LDS Place

Our watchmen on the tower are known to us as apostles and prophets. They are our spiritual eyes in the sky, and they know, through inspiration and insight and pure intelligence, the course these storms may take. They continue to raise their voices in warning to tell us of the tragic consequences of willful and wanton violations of the Lord’s commandments. To intentionally ignore their warnings is to court misery, sorrow, and ruin. To follow them is to follow the chosen servants of the Lord into spiritual pastures of peace and plenty.

David R. Stone

The most precious thing lost in the Apostasy was the authority held by the Twelve – the priesthood keys. For the Church to be His Church, there must be a Quorum of the Twelve who hold the keys and confer them on others.

Boyd K. Packer

The word apostle, in its origin, literally means “one sent forth.” If that definition were stated to say “one sent forth with certain authority and responsibility,” it would properly describe the calling as it was given at the time our Lord walked the earth, and as it has been given in our time.

Gordon B. Hinckley

When a man is ordained to the apostleship and set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve, he is given the keys of the priesthood of God. Each of the fifteen living men so ordained holds these keys. However, only the President of the Church has the right to exercise them in their fullness. He may delegate the exercise of various of them to one or more of his Brethren. Each has the keys but is authorized to use them only to the degree granted him by the prophet of the Lord.

Gordon B. Hinckley

Before His death, Jesus Christ prayed to Heavenly Father that His followers would “be one, as we are” (John 17:11). After His death, all the Apostles (except Judas Iscariot, who was dead) were faithful in doing the work of the Savior:

“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord [or, they were ‘one,’ as Jesus had prayed]. …

“And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

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In the early Church, the Savior set the pattern for Church leadership: “He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers” (Eph. 4:11). In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke described the vital role Apostles had in guiding the Church anciently. This model of apostolic leadership continues in the Church today and is further confirmed by revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants and by modern prophets. The striking parallels between the role of Apostles in New Testament times and the role of Apostles today testify of the continuing validity of this sacred office.

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In the course of organizing His Church, Jesus “went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

“And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.” They were called from the ordinary paths of life.

Peter was the first called, and the Lord said to him, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This same sacred authority is inherent in the ordination of every Apostle.

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“The scriptures provide that it is the responsibility of the Quorum of the Twelve to direct all of the affairs of the Church, and when they need help, they are ‘to call upon the Seventy . . . instead of any others’ (D&C 107:38). And now we have eight Quorums of Seventy scattered across the world, more than 300 Seventies, all holding the necessary authority to do whatever the Twelve direct them to do.”

Boyd K. Packer

“Now Elder Christofferson [newly ordained member of the Twelve] may wonder, as I did, why one such as I should be ordained to the holy apostleship.

“There are many qualifications that I lack. There is so much in my effort to serve that is wanting. There is only one single thing, one qualification that can explain it. Like Peter and all of those who have since been ordained, I have that witness.

“I know that God is our Father. He introduced His Son, Jesus Christ, to Joseph Smith. I declare to you that I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that He lives. He was born in the meridian of time. He taught His gospel and was tried. He suffered and was crucified and resurrected on the third day. He, like His Father, has a body of flesh and bone. He made His Atonement. Of Him I bear witness. Of Him I am a witness.”

Boyd K. Packer

“Those of us who have served missions have seen the miracle in the lives of some we have taught as they have come to realize that they are sons and daughters of God. Many years ago an elder who served a mission in the British Isles said at the end of his labors, ‘I think my mission has been a failure. I have labored all my days as a missionary here and I have only baptized one dirty little Irish kid. That is all I baptized.’

“Years later, after his return to his home in Montana, he had a visitor come to his home who asked, ‘Are you the elder who served a mission in the British Isles in 1873?’

” ‘Yes.’

“Then the man went on, ‘And do you remember having said that you thought your mission was a failure because you had only baptized one dirty little Irish kid?’

“He said, ‘Yes.’

“The visitor put out his hand and said, ‘I would like to shake hands with you. My name is Charles A. Callis, of the Council of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am that dirty little Irish kid that you baptized on your mission’ (see The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1996], 602–3).

“That little Irish boy came to a knowledge of his potential as a son of God. Elder Callis left a lasting legacy for his large family. Serving as a mission president for 25 years and in his apostolic ministry for 13 years, he blessed the lives of literally thousands. I feel privileged to have known this great Apostle of the Lord when I was a young man.”

James E. Faust

Shortly after the death of President Gordon B. Hinckley, the 14 men, Apostles, who had had conferred upon them the keys of the kingdom, gathered together in the upper room of the temple in order to reorganize the First Presidency of the Church. There was no question about what would be done, no hesitancy. We knew that the senior Apostle was the President of the Church. And in that sacred meeting, Thomas Spencer Monson was sustained by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as the President of the Church. He nominated and named his counselors. They likewise were sustained, and they were each ordained and given authority. President Monson was specifically given the authority to exercise all of the priesthood keys of authority. Now, as the scriptures provide, he is the only man on the earth who has the right to exercise all of the keys. But we all hold them as Apostles. There is one man among us called and ordained, and he becomes the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Already he was and had been sustained for years as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

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“Some years before he was called as an Apostle himself, Elder Robert D. Hales recounted an experience that demonstrated his father’s sense of that holy calling. Elder Hales said:

” ‘Some years ago Father, then over eighty years of age, was expecting a visit from a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on a snowy winter day. Father, an artist, had painted a picture of the home of the Apostle. Rather than have the painting delivered to him, this sweet Apostle wanted to go personally to pick the painting up and thank my father for it. Knowing that Father would be concerned that everything was in readiness for the forthcoming visit, I dropped by his home. Because of the depth of the snow, snowplows had caused a snowbank in front of the walkway to the front door. Father had shoveled the walks and then labored to remove the snowbank. He returned to the house exhausted and in pain. When I arrived, he was experiencing heart pain from overexertion and stressful anxiety. My first concern was to warn him of his unwise physical efforts. Didn’t he know what the result of his labor would be?

” ‘ Robert,’ he said through interrupted short breaths, ‘do you realize an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ is coming to my home? The walks must be clean. He should not have to come through a snowdrift.’ He raised his hand, saying, ‘Oh, Robert, don’t ever forget or take for granted the privilege it is to know and to serve with Apostles of the Lord’ (in Conference Report, Apr. 1992, 89; or Ensign, May 1992, 64).”

“I think it is more than coincidence that such a father would be blessed to have a son serve as an Apostle.”

D. Todd Christofferson