158 - D&C 110 CFM - Angelic Visitations and More in Kirtland - E40B September 29-October 5

Summary

Church History Matters – Episode 158

D&C 110 CFM - Angelic Visitations and More in Kirtland – E40B
Date: September 24, 2025
Hosts: Scott & Casey (Scripture Central)

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode is a deep dive into Doctrine and Covenants Section 110, focusing on the miraculous events that took place in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836. Scott and Casey examine the succession of angelic visitations to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery—Jesus Christ, Moses, Elias, and Elijah—and explore why these extraordinary moments are central to Latter-day Saint beliefs about temples, priesthood keys, the gathering of Israel, and the uniting of families for eternity. The hosts also tackle key controversies and discuss the enduring global impact of these events.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Eternal Relationships and the Living-Dead Connection

• [00:00] Casey starts by highlighting a cornerstone of Latter-day Saint belief: that relationships endure eternally and that the living can act on behalf of the dead through temple ordinances.
  “There’s a connection between the living and the dead.”
• [00:16] Scott links this to Jesus’s Resurrection and how it paves the way for all people to escape death and be united in God’s kingdom.

2. The Uniqueness of the Kirtland Temple

• The Kirtland Temple is described as a “milestone in church history”—the only place on earth with a recorded, specific appearance of Jesus ("down to the inch" – [01:30]).
• Scott:
  “If you have the opportunity in your lifetime to go to the Kirtland Temple, you should. It is something special.” [01:53]

3. Historical Framing of D&C 110

• Section 110: An extract from Joseph Smith’s 1835–36 journal, not added to the Doctrine and Covenants until 1876 (context by Orson Pratt under Brigham Young’s direction – [04:30]).
• Events recorded by Warren Cowdery, Joseph’s scribe. The original manuscript is available in his handwriting via the Joseph Smith Papers ([05:05]).

4. Leading Up to April 3, 1836: The Promise of Power

• Early, repeated promises that the Saints would be endowed with “power from on high” if they built and sanctified the Kirtland Temple ([06:00–08:00]).
• Many spiritual manifestations occurred before and just after the temple’s dedication, but the culminating events came one week later on Easter Sunday—April 3, 1836 ([08:20]).

5. The Four Visions / Angelic Visitations

• Scott and Casey break down the event into four visions: Jesus, Moses, Elias, Elijah.
  “After that vision closed, another one burst upon us...” – [09:31]
• The Vision of Jesus ([10:00])
  • Describes Christ using luminous scriptural similes:
    “His eyes were as a flame of fire. The hair of his head was white like the pure snow. His countenance shone above the brightness of the sun. His voice was as the sounding of the rushing of great waters.”
  • Jesus forgives Joseph & Oliver, proclaims the acceptance of the temple, and promises,
    “I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.” ([12:00])
  • Prophecy that "the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice" and the “fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands.” ([13:24])
    Casey notes how this global influence is now a visible reality ([14:00]).

6. The Restoration of Priesthood Keys

• Moses: Restores keys of “the gathering of Israel” ([16:56]).
  • Discussion clarifies biblical language about “the north” and the scattering/gathering of Israel ([17:00–20:00]).
  • Critical distinction: These are not simply “missionary keys” (missionary work started years before), but the authority to direct the gathering to build temples and receive ordinances.
    • Scott: "These keys are all about building the temple, actually." ([30:33])
• Elias: Confers the “dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham”—the ritual means of extending Abrahamic blessings, especially through celestial marriage and temple sealing ([32:29–35:04]).
• Elijah: Restores the sealing power, making relationships eternally binding, fulfilling Malachi’s prophecy:
  • Scott: “The spirit of Elijah is that degree of power which holds the sealing power of the kingdom... not only on earth but in heaven, both the living and the dead to each other.” ([37:10])
  • Casey: “This is where the idea comes from that sealing power is used in temples to seal children to parents and parents to children... all in fulfillment of Malachi’s promise.” ([38:51])

7. Kirtland’s Place in Global Temple Work

• The three keys (from Moses, Elias, Elijah) are foundational for all modern temple ordinances.
• “Kirtland was built primarily for the restoration of keys of authority. In receiving these keys, the fullness of gospel ordinances is revealed.” – Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, quoted ([41:25])
• Kirtland is not to be “converted” into today's typical ordinance temple—its historic purpose is unique and pivotal ([42:58]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Scott: “The whole point and purpose of the earth being created was to help seal the human family together in what would be an eternally sealed network of relationships.” ([02:19])
• Casey (on physical vs. spiritual gathering):
  “It’s that line between the physical gathering, necessary in the early church to literally build the temple, to what we’re really talking about—being sealed into this chain that connects all the way back to Adam and Eve.” ([31:59])
• Casey (on the Kirtland Temple's preservation):
  “It’s a shrine, it’s a sacred place where these incredible things happened, and that’s the way it should remain.” ([42:58])
• Scott: “These are keys that you gather in order to build, so God can reveal ordinances.” ([43:52])
• Scott: “Section 110 is placed in our Doctrine and Covenants as a claim to legitimacy—the legitimacy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That’s how fundamental and huge this is.” ([58:33])
• Casey: “One of the most appealing aspects of our faith: relationships can last for eternity... you can be proactive toward your loved ones that have left this life.” ([61:10])
• Scott (paralleling Kirtland, Passover, and Easter):
  “Easter Sunday, celebrating Jesus literally breaking the bands of death and effecting another kind of exodus... this is where the story has always been going.” ([62:05])

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Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–03:40 — Eternal relationships, Christ’s appearance at Kirtland, context-setting
• 03:40–09:19 — Historical setup: how D&C 110 fits, early temple promises, the journal record
• 09:19–14:45 — The four visions: Jesus’s appearance, description, and promises
• 14:45–16:56 — Global prophecy about the temple; foundation for the next “capstone” keys
• 16:56–32:17 — In-depth on the three sets of keys: Moses (gathering), Elias (Abrahamic blessings), Elijah (sealing)
• 32:17–37:10 — The impact on modern temple work; distinction between physical and spiritual gathering
• 37:10–42:58 — Kirtland’s singular purpose and why it won’t be used for ordinances today
• 44:51–59:46 — Controversies: identity of Elias, why Section 110 wasn’t published immediately, reasons for late canonization
• 59:58–63:40 — Consequences: Joseph assembling temple theology, living out the restoration, parallels with Exodus/Easter

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Controversies & Questions Tackled

1. Who's Elias? ([44:51–52:14])

• Elias is sometimes the Greek form of Elijah, but here appears as a distinct messenger. Theorized identities include a prophet from Abraham’s time (possibly Abraham himself), Noah/Gabriel, or an unknown prophetic figure. “We don’t really know.” (Casey [52:07], Scott [52:14])

2. Why wasn’t Section 110 published or canonized sooner? ([52:17–59:30])

• Though written immediately and referenced by others at the time, Section 110 wasn’t publicly celebrated or canonized until 1876.
• The delayed canonization was likely strategic: as a response to the Reorganized Church's claims about authority. “Section 110 is placed in our Doctrine and Covenants as a claim to legitimacy.” ([58:33])

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Consequences of Section 110

• Fulfilled ancient prophecies about priesthood keys and authority (Malachi, Moroni, etc.).
• Provided Joseph Smith with all temple “puzzle pieces” or “LEGO bricks” to develop the theology and practices central to the current global Church.
• Validated modern temple work, enabling the eternal sealing of families and the extension of blessings to the dead.
• Directly shaped the Latter-day Saint understanding of salvation, vicarious ordinances, and the church’s worldwide expansion.

