D&C Section Thirteen

Only one verse but it's so important. The authority of the Aaronic Priesthood is restored to the earth for the first time in nearly 2,000 years. I have walked along the Susquehanna River in the vicinity of where this took place. It is sacred land. There, you can see the foundation of the Hale (Emma's family) home where Joseph and Emma first lived. Also there is the grave marker for Joseph and Emma's first son. The original marker was replaced a few years ago and is now in Salt Lake because it was beginning to deteriorate. An exact replica is at the site now. But you can feel that this is a special place. The Spirit is strong there.

Other than what we know, you have to wonder what else John the Baptist taught Joseph and Oliver before ordaining them to the Aaronic Priesthood. We know that John told them that the Aaronic Priesthood did not have the power for the laying of hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost. But they would receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and authority to do that in the near future. He told them that he was acting under the authority of Peter, James and John and they would ordain them to this higher authority. And we know from their experience that baptism must be done by immersion. I think it's important to notice that this experience didn't just happen. It came after Joseph and Oliver had questions about baptism and the authority to baptize as it's demonstrated in the New Testament, and only after they had gone into the woods to seriously pray about it. Only when they put forth the effort did the angelic visitation occur. This would be the pattern for all of the revelations, visions, and visitations that Joseph would experience.

The first thing that John says in this revelation is that the Aaronic Priesthood holds the keys for the administering of angels. I once taught two brothers whose family lives in the large homes by Utah Valley University. Their father is a nationally known teacher of business and economics at BYU. They used to vacation often at a favorite spot in southern Utah. It was by a beautiful small lake that was fed by a water fall. They were usually all alone as they were this time. One day the boys were jumping off of the top of the falls into the lake. It was one of their favorite things to do, but when the 10 year old brother jumped and disappeared under the falls. The older brother jumped down after him and dove several times down to find him. When he couldn't, he swam to shore where the family was. As he was frantically telling them what happened, up out of the water and walked his 10 year old brother. When he asked the family who had pulled him out of the water, they said no one could have since they had all been on the shore. He then told them that just when he thought he was going to drown, he was reaching up trying to swim out of the undertow when a hand took his and pulled him up out of the undertow of the falls. No one else was in the water and they feel it was his guardian angel.