Transcript

In 1976 an area general conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Following the closing session, President Spencer W. Kimball desired to visit the Vor Frue Church, where the Thorvaldsen statues of the Christus and the Twelve stand. He visited there some years earlier and wanted of all of us to see it, to go there. To the front of the church, behind the altar, stands the familiar stature of the Christus: His arms turned forward and somewhat outstretched, the hands showing the imprint of the nails, and the wound in His side very clearly visible. Along each side stand the statues of the Apostles, Peter at the front to the right and the other Apostles in order. Most of our group was near the rear of the chapel with the custodian. I stood up front with President Spencer W. Kimball before the statue of Peter with Elder Rex D. Pinegar and Johan Helge Benthin, president of the Copenhagen Stake. In Peter's hand, depicted in marble, is a set of heavy keys. President Kimball pointed to those keys and explained what they symbolize. Then, in an act I shall never forget, he turned to President Benthin and with unaccustomed firmness pointed his finger at him and said, "I want you to tell everyone in Denmark that I hold the keys! We hold the real keys, and we use them every day." I will never forget that declaration, that testimony from the prophet. The influence was powerful. The impression was physical in its impact. We walked to the back of the chapel where the rest of the group was standing. Pointing to the statues, President Kimball said to the kind custodian, "These are the dead Apostles." Pointing to me, he said, "Here we have living Apostles. Elder Packer is an Apostle. Elder Monson and Elder Perry are Apostles. And I am an Apostle. We are the living Apostles. You read about the Seventies in the New Testament," he said, "and here are two of the living Seventies, Elder Pinegar and Elder Hales." The custodian, who up to that time had shown no emotion, suddenly was in tears. I felt I had had an experience of a lifetime. "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."

The Keys of the Kingdom

Description
(D&C 90:1-5) President Packer teaches about the keys of the kingdom.
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