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Final Reflections

• The miraculous events of Kirtland’s Easter Sunday—where Christ and ancient prophets restored crucial priesthood keys—are “earth defining moments” central to the Restoration.
• The Kirtland Temple’s unique historic purpose—to receive, not administer, keys—makes it an enduring sacred site.
• These events set in motion temple work that continues to bless millions worldwide, fulfilling Jesus’s prophecy that the “fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands.”
• “It really all starts right here with this miraculous appearance of Jesus, Moses, Elias, and Elijah.” (Casey [61:10])
• The episode closes with reflections on how these restored keys continue to shape and define the ongoing work and global mission of the Church.

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For further study, listeners are encouraged to read D&C 110, explore the Joseph Smith Papers project, and note the ongoing fulfillment of these prophecies across the worldwide church.

Transcript

[A]

One of the most appealing aspects of our faith, this idea that relationships can last for eternity and that you can still do things for people that have passed away, that you can be proactive towards your loved ones that have left this life, that there's a connection between the living and the dead.

[B]

We're celebrating here Jesus literally breaking the bands of death and affecting another kind of exodus, an exodus of those who are dead being able to come back out of the bondage of death and hell and captivity of the devil into this glorified kingdom. They call it the Kingdom of God. Right. Where in resurrected, perfected bodies, we get to rule and reign with God as kings and queens and priests and priestesses.

[A]

And it really kind of all starts right here with this miraculous appearance of Jesus, Moses, Elias, and Elijah.

[B]

Hello, Casey.

[A]

Hello, Scott. We are back.

[B]

Episode two, right?

[A]

Episode two. And this is one of the big ones. I mean, they're all big. You keep. You keep saying, oh, so this is your favorite section, but this one feels like. Like it is a milestone in church history. We did section 109, which was the first dedicatory prayer. But it's not just that the temple is built and dedicated. It's that something really special happens in the Kirtland Temple. And you know what it is. If you're listening to this podcast, when I take people to the Kirtland Temple, I prep them by saying, you can go to Israel, you can go to Jerusalem, and you can have people tell you approximately, somewhere in this area is a place where Jesus would have stood. There's places like the Valley of the Doves or the Temple Steps, where, yeah, we're pretty sure Jesus stood here. Emily Freeman gave a great talk on the Valley of the Doves, but there's only one place on earth I know of that you can go to and for sure down to, like, the inch. Say this is a place where Jesus appeared, and that is the temple in Kirtland, Ohio.

[B]

Wow, that is pretty bold, Casey. And we know that it's happened on Easter Sunday, April 3, 1836, which also happened to be Passover. That was the week of Passover. And so a lot of really significant things happening on that day. But, yeah, the resurrected Jesus standing on, as Joseph and Oliver say, on the breastwork of the pulpit. So we know right where those pulpits are, and you can go there today. And you should. If you have the opportunity in your lifetime to go to the Kirtland Temple, you should. It is something special. Not least of which, and maybe most of which is because of what happened in what Israel recorded here in section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It's what the angel Moroni told Joseph Smith. Remember when he was 17 years old and he was hovering above Joseph's bed in his room? And he. And he said that Elijah has to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And in order to affect this beginning of the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children and all this stuff. And then he said this line, he said, and if it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted. And I think what that means, Casey, is like the whole point and purpose of the earth being created was to help seal the human family together in what would be an eternally sealed network of relationships. And I know we can actually point to the day when the beginning of the fulfillment of that prophecy happened. And it's the 3rd of April, 1836. And we can point to the place which was in the Kirtland Temple. And so I think it's fair to say, Casey, that the Kirtland Temple helped bring to pass the purpose of the earth's creation. Am I overstating it?

[A]

No. And I mean, it's not just the Kirtland Temple. We can say the Melchizedek priesthood pulpits in the house of worship on the first floor of the Kirtland Temple where all this happened. It's pretty cool.

[B]

It's like ground zero of one of the most earth defining moments in the history of the earth. And so anyway, we are excited to talk about this and this is going to be good, by the way, if you, if you missed part one of this week's Come Follow Me, you can go catch it in the previous episode. So this is part two of this week's Come Follow Me, Casey. Let's get into it here. Doctrine and Covenants 110. We know this is actually just an extract from Joseph Smith's 183536 journal, which wasn't actually added to the Doctrine and covenants until 1876. This was part of a batch of revelations. About 26 additional sections were added in 1876, several of which, not coincidentally, were related to priesthood and temple. And these were added by Apostle Orson Pratt under the direction of President Brigham Young. Now, interestingly, at the same time, this section was added which records the appearance of the prophet Elijah in the Kirtland Temple. Doctrine and Covenants 2 I just referenced was also added which contains the angel Moroni's prophecy of the return of Elijah that was given to Joseph Smith some 13 years prior to now. Section 110 is an account of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery's experience of sacred events that unfolded in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836. The original recording of these events was written shortly after they occurred in Joseph Smith's journal by Oliver Cowdery's brother, Warren Cowdery, who we recently met and who at the time was serving as Joseph's scribe and keeping his personal history. So you can actually go to the Joseph Smith papers and you can click and you can see this account written in Warren Cowdery's handwriting not long after it occurred, which is so cool. So that's kind of like the framing of what this section is, but, like, give us a little more context, Casey. Like, what's been going on that leads to this climactic moment?

[A]

So let's go back in time. Actually, in big picture context, you mentioned this, but it was 13 years earlier that divine promises were made to Joseph Smith, which are then fulfilled in April 1836. So September 21, 1823, when Joseph Smith is just 17 years old, the angel Moroni appears to him and quotes a number of passages from the Old Testament. But among them is Malachi, chapter four, which is so different, it eventually becomes the second section of the Doctrine and Covenants, where instead of the familiar prophecy about Elijah we're familiar with, Moroni apparently said it this way. I will reveal unto you the priesthood by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. So that's coming. That's going to be fulfilled. In January 1831, the Lord promised the saints living in New York that if they'd gather to the Ohio, he said, I will give unto you my law, and there you shall be endowed with power from on high. That's Doctrine and Covenants 38, 32. The law, which is commonly assumed to be Section 42, was received in Ohio shortly after they arrived. But the promised endowment of power was not immediately forthcoming. In fact, things keep happening and they keep saying, is this the endowment? Is this the endowment? Instead, the Lord continued to affirm that the endowment would come to the saints once they had sanctified themselves and after they had built the Kirtland temple. So that's in section 43 and in section 95, verse 8, and most importantly in section 105, 33, where the Lord tells Zion's camp, you've got to go back to Kirtland and be endowed with power from on high. That's going to happen. So true to this promise, as the temple reached completion in early 1836, a series of divine manifestations and spiritual outpourings happen there during the meetings with church leaders even before the building is dedicated. And this continued on the day of dedication and shortly thereafter at a psalm assembly that they held in the temple. And all these spiritual manifestations collectively represented a partial fulfillment of the Lord's promise of an endowment of power, what we call the Kirtland endowment. But the big one happens On Easter Sunday, April 3, 1836, one week after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, where the final element of this promised endowment of power were given. So Joseph Smith's history gives us some context. He says, I assisted the other presidents in distributing the Lord's Supper to the church, receiving it from the twelve, whose privilege it was to officiate in the sacred desk. This day, after having performed this service to my brethren, I retired to the pulpit, the veils being dropped, and bowed myself with Oliver Cowdery in solemn and silent prayer. We should clarify a couple things. What Joseph Smith refers to as the veils of the temple were actually heavy curtains. They were used the same way we use veils in modern temples. These were curtains that were suspended from the ceiling so that they could be lowered when they needed to partition off different parts of the room for added privacy. And on this occasion, such curtains were lowered to seclude the upper pulpit area where Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were engaged in prayer. And a minor controversy is he doesn't really specify if this happened after the sacrament meeting was over and everybody went home, or if it happened during the sacrament meeting. It is possible that it happened and there were hundreds of people outside the veils, but Joseph and Oliver were inside the veils. That's one we can't resolve with the current information we have. So Joseph just records after rising from prayer, the falling vision was open to both of us. And that's section 110. That's the context.

