The Ways of Remembrance

Recently my family started reading the Book of Mormon again from the beginning. Since I have several wee ones we have only been doing the children’s illustrated ones as a family. We had tried to read the real deal before, but it was just too painful. I generally read it on my own at least once a year and each time new things pop out. This is the first thing that required my further investigation.

1 Nephi 2:24  And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, 

to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

This stands as direction from the Lord to Nephi as he prays to the Lord for his hard hearted brothers, but I see some very interesting aspects to this statement. By itself the term ‘they’ could be confusing so let’s see it in its longer form.

19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.

23 For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also.

24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

So the first ‘they’ in verse 24 is talking about the seed of Nephi or those that follow the Lord and the second ‘they’ is talking about those that are decedents of Nephi’s rebellious brothers. So the lord uses the rebellious to stir up the waning-righteous in the ‘ways of remembrance.’ What are the ways of remembrance?

We see the general fulfillment of this prophecy in 2 Nephi 5

19 And behold, the words of the Lord had been fulfilled unto my brethren, which he spake concerning them, that I should be their ruler and their teacher. Wherefore, I had been their ruler and their teacher, according to the commandments of the Lord, until the time they sought to take away my life.

 20 Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence.

 21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

 22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be loathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.

 23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.

 24 And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.

 25 And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.

 26 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be priests and teachers over the land of my people.

 27 And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.

Note verse 25 states the ways of remembrance in a slightly different wording,

1 Nephi 2:24 . . . to stir them up in the ways of remembrance

2 Nephi 5:25 . . . to stir them up in remembrance of me

How do we remember Christ? I think that verse 2 Nephi 5:26 sneakily gives us the answer

26 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should 

be priests and teachers over the land of my people.

Why does Nephi through this statement in at this injunction? Why would he mention here that he consecrated his two younger brothers? The key seems to be in regard to them becoming Priest and Teachers. We read of the duties surrounding these two callings in D&C 20:46-60

 46 The priest’s duty is to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament,

 47 And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties.

 . . .

 51 And visit the house of each member, exhorting them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties.

. . .

 53 The teacher’s duty is to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them;

 54 And see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking;

 55 And see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty.

. . .

 59 They are, however, to warn, expound, exhort, and teach, and invite all to come unto Christ.

 60 Every elder, priest, teacher, or deacon is to be ordained according to the gifts and callings of God unto him; and he is to be ordained by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is in the one who ordains him.

These duties of a priest and a teacher are the ways that the lord stirs up the children of men unto the ways of remembrance of him when they are willing to receive. We see this same thing spoken of in  Moroni 6:4

4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the 

power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and 

their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word 

of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, 

relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their 

faith.

Jacob also reiterates many of the same concept of 1 Nephi 2:24 and 2 Nephi 5:25 in Jacob 3:2-3

 2 O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever.

 3 But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the land is cursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like unto you, nevertheless they are cursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you even unto destruction.

The statement that stands out to me is that, “the land is cursed for your sakes”, but isn’t this the Promised Land? This pulls to my mind the First Judgment, as Jacob calls it, or in other words, the judgment placed on Satan, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden found in Genesis 3. In fact there are some interesting parallels between Genesis 3 and 1 Nephi 2. Let’s consider 1 Nephi 2:19-24 again note the differences that occur with the lords dealing with those that put aside his commandments and those that follow his commandments.

1 Nephi 2

19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

Genesis 3

 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

1 Nephi 2

21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.

Genesis 3

 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

1 Nephi 2

23 For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also.

24 And if it so be that be that shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

Genesis 3

 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her 

seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

How does he stir them up when they are NOT willing to receive or to follow the commandments?

After Jacob I don’t really see this teaching of the ‘ways of remembrance’ directly, but we do see it abundantly practiced. Considering the availability of the small plats of Nephi was restricted and possibly forgotten about after they came into the hands of King Benjamin until Morori’s day that is not unexpected. It is interesting to note that most occurrences of the word ‘remember’ found latter in the Book of Mormon are referring to something undesirable. Enos tries to turn the hearts of the Laminates to the ways of remembrance through the teaching of the word of god, but fails because they are unwilling to receive. But latter on the Sons of Mosiah succeed, why. What was the difference.

We see this same thing when Alma followed this same pattern with the Zoramites in Alma 31 bringing with him teachers and priest to spread the word of God to bring the people back to the remembrance of the Lord their god.

 5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.

 6 Therefore he took Ammon, and Aaron, and Omner; and Himni he did leave in the church in Zarahemla; but the former three he took with him, and also Amulek and Zeezrom, who were at Melek; and he also took two of his sons.

This works for those that were willing to receive but not those who would not. How does the Lord bring those that are hard in heart back to the ways of remembrance, or back to a state where they are willing to receive?

The pivotal component that changed the Laminates was the introduction of the Amulonites, or the priest of Noah into the Lamanites. They taught them as we see in Mosiah 24.

1 And it came to pass that Amulon did gain favor in the eyes of the king of the Lamanites; 

therefore, the king of the Lamanites granted unto him and his brethren that they should be

 appointed teachers over his people, yea, even over the people who were in the land of 

Shemlon, and in the land of Shilom, and in the land of Amulon.

