unless there is no president). The seventy, however, "do not receive additional priesthood keys, but with each assignment they receive from the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, they are delegated authority to accomplish the assignment given." (Additional Keys? I didn't think they had any keys at all.)
So, what does it mean that the quorum of the seventy is equal in authority to the first presidency and quorum of the twelve? It could mean that if both the first presidency and the quorum of the twelve are dissolve, the seventy govern the church. But that can't be the case because the seventy have no keys, which are necessary to govern. The only answer I can think of is that there is no first presidency, and for some reason, the quorum of the twelve (or at least someone from the quorum with the keys) is around, but cannot govern for some reason. It actually doesn't make sense.
Someone in church on Sunday suggested that, because the seventy have no keys, if all the members of the first presidency and quorum of the twelve should die, then the stake presidents from throughout the world must gather together to have all the keys necessary to govern. That can't be right. They would have the keys of presidency for the stakes, but there are other keys, like the keys for the gathering of Israel and the sealing power. Stake presidents don't have these keys. Plus having the keys is not the same as having the authority to confer those keys on another.
4 comments:
1. How come you didn't tell me about your blog?
2. How come Leigh called this a new blog (looks like you've been at it a while)?
I teach the 16-17 year old Sunday School class, so I taught this lesson (though we didn't get into these questions). The manual says that, "The two quorums (the 1st Presidency and the Twelve) are equal in authority and power, but the First Presidency is called to preside."
As for the 70, where are we taught that they have no keys whatsoever?
1. I haven't told anyone, so it's not just you. I've been thinking about it, but just haven't gotten around to it, and I wasn't sure I would stick with it.
2. I imported all my old blog post from two other blogs that I started and abandoned. I've probably only been at this blog for 2 or 3 weeks.
I updated the post with a link to the citation that says seventy do not receive additional priesthood keys. So, that seems to imply they don't have any priesthood keys at all. (other than those broad priesthood keys, like to the administering of angels, or all blessings. but those I think are different than the kind of keys we are discussing here, which are primarily keys to direct church work.)
Wouldn't "additional priesthood keys" imply that they already have some? You're saying that the "some" might be the broad keys you refer to?
Yep, that's what I'm saying. Here's another article where Elder Tingey says, "Members of the Quorums of the Seventy do not hold priesthood keys as part of their calling as Seventies. But when they receive an assignment from the First Presidency or the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the keys they need to accomplish the task are delegated to them."
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=c8406528ef2eb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD
He's being curiously careful to not say they have "no priesthood keys" at all.
I've wondered whether seventies are given keys when they serve in the area presidencies or in the presidency of the seventy, but I doubt it. I suspect that they function like missionaries, who can serve in branch presidencies using the keys delegated them by the mission president. Plus wouldn't those be keys as part of their calling?
So if they receive no keys as part of their calling, then you ask, what keys do they have? Many are some other church calling before becoming a seventy, but, once released, they don't keep those keys. The only keys I can think of that they might have are these other, general keys, which conceptually are quite different, and I actually think confuse the issue a little.
Regardless of whether they have some priesthood keys, it seems pretty clear to me they do not have all the priesthood keys, individually or as a body. And that brings me back to my point which, was simply that D&C 104 is confusing, because "equal in authority" doesn't mean all the mentioned quorums govern simultaneously (obvious enough). The only other possible meaning is that each mentioned quorum could govern the church, in the absence of the higher quorum(s).But that can't be the interpretation either. The seventy can never govern the church because they do not have the necessary keys.
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