[B]

Isn't it fair to say this was actually four visions? A vision of the Savior, then a vision of Moses?

[A]

Yeah, he does record it. Like I saw a vision, then another vision opened, then another vision, another vision. So four visions, I guess.

[B]

Technically, yeah. He'll say, after that vision closed, another one burst upon us. Yeah, so it's kind of. You could call it a vision, but you can also subdivide it into four divisions. Jesus, Moses, Elias, Elijah. So let's dive into the content itself. So verse one, they begin. They Joseph And Oliver quote, the veil was taken from our minds and the eyes of our understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit before us. And under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color, like amber. Let that sink in for just a second. So we know that where that pulpit is, Jesus is standing right there on the breastwork of it. And instead of looking like wood under his feet, it looks like gold. They now describe his person. His eyes were as a flame of fire. The hair of his head was white like the pure snow. His countenance shone above the brightness of the sun. And his voice was as the sounding of the rushing of great waters. Even the voice of Jehovah saying, before we go to what he said, I just have to note that it's remarkable that when they describe Jesus, they describe him using similes. Like, there's no way to exactly describe this beautiful resurrected being without using similes. His eyes were like flame of fire. Does that mean they were orange? No, there's flames of all kinds of color, right?

[A]

There's.

[B]

There's. You can have blue flames and green flames and orange flames and white flames. I think flame carries this connotation of, like, intensity. Right? It was intense. The hair of his head, they didn't just say it was white. Like, white like snow. Like on a bright day when you walk outside and he's just. Oh, it just hits you when the sun is shining so strong off the snow. His countenance above that of the sun, his voice like the sound of the rushing of great waters. I've thought about that one a lot. Does that mean it was peaceful? Or does that mean it was powerful, like a waterfall? Or is a waterfall both powerful and peaceful? The sound of rushing of great waters. So it's like penetrating and powerful, but maybe also soothing and peaceful. Anyway, I love the description here. Here's what he said. I am the first and the last. I am he who liveth. I am he who was slain. I am your advocate with the Father. Wow. And by the way, these verses describe Jesus quite similarly to how the early Apost John described him in his own sacred vision. You can look that up in Revelation, chapter 1, verses 14 and 15 and 17, 18. And I don't know if they just described him exactly the same or if they grabbed John's words because he perfectly encapsulated what they were seeing. But it's beautiful and powerful. And then he says this. Behold, your sins are forgiven you. This is the Lord speaking both to Joseph and Oliver. You are Clean before me. Therefore lift up your heads and rejoice. Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice. And let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have with their might built this house to my name. For behold, he announces, I have accepted this house and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house. Okay, see, we just talked about in the previous episode, part one of this, that section 109 asks for the Lord to put his name on this house and asks that God's name be upon the people who come into this house and then leave this house armed with his name, armed with his power. Seems like his name is associated with his power, his presence, his authority. And so the Lord says, I will put my name here, which is this very powerful idea here. And then when people come here, he says, I'll manifest myself to them in mercy in this house. Yea, he promises, I will appear unto my servants and speak unto them with mine own voice if my people will keep my commandments and do not pollute this holy house.

[A]

That's the beginning, right? Then he actually makes a prophecy about the house. He says, the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house, and the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands. He continues, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen. So I call it a prophecy because he says two things. Number one, the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands will rejoice in the blessings that are poured out. The endowment that's given here is going to bless other nations, and the fame of the house shall spread to foreign lands, which have all literally happened. I mean, I don't know if they could have conceived that there was going to be a temple or endowments given in places like Vanuatu or South Africa or Bengaluru, India. But that is all literally happening and being fulfilled in our time. Right now. We're building a temple in Dubai right now. Scott. Like, this is crazy stuff that even 10 years ago, I would have said, no way. A temple in Dubai, not going to happen. But it's happening. It's a testament to the Savior that he sees and knows all things. And the fortitude of the early saints who saw beyond their field of vision, saw the future.

[B]

And it's fascinating that the Lord is saying that what happens in this Kirtland temple is going to affect People throughout the entire world. We're not just talking about people coming to Kirtland these days and doing tours, although we highly recommend you do that. But it's what happens in the Kirtland endowment. In fact, I was recently reading the original journal entry of Joseph Smith on the Joseph Smith Papers Project, and I noticed there's a different phraseology here than how it reads in our current doctrine and covenants. So the current doctrine and covenant says, the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house. Period. But the original says, and the endowment with which my servants have already been endowed and shall hereafter be endowed in this house. There's a past sense and a future sense, and we've talked about the outpourings of the Spirit of God and the speaking in tongues and the visions and the angels and stuff that's part of the Kirtland endowment of power that actually empowered God's people to want to go out and share the good news of the Gospel with everybody. But that the endowment which shall hereafter be endowed in this house is, I believe, what happens in the very next verses, verses 11 to 16. It's the final piece. I'd call it the capstone of the Kirtland endowment. And that is these keys that are brought by these messengers.

[A]

There's no doubt everything we do in the church is affected by what happens next. Let's jump. Verses 11 through 16 are kind of this rapid succession unfolding of three additional visions where keys, priesthood keys are entrusted to Joseph and Oliver which are going to complete the Kirtland endowment. These keys are a major reason why the Savior said, tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice because of the blessings which shall be poured out in consequence of the restoration. And committing these keys to Joseph and Oliver is the beginning of the story is one thing I want to emphasize. It's not the end, it's the beginning, like the Lord said, of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. So this is a story that we're living every day as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. But it starts here on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland temple.

[B]

Okay, so let's dive in now to verse 11. So Joseph and Oliver continue. They say this after this vision meaning of Jesus closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us and committed unto us the keys of. Of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north. They're dropping some dense Old Testament phrases here. Maybe for a little context, we should understand a little bit about the north and the ten tribes and Israel and all this. So just a quick 30 second Bible nerding out, is that. Okay, here we go. So we got to remember that in 722 B.C. the Ten Tribes of the house of Israel were attacked by the Assyrian empire who carried Israel away into Assyria. Now, Assyria was actually up in the land of the north, relative to the land of Israel. And after this, after they're carried away north, we never hear about the whereabouts of those last 10 tribes ever again. So the phrase the land of the north actually comes to be understood as a shorthand phrase to refer to Israel in their scattered condition, because the 10 tribes were called Israel and the two tribes underneath them were called Judah. All right, just, just follow here. Keep nerding out with me. Generations after their scattering, the Lord prophesied through Jerem, okay, that the day would someday come when he would intervene to lead, quote, the children of Israel, from the land of the north. That's what he calls it, the land of the north. And from all the lands whither he had driven them, behold, he said, I will gather them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. So with that background, go back to verse 11 here. The phrase leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north, all right, is virtually synonymous with the preceding phrase, the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth. Right? This is because the ten tribes is another name for Israel and because the land of the north is another way of referring to Israel's scatter condition. So I, I say all that because sometimes people have some weird ideas about this, like the 10 tribes are somewhere under the polar ice caps in the north. We've heard some, some strange things, but you just got to know how the Bible is using these phrases and that Joseph and Oliver are plucking these phrases as, and using them here. Or actually, in this case, it was actually Moses who used that phrase in explaining to them what these keys were that he was bringing back. And so it's just a biblically dense little phrase. And with that background, hopefully that helps to clarify.

[A]

It does seem like the best way to explain how they're lost is to say that they're lost in the sense that they don't know who they are. And they don't understand their heritage. They're lost in the same way everybody is lost that doesn't know that they're a child of divine parents, that they have a nature and destiny that comes from God. And I agree with you. I lean towards saying. In fact, I leaned pretty far towards saying coming from the north is metaphorical and has to do with the direction they were taken away from. So that being said, let's look at exactly what the keys of the gathering of Israel are that Moses committed to Joseph and Oliver.

[B]

I think these keys are probably the most misunderstood keys of the Kirtland keys that are restored here between Moses, Elias and Elijah, like, because he committed the keys of the gathering of Israel. And so where does our mind instantly go, oh, that's missionary work. Booyah. Right? And people like, oh, okay. And you say that in a church meeting, a lot of people nod their heads, but we gotta just pause for a second before we start nodding and be like, hold on, this is 1836. Haven't we already had like seven years of missionary work? Didn't missionary work start in 1829? We got the Lamanite mission, right? That was legitimate, wasn't it? We got the mission of like 30 elders in DNC 52 who are called to go between Ohio and Missouri. We've talked about that. We've got 1832 missions of some 20 other elders. DNC 75 calls them to Jared Carter, Stephen Burnett, John Murdoch. We've looked at them in DNC 79, 80, 99. I'm thinking the 1833 mission of Joseph and Sydney to Canada. That's DNC 100. And we just talked about last week we talked about the mission of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to the Eastern states. That was right after section 107 was given. Right? And there's dozens of others between 1830 and 1836. And so if the keys that Moses brought were the keys of missionary work, then we've got seven years of illegitimate missionary work that's just happened, Casey. And I don't think anyone's going to feel really good about that. And so we have to like step back for a second and say, well, hold on a second. Didn't John the Baptist bring the keys of preaching the gospel of repentance and baptizing people? Wasn't that John the Baptist that brought those? And you know, our head starts nodding like, okay, so then what on earth is Moses talking about? These keys of the gathering of Israel.

[A]

You make a good point that they're Already doing a significant amount of missionary work. I guess you could argue that missionary work really kicks into high gear after this, because it's 1838 when the commandment is given for the quorum of the 12 to go to England, preach the gospel there. And that is kind of when we take it to the next level. But you can't say we weren't doing missionary work prior to this. Another thing that I think of is that connected to the keys of missionary work are the keys directing the opening of the nations of the earth for the proclamation of the gospel, which the 12 apostles were asked to do that a year earlier. For instance, on February 7, 1835, Joseph Smith calls the new quorum of the twelve the first quorum of the twelve in this dispensation. And part of the charge given to them are they are to hold the keys. This is what Joseph Smith gives them instructions. He says they are to hold the keys to unlock the door of the kingdom of heaven unto all nations and preach the gospel unto every creation. This is the virtue, power, and authority of the apostleship. And then he continues, it is your duty to go and unlock the kingdom of heaven to foreign nations, for no man can do that thing but yourselves. So the 12 really do do that. We have a little dabbling in Canada in a couple areas, but it's when the 12 go to the British Isles that things kick into high gear. And I within the next couple years, the 12 are all over the place in France and Germany, and orsonheide goes to Israel. I mean, we even have missionaries make it to India by the 1850s. But again, it seems like Joseph Smith wouldn't be giving them that direction if the keys of missionary work hadn't been restored yet. So, yeah, the keys are here, and they're probably the keys of the kingdom of God that are referred to in section 65 that Peter, James and John restore earlier. At the time, they ordained Joseph and Oliver to be apostles. So I guess the question we're winding up to is if John the Baptist restored the keys to preach the gospel and to baptize and Peter, James and John gave the keys to open up the nations of the earth, the preaching of the gospel, then what are the keys of the gathering of Israel and how are they separate? Or is the Lord just kind of underlining what he's already said? What do you got, Scott? What's the connection here?

[B]

Yes, no, that's the golden question. You asked it perfectly. It's just like, what are these keys? And we've talked about this at length, Casey. And in previous series we've done. But I just want to invite everyone to just consider the following. All right, so Moses is bringing back the keys. That Moses himself was really like kind of the quintessential guy for. Right? And he was not like a quintessential missionary if you think about what missionaries do. Moses wasn't that guy. What was he then? What. What was the thing he did that he's kind of iconic at doing? Right. And if we look back at his story, we learned that he was actually the very first temple builder in scriptural history. And the subsequent temples that have been built by like Solomon and Zerubbabel and Herod and the Nephites are all actually based on the same pattern first revealed to and built by Moses. And it was after the gathering of Israel, catch the phrase out from their centuries long Egyptian bondage and leading them down to the Sinai Peninsula that the Lord revealed the first temple blueprint to Moses atop Mount Sinai. And that's Exodus 25, 27 and chapter 30.

[A]

When you said, what is Moses like iconic for? The thing that flashed into my mind was the Ten Commandments. And I realized that's because like most people, I'm probably more aware of Moses from watching the movie the Ten Commandments or the Prince of Egypt than I am from reading the scriptures. Because the first time as a seminary teacher that I had to like teach the story of Moses found in Exodus, I remember being really surprised that everything that we talk about with regards to Moses is Exodus 1 through 20. And then a huge chunk of the book of Exodus is building the tabernacle, like probably the most significant part of the book of Exodus. And that sort of gets glossed over a little bit because it gets into the minutia of what the tabernacle is supposed to be like and all the details. And that's why I think when everybody thinks of Moses, they think of, you know, the tablets. It has more to do with 20th century pop culture than scriptural basis. In the Scriptures, Moses is the temple builder. There may have been temples prior to that, but Moses is the first guy to write it down and to write it down in detail. And to a people in Joseph Smith's time who haven't seen Prince of Egypt or the Ten Commandments, they're going to know this, that Moses is a temple builder and the earliest one who in detail in the Scriptures really describes how to do it. I don't know how engaging a movie about building a tabernacle would be, but I want to live in that world, you know, where we're making stuff from the scriptures thoroughly, not just the sizzle reel, but, you know, all the stuff that's there.

[B]

Well, in fact, here's a little insight from Doctrine and Covenants, Section 124 38. This is in the context now we're fast forward. We're in Nauvoo. And there's never been a temple like Nauvoo. The Kirtland temple is not like the Nauvoo Temple. Nauvoo Temple is more like what we have today. And in trying to unravel the mystery of, like, what the Nauvoo Temple was going to be like, here's what the Lord said. He connects it to Moses. He says, I commanded Moses that he should build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness. Remember, this is like a portable temple. And to build a house in the land of promise, once they get there, that's going to be Solomon's temple. That those ordinances might be revealed which had been hid from before the world was. That's what the Lord said. So here's the pattern that I want to make sure that we see here. It's the pattern established by the Lord through Moses, which was one, one, the gathering of his people. Think Moses bringing them out of Egypt in order to two, build a temple. Think temple. Pattern being revealed at Sinai. So they could now have this. This place where three. The Lord could then reveal ordinances to them, which means both laws and rituals. In fact, there's what Joseph Smith taught about this. He. He said, what was the object of gathering the people of God in any age of the world? Then he answers his own question. Question. The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby he could reveal unto his people the ordinances of his house and the glories of his kingdom and teach the people the way of salvation. For there are certain ordinances and principles that when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose. And then Joseph says, it's for the same purpose that God gathers together his people in the last days to build unto the Lord a house, to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings. And what temple was Joseph talking about when he said that? The Nauvoo temple. Well, when did Joseph Smith get the keys of the gathering so that he could gather the people of God on the earth to build such a temple right here in Kirtland? This is what Moses is bringing.

[A]

It kind of illuminates. The purpose of the keys of the gathering of Israel restored by Moses is to empower those who hold the keys to direct those who are already baptized. That means modern Israel, essentially, to gather out of all the nations of the earth in order to build temples so that the Lord can reveal ordinances to them. So, yeah, Joseph Smith, in his understanding, would probably say, yeah, the purpose of gathering is to build houses. Now, like you said, these keys are exercised almost five years later in Nauvoo, Illinois, when Joseph Smith calls for all my saints to come from afar to build a house to my name so that I may reveal mine ordinances unto them. That's in section 124, verses 25, 27, and 40. And at this time, this is when many church members, especially in Western Europe, start to respond to the call, start to gather to Nauvoo, help to build a temple there, and thereafter receive the ordinances that the Lord had promised that he had revealed. And this continues until we have people coming from all over the world to the Intermountain west to help build the temples that are there. And then the gathering switches where we started to build temples in places like Laie, Hawaii, and Karsten, Canada, and Bern, Switzerland, and London. And it expands into this work that we're building today, where the gathering is still going on. It's just we've got the center built now. Now let's build the stakes. And part of that is to gather to build temples. Gather to the stakes. The stakes will have temples. The temple's going to be where you. So, yeah, I agree with you that maybe it's a mystery to say this is about missionary work. It's more about what missionary work is for, which is to get people together so that we can really, truly gather Israel and build temples, just like that first gathering that happened.

[B]

This isn't about missionary work so much as it is what comes after missionary work. Right. Which is now we're preparing people for the temple. So I would say these keys are all about building the temple, actually. These are keys that you gather in order to build so God can reveal ordinances. It was way more dramatic. Let's just acknowledge this in, let's say, Joseph Smith's day when they're building the Nauvoo Temple, or Brigham Young's day, when they're building the Salt Lake Temple and people are coming from around the world to, like, help with that. Right? And then they stay there, they live there, and they have kids there. And, like, this is just how it was. But like you said, there's a switch that happens where the prophets start to say to people, why don't you stay home and we'll bring the temples to you. And now the gathering becomes way less about moving geographically to help build a temple so I can receive the ordinances and more about living in such a way that I can qualify for the ordinances of the temple that may just be a couple hours from my house. And I can be gathered, if you will, into the promises of the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel. All the covenant promises God has ever made to his people can be made to me in a temple. Now, somewhere nearby. Actually, I happen to live in a place, Casey, about five minutes away from a temple. And my kids, who have not yet been endowed or not yet received the higher ordinances of the Gospel, for them to be gathered, we're not going to have to go very far, if that makes sense.

[A]

It's that line between the physical gathering, which was necessary in the early church to literally build the temple, to what we're really talking about, which is a gathering back into the family of God, being sealed into this chain that connects all the way back to Adam and Eve, which connects to our father and mother in heaven as well.

[B]

So that's verse 11. That's one verse. Those are the keys of Moses. We'll pick up the pace here. The other ones don't take as much work to try to come to understand what they are, but that one's important.

[A]

You did lay a good foundation here, which is to say this is all about temples. Like, if you're trying to figure out what was restored, think starting with the temple and then work your way forward. So let's pick it up in verse 12. After Moses departed, another divine messenger, who they just identify as Elias, Elias appears. Now, the identity of this Elias is unknown. In Joseph Smith's Revelations, the generic name Elias is sometimes used to refer to various messengers who generally appear as forerunners to the first or second coming of Christ. And this might be the case with the messenger here. In fact, Joseph Smith gives a discourse later on where he talks about the spirit of Elias and how it's the spirit of preparation for running. So we don't know exactly who this is, and I think we're going to to lay out our theories in the controversies section. So hang on for that. But whoever this messenger is, Joseph and Oliver said that he, this is their wording, committed the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed. So let's break this down. The word dispensation as used here could be understood to be a system of principles and rites or rituals. So in a sense, pias committed to Joseph and Oliver, a system of principles and rituals associated with the Gospel of Abraham, which isn't a phrase you hear very much either. Gospel of Abraham, which is connected to the idea of generations. It says in us and our seed, all generations after should be blessed. The apostle Paul in the New Testament uses similar language, saying that God preached the Gospel unto Abraham. There you do hear that phrase saying to him, in thee shall all nations be blessed. That's Galatians 3, 8. So as we seek to decipher the kind of confusing language here to get clarity on what's being restored by Elias, it seems pretty straightforward to say that it at least includes the means of extending this blessing of Abraham through ritual. So the blessings that were given to Abraham are going to be given to other people through the rituals, through the dispensation that was given. And in the modern church today, there's only one, one ritual by which the blessings of Abraham are explicitly extended to God's people. That's the ordinance of marriage in the temple, the ordinance of sealing. So it seems pretty likely that what Elias restored was the means to extend the blessings of Abraham to couples through the sacred ritual of marriage.

[B]

Yeah. And I think it was that same line of reasoning that led elder Bruce R. McConkie to conclude that through Elias in the Kirtland Temple, he said, quote, the marriage discipline of Abraham was restored. That is, he said, elias restored celestial marriage. Boom, right there. The dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham restored. So next time you're in the temple, whether it's your own marriage or you're doing ceilings for the dead, or you go attend the wedding of a friend, just notice and listen for the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And think back as you do that, to this moment in Kirtland in 1836, when Elias restored the keys to be able to extend those blessings. That's pretty precious right there. Now, let's transition to verse 13, where Joseph and Oliver continue. They said, after this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us. For Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, Death stood before us and said, behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he, Elijah, should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore, Elijah continued, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands. Hands. Or in other words, we could say the keys of the system of rituals necessary to turn the hearts of the fathers and children toward one another are committed into your hands. Right, but what did this mean? And what would these keys actually enable those who hold them to do? So oftentimes we talk about, these are the sealing keys. What do they do? Well, we usually talk about sealing the way we talk about, you know, marriage. Like they went to the temple, his husband and wife, wife to get sealed. But we already talked about how Elias brought the keys of the marriage covenant. So what are these additional keys? What are they? Well, years later in Nauvoo, when the meaning of this was much more clear to Joseph Smith, he taught this. He said, quote, the spirit power and calling of Elijah is that ye have power to hold the keys to receive, obtain, and perform all the ordinances belonging to the kingdom of God, even under the turning of the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the hearts of the children unto the fathers, even those who are dead. This is where we start to lift the corner and start to peer into the vastness of the work of helping the dead. Right. Nobody's talking like that in Kirtland in 1836, but by Nauvoo, this is starting to make a lot more sense. He goes on to say this, quote, the spirit of Elijah is that degree of power which holds the sealing power of the kingdom kingdom to seal the hearts of the fathers to the children and of the children to their fathers, not only on earth, but in heaven, both the living and the dead to each other. Ah, okay. So. So the keys Elijah is here restoring to Joseph and Oliver are the. The keys of the sealing power of the kingdom. That's what Joseph called them. And their primary function is to make relationships eternal. Now, again, you could say, well, isn't that what the marriage covenant is doing, doing? And we need to pull those apart for a second and watch how they work together. The keys of Elias restore the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham to make the promises of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to a couple. Then you add to that the keys of Elijah, and now you have the ability to make those promises and those relationships eternal. So Joseph will say about the marriage ceiling, he'll say, there's two keys. You need two keys in order to make. Make the marriage sealing permanent, those of Elias and of Elijah. And so that's Something to chew on a little bit.

[A]

Yeah. And this is where that idea comes from, that sealing power is used in temples to seal children to parents and parents to children. This is all in fulfillment of Malachi's promise, turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, children of the fathers. That this kind of network is being created where the human family is being linked and sealed together into one big eternal family. This is central to the purposes of God. It's central to the happiness of his children. In fact, step back a little bit and look at the whole. And you can see how each one of the keys given in the Kirtland temple, restored by these angels that visit Joseph and Oliver, are kind of a capstone to all the angels that had been appearing before to bring about this big restoration, God's grand purpose for mankind. So indulge me a little bit. We go through, and we're not covering everything here. This is just a sample. So first, there's keys restored by John the Baptist in 1829 to enable the preaching of the gospel of repentance, baptism for the remission of sins. This is the first step that every accountable person has to make to join the kingdom of God. Then second, the keys of the kingdom are restored by Peter, James and John and held by the apostles. That enables the opening of the nations for the preaching of the Gospel, Gospel and the directing of the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. Then third, the keys of the gathering of Israel are restored by Moses that enables the directing of those previously baptized to gather among the nations of the earth to build temples so that the Lord can reveal ordinances to bless them and those who come thereafter. Fourth, the ritual authority restored by Elias enables the extending to couples through marriage the blessings of Abraham and Sarah, I guess we should say here regarding how both they and their posterity will be a blessing to others for endless generations. And then finally, the crowning keys of the sealing power of the kingdom, which are restored by Elijah here, enable relationships to be made eternal so that the human family can be sealed together in one eternally united family under God. And I mean, reflecting on this, it makes a lot of sense why the first presidency in 2020 write the restoration proclamation. And they don't just mention John and Peter, James and John, which we always do. Do they also say Elijah and others? This is an essential part of the big tapestry that's all coming together here as we're talking about priesthood restoration.

[B]

These last three keys you're talking about, Moses, Elias and Elijah all pertain directly to modern temples, right? And the sacred work to be accomplished within their walls. So the Kirtland Temple, we could think about it as like a preparatory temple where the these temple keys and authority could be restored so that later full fledged temples like the Nauvoo Temple and following all the temples we have around the world could be built and be made operational. Right. In fact, here's a quote from Elder Joseph Fielding Smith. He once said this about the Kirtland Temple. He said the Kirtland Temple was built primarily for the restoration of keys of authority. In the receiving of these keys, the fullness of gospel ordinances is revealed. We would never want to say, well, the Kirtland temple was like a proto temple, like a pre temple, and now we have like real temples. I just made the mistake of saying full fledged temples when I was talking about the Nauvoo Temple and others. Like the Kirtland Temple was legitimate. It just had a very unique purpose. It's not the kind of temple that we go into today to receive ordinances. It's not that kind. What it was uniquely for, as Elder Joseph Fielding Smith is saying here, was to get these keys back so that we could go on and build these other kind of temples where we can restore the entire family of God, living and dead. It's like a crucial piece, a step into the full picture of what God was always up to from the very beginning. Right. If it were not so, then the earth would be utterly wasted. As he said, this had to happen.

[A]

And that might explain why the Kirtland Temple is so different. When the Kirtland Temple came back under church ownership in 2024, I rem a lot of my friends from Community of Christ were really nervous and even some people from our church were enthusiastic, like, hey, let's gut this building and turn it into a modern ordinance temple. We're never going to do that. They are building a temple in Cleveland that's only about 15 minutes away. That's how you do it. The Kirtland temple is a historic site and it's open to all people as it was back in Joseph Smith's day for a very specific reason. And it was the vessel to receive these authorities and powers. And that makes it unique and special. And I wouldn't dream of doing anything to fundamentally change the nature of that building because it's a shrine, it's a sacred place where these incredible things happened and that's the way it should remain.

[B]

Yeah, it was absolutely unique and it totally fulfilled the purpose of its creation. 100 when? Well, January through April for sure, but especially the 3rd of April, 1836. Booyah right there. To top it all off, Joseph and Oliver say in verse 16 that Elijah's return and conferral of his keys was an indicator that God's purposes were drawing nearer to their climactic conclusion. Here's what he said, and by this ye may know, Elijah said that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. So this was a crucial thing that needed to happen prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ and as an indication that things are underway and the second coming is drawing nearer. Exciting times, man, exciting times.

[A]

Big stuff. And a very special and significant building there.

[B]

All right, our second C for Section 110 Controversies. Casey, I have a controversy we've already hinted at, but let's hit it head on. Now there is this messenger. The second messenger says he's Elias, and the third messenger says he's Elijah. But anyone who's read the New Testament knows that Elias is just a Greek name for Elijah. Like John the Baptist is referred to as this Elijah like prophet. And so they call him the Elias who came to prepare the way for the Lord. And that's caused a lot of angst in people who have read the New Testament and then come back to this and said, wait a second. This says there's three people. But we know that Elias and Elijah are the same person. So why is doctrine and covenants 110 saying that they're like, there's three people, Moses, Elias and Elijah. Like, how is Elias and Elijah two different people? You think about the amount of transfiguration in Matthew 17, two beings appear there, Moses and Elijah. Right? And so people feel like this Elias is like this odd man out, this odd messenger out. And some wonder if Joseph just made a mistake in thinking that Elias was like a. You know, this is the most skeptical view. Elias is just like Joseph making a mistake and thinking that it's an actual third person when really silly, silly Joseph.

[A]

That's a pretty weak critique. I have heard people slam Joseph Smith by saying, well, he was such an ignoramus, he didn't know that Elias is the Greek version of the name Eli. Well, he did. He actually says that Elijah appeared in the same set of visions basically here. So by the way, in the chapter before the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus turns to his disciples, that famous event that happens at Caesarea Philippi, whom say ye that I am, Their first answer actually is, well, some say Elias, meaning some people think you're Elijah. That's come back. And in the Doctrine and Covenants, I tried to pin this term down and it gets confusing. Like, section 27 strongly implies that Elias is Gabriel, who's the angel that appeared to Zacharias, the son of John the Baptist, meaning Gabriel is identified by Joseph Smith as Noah. And section 76 says that John the Revelator is an Elias or is going to be an Elias. And so I don't know if we have a definitive answer, but here's a couple statements from church leaders that kind of contain their reasoning about it. So let me start with Boyd K. Packer here. Okay. President Packer. President, the quorum of the 12 passed away a few years ago. He said this. There are three definitions of Elias. Elias equals Elijah in those cases where it's talking about the latter. So, yes, sometimes when you see Elias in Scripture, especially in the New Testament, it just means Elijah. He said Elias equals Elias in those cases where it's talking about a particular man, a prophet, we know very little about him, but he exists. Existed. So there probably was an Old Testament figure named Elias that existed, but we don't know very much about him. Third, he says Elias can mean a messenger in the Kirtland Temple. Elias, the Elias. Not a messenger, but the prophet Elias appeared and committed the keys of the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham.

[B]

So he favors the second definition there.

[A]

Yeah, there was a prophet named Elias. We don't have record of him in the current Old Testament, but that he lived sometime around the time of Abraham and appeared and committed the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham. So there's just a prophet named Elias that was lost from the Scriptures, which isn't all that outlandish when you consider that like Zenos and Zihuac and Newham and a bunch of Old Testament figures appear to have been lost from the current Old Testament as we have it, but were put back in place in places like the Book of Mormon.

[B]

Okay, well, I will see your President Boyd K. Packer quote, and I will raise you a Bruce R. McConkey quote. He has a different idea. He says this quote, after Moses speaking of the Kirtland Temple, here came Elias. We know not who he was in mortality. There were many prophets who bore that name and title. One was Noah. Apparently, this Elias who appeared in the Kirtland Temple lived in the day of Abraham and may even have been Abraham himself. Himself. Close quote. So throw that one into the mix. This could have actually been Abraham, which brings, you know, that raises the question in my mind. Like if it was Abraham, why not just say it was Abraham? Because Moses didn't come with some secret identity. It was Moses. And then Elijah comes. So why, why would you need to cloak Abraham's identity in this secret Elias phrase? I don't know, but Elder McConkey is clearly speculating here.

[A]

I kind of like that theory. I used to have a teacher. Todd Parker was my religion teacher when I was an undergrad at. And he used to say, hey, Abraham is the only major dispensation head who didn't appear because he had an acronym. He would say, Adam eats nuts and many Christmas sweets. That was all the dispensation heads. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Christ, Joseph Smith, Adam eats nuts and many Christmas sweets. And he's saying the only one that doesn't put an appearance in the Restoration is Abraham, which seems odd. And so his theory was that the Elias is actually Abraham. The person bringing back the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham is Abraham. Maybe they wanted to avoid too frequent repetition of the name. So he said, just call me Elias. I don't know, this is old school, but I'm going to go Back to the 1940s to John A. Widtsoe, who I love John A. Widtsoe, he said. From this reference to the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham, it has been concluded that Elias was a prophet who lived near the time of the patriarch, Patriarch Abraham. Really nothing more definite is known about the person Elias and his activity on earth. But then he adds, it should be said that some students believe that Elias who appeared in the Kirtland Temple was Noah the patriarch. Modern revelation informs us that Elias visited Zacharias to inform him that he would have a son known later as John the Baptist. He's referencing doctrine and Covenants 27:7. The Bible says that that it was the angel Gabriel who visited Zacharias. Joseph Smith said that Gabriel is Noah. This is in a discourse Joseph Smith gives. These students therefore conclude that Elias is another name or title of Noah, which again is a good theory. Everybody's descended from Noah. John A. Widzo Hedges Betsy says this inference may or may not be correct. The name Gabriel may be born by more than one personage or it may be a title, as was the case with Elias. Elias, when Elias the man lived and what he did in his life must for the present remain in the field of conjecture. So John A. Widtsoe's being really responsible here and saying, hey, here's a couple theories. Section 27 makes it sound like It's Noah, but he doesn't add in the section 77 makes it John. And there's a couple other possibilities there too. So I don't know where I land. You know where I land. I lean towards saying that it's a Abraham. That's my guess saying until we get further evidence, we don't know. So I'm just going to say that's the direction I lean.

[B]

I'm with Elder Widtso that this remains in the field of conjecture. And I'm agnostic on the Elias question. How about that?

[A]

It shows there's three apostles, all scriptorians, who basically said we don't really know. So I guess the firm position will settle on us. We don't really know. Let me throw a controversy at you. This is one that gets brought up sometimes because it used to be that when you toured through the Kirtland Temple, Community of Christ was in charge of the temple. Section 110 isn't in their Doctrine and Covenants. They broke away from our church in. You could argue about the date, but the Last date the two churches are connected is 1844. And their doctrine and Covenants is way different than ours. It has almost 30 more sections to it, but it doesn't have section 110. And you mentioned at the first of this episode, Section 110 wasn't added until the 1876 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. It wasn't really published until 1852, like the first vision. A lot of people might argue, hey, if this is such a big deal, why wasn't publicized immediately? Like, why didn't Joseph Smith run out of the temple saying, oh my goodness, you're not going to believe what just happened to us. How come this wasn't known earlier than 1852 and not canonized before 1872?

[B]

Yeah. Wow, that's a harder question than who is Elias? Yeah, I think it's a really important question and I think there's a couple angles here. So what we can say for sure is that this was written down immediately. Okay. So if, if that's something that bothers people are like, well, maybe this is just a later reminiscence. Maybe it didn't, you know, maybe there was memory problems or maybe it's a pure fabrication. Maybe this didn't even, you know, we could, we can put all that to bed because the very same day that this happened, we've got W.W. phelps writing a letter to his wife Sally, telling her that he had heard that this had just happened. In fact, let Me quote him. This is one source. He says to his wife Sally that in the temple that day, quote, there was a manifestation of the Lord to brother Joseph and Oliver, by which they learned thus the great and terrible day of the Lord, as mentioned by malice, Malachi was near even at the doors. That's like, gold standard when it comes to, like, history, right? This is Phelps to his wife, April 1836. It is contemporary. It's right there. Second, we also know that Warren Cowdery, who was Joseph's scribe at this time, writes this down, like, I want to say, a day or two after it happened. And you can again, you can go and see that in Joseph Smith papers. You can see his handwriting. It's the journal entry for 3rd April, 1836. He just lays this all out. In fact, it's from that account that we have section 110. So I don't think you can level the accusation that this was a later reminiscence that that won't hold any water. The question's a good one. If you're saying, well, why didn't they, like, publish it in the church newspaper? Why didn't they tell more people about it? Like, why didn't Joseph Smith make this a bigger deal? I think that's actually a valid question. I don't have a really solid answer to. I would just push back against the idea that this is. Is, like, historically suspect. It's not historically suspect in terms of, like, sources, but I don't know his motive in not talking about it more. Do you have any thoughts on why he might not have publicized it?

[A]

I don't know. I mean, I was about to say, well, the appearance of a heavenly being is sacred. It might be something that he felt like wasn't for the knowledge of the general public quite yet. At the same time, there's tons of manifestations of heavenly beings at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. And it seems like they don't have any problem telling people about. In fact, some of the manifestations happen outside the temple. And so the general public knows. Then there's the appearance of the Father and Son. That becomes section 137, which happens in the Kirtland Temple in January. And Joseph Smith writes into his history in 1838. So no issue there either.

[B]

Section 76, right, where it says, we saw the Father and the Son. Like, they just published that. Yeah, that's true.

[A]

I don't have a good reason why they wouldn't just tell everybody about this immediately. Immediately. It's just that they didn't. And it doesn't seem like it's because Joseph Smith didn't grasp the significance of what this means. He starts assembling the temple theology we're familiar with based off these experiences. He discourses about Elias and Elijah, Moses, and sort of emerges in the years after this with this better understanding of exactly what temples are for and what they're trying to do. So I don't know. It is a common phenomenon. Phenomenon that Joseph Smith was more comfortable inserting revelations into the scriptural canon than experiences. But Section 76 seems to counter that too. Right? Like, he doesn't have any problem putting section 76 in, which is an experience he has. But in general, he doesn't publicize the first vision until he absolutely has to, to clear up misunderstandings that are happening. He doesn't write himself into the narrative a lot. It seems like he wants to let the Lord speak in the narrative. I can tell you a theory on why it's not in the Doctrine and covenants until 1876. It seems like the reorganized Church, which becomes Community of Christ, does have an impact on this. When the reorganized Church really starts kind of firing up, which is around 1860, when Joseph Smith III takes over as leader, their claim is that, well, we have a line of authority that goes back to Joseph Smith. Therefore we can have the same. Same claim to the priesthood that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does. It seems like Orson Hyde and Brigham Young both countered that by saying, you might have the priesthood, but you have to have the keys necessary to direct the priesthood. Because the 1876 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants doesn't just include section 110 for the first time. It includes section 13, section 2, section 121, which all have to do with priesthood key. And so it seems like that may have been their counter argument to the reorganization, is to basically say, yes, you can have a lineage that traces yourself back to Joseph, but you have to have received the keys. Which the quorum of the 12 are making the argument that they received the keys right after Joseph Smith dies. And they're talking about it immediately there. It seems like Brigham Young and Orson Pratt really wanted to canonize that argument. They wanted to put it into the script scriptures so that everybody knows this was a key formative event as well, that you have to have priesthood keys in order to be a legitimate successor to Joseph Smith.

[B]

Yeah, I think that is as solid a theory as the day is long, Casey. I think. I think. I think the history bears that out that section 110 is placed in our Doctrine and Covenants as a claim to legitimacy, the legitimacy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Like that's how fundamental and huge the this is at that time.

[A]

Maybe we're overthinking. I mean, sometimes an event happens and we don't understand its significance. Like, I was really surprised to find out that Section 137, which wasn't canonized until 1979, took place in 1836. Like it took us over 150 years. And when you look at Section 137, which talks about seeing Joseph Smith's brother in the celestial kingdom and realizing there was a way for everybody, seems obvious, obvious that it should be in the scriptural canon, but maybe it just wasn't so obvious at the time that it was known. But saying it should be in the canon is maybe another story.

[B]

Okay, that one kind of stumped us. Good question. Those are some thoughts.

[A]

We didn't resolve either controversy this week. I'm sorry, but that's okay. These aren't the sort of controversies that should rock your testimony. They're just interesting things to speculate on and that's all we're doing.

[B]

Okay, very good. This is our, our idea of good clean fun.

[A]

Well, Scott, let's talk consequences of section 110.

[B]

Section 110 records the final elements of the fulfillment of the Lord's promise way back in 1831 to endow the faithful with power from on high. And this endowment came in the form of angelically delivered temple keys and privileges which would result in tremendous blessings poured out upon the heads of God's people. Not just the living, we find out, but also ultimately the dead. And it records the ultimate fulfillment of Malachi's millennia old promise of Elijah's return and Angel Moroni's specific affirmation of that promise to Joseph 13 years earlier. Because of which, remember, the original version in Malachi says the earth will not be cursed. Or in Moroni's version, the earth will not be wasted because Elijah, Elijah came, but will be blessed gloriously. As I said at the very beginning, this is one of the earth defining events in all of history, because of which the living and the dead will be able to be sealed together in that network to help bring to pass the ultimate purpose of the restoration, which is to restore God's people. It's always been about restoring God's people and you just can't do without the events of 3rd April, 1830 and still have that project work Major Outcome.

[A]

And you and I have used the analogy that, you know, Kirtland is where Joseph Smith received all the pieces necessary to assemble temple theology. I think I was saying puzzle pieces and you were saying LEGO bricks. Either is correct. But one of the most fascinating aspects of the restoration is after section 110, you can see Joseph Smith putting these pieces together and gradually assembling the theology that we believe in right now, which is one of the most appeal healing aspects of our faith. This idea that relationships can last for eternity and that you can still do things for people that have passed away, that you can be proactive towards your loved ones that have left this life, that there's a connection between the living and the dead really is one of the most profound aspects of our faith. And it really kind of all starts right here with this miraculous appearance of Jesus, Moses, Elias, and Elijah.

[B]

Yeah, that's well said. And remember, this happens on Easter Sunday, which also happens to be Passover Sunday, and I don't think that was coincidence. And remember that Passover is celebrating the Exodus story which culminates, remember, in Moses leading Israel to Mount Sinai to receive the law and the temple pattern. It's the Exodus out of bondage into freedom. Freedom how? Freedom through the covenant, freedom through the law and the ordinances of the temple. And Easter Sunday, we're celebrating here, Jesus literally breaking the bands of death and affecting another kind of exodus, an exodus of those who are dead being able to come back out of the bondage of death and hell and captivity of the devil into this glorified kingdom. They call it the Kingdom of God. Right. Where in resurrected, perfected bodies, we get to rule and reign with God as God. Kings and queens and priests and priestesses like, this is where the story has always been going. Easter is a type of Exodus story to this ultimate end. The Passover story is an Exodus story with that powerful temple theology at the climax. And all of that's kind of swirling together on this 3rd of April, 1836, when these keys are restored to prepare all of us for those ultimate ends. And I just think there's so many layers here that it's so beautiful and meaningful and rich. Wow. Thanks for spending time with me today, Casey, talking about this. It's just so rewarding.

[A]

It's wonderful stuff. And again, it's putting down the seeds that we're going to see kind of grow and blossom through the remaining years of Joseph Smith's ministry and even down until our time.

[B]

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Casey.

[A]

Yeah, thank you. Until next time, we'll see you then.

[B]

Yeah, we'll see you next week. Sa.