 4 And he appointed teachers of the brethren of Amulon in every land which was possessed by his people; and thus the language of Nephi began to be taught among all the people of the Lamanites.

 5 And they were a people friendly one with another; nevertheless they knew not God; neither did the brethren of Amulon teach them anything concerning the Lord their God, neither the law of Moses; nor did they teach them the words of Abinadi;

 6 But they taught them that they should keep their record, and that they might write one to another.

Wait, they were friendly! That seems very different then the statements made about the Lamanites in 2 Nephi 5:24

 24 And because of their cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.

or in Enos 1:20

20 And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God. But our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed, and they were led by their evil nature that they became wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness; feeding upon beasts of prey; dwelling in tents, and wandering about in the wilderness with a short skin girdle about their loins and their heads shaven; and their skill was in the bow, and in the cimeter, and the ax. And many of them did eat nothing save it was raw meat; and they were continually seeking to destroy us.

The Lamanites changed, but that change only occurred because they were willing to receive something from those that rebelled against god, so that they could be prepared to receive the word of god.

We don’t know how the Zoramites came back, but we know they became Lamanites for a time (Alma 43:4) and were among the righteous after Christ came (4 Nephi 1:36) and we see them again in Mormon’s day as being counted among the Nephites (Mormon 1:8).

I’m still looking for more clues about the rebellious being used to stir the righteous up in the ways of remembrance. I know the Chaldeans were often used to scourge the Israelites into remembrance.

A point about the importance of remembering:

I would like to focus on two last items. Moroni had the words of the small plates and he makes the practice of remembering an important part of what he teaches. Even in Moroni’s promise we see he has a great understanding for the importance of remembering. Often Missionaries and Members alike only focus on verses 4-5 but here I will focus on the whole thing Moroni 10:3-5

 3 (RECEIVE) Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, (REMEMBER) that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

 4 And when ye shall receive these things, (ASK) I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, (RECEIVE) by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

Moroni 4:3

 3 O God, the Eternal Father, (ASK) we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who (RECEIVE) partake of it; (REMEMBER) that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, (ASK) that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, (REMEMBER) and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, (RECEIVE) that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

My ‘Own’ Miracles

I had what you might call a small miracle last Sunday. I was scheduled to work and I had a special project to do right off at 6am. On Saturday my boss called me to let me know he was going to come in just for my special project and then go home, because his boss had insisted. He didn't want to come in that Sunday; he had already told me, but the work I was doing was only going to take 30 minutes max. At 6am I started and was done in about 10 minutes. So I assumed my boss had taken off right after that, but an hour later I saw him still in his office.

He said he would be leaving shortly. I went up and watched the cameras and he literally tried to leave three times and each time as he got ready to enter his truck, he stopped, and headed back to his office. Just before each attempt he called the control room to tell them he was leaving. Something was keeping him there. Finally, he called me and asked if I had anything important going on at work I still needed to do. I let him know that I didn't. Then he said that he was going home and that I was welcome to go home too at my leisure.

Now this is out of character for my Boss. He is normally the guy that at 10am will say, "go around and see if anyone needs you today and if NOT you can go ahead and leave at 5:45pm today" when you were scheduled to work till 6pm.

It was great! I got to go to church with my family and I was able to get ahold of some people that have been really hard to get ahold of, and I even got to see our youngest take her first steps all on her own. I would have missed it had my boss not let me go early. The next day I thanked him for letting me go early and explained the highlights of my day. His response was, "You mean I did something right!" He has had a hard time at work recently and has been the direct cause of lots of roadblocks during this maintenance outage. I fact some at work were saying that every job my Boss had a hand in had failed in some way shape or form..

I had to leave really quick and head back to my desk, because I was suddenly overwhelmed with the spirit at this point. I had already thanked God for working on my Boss so that I could leave early on Sunday, but at that point I realized that the blessings of that Day where only in small part for me, but that the real reason for all those miracles was to lift my Boss' spirits, because the Lord knew how down in the dumps he felt. God knew that my Boss really needed to feel that he had hit a Homerun, and God knew I would recognize those miracles and tell my Boss. I am so thankful that the lord trusts me with the task of lifting the heads and hearts of his children.

The First Judgement

My scripture study recently came across 2 Nephi 9:7, which is a discourse by Jacob, given at the request of Nephi his older brother presumably at the Temple. In this verse there is a phrase that was unfamiliar to me, First Judgment. It makes sense to me that if there is to be a Finial Judgment then why not a First Judgment so I tried to go deeper, but really found nothing in church material that uses this term First Judgment.

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

From the context of this singular use of the term by Jacob it appears that he is referring to something that took place with the fall of Adam. So immediately I went to the book of Moses 4:20-25

There are three Judgments proclaimed in this exchange between God and Those that dwelled on the Premortal Earth. The First Judgement is on Satan (and I would assume his followers):

20 And I, the Lord God, said unto the serpent: Because thou hast done this thou shalt be cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life;

 21 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The statement about being cursed above the all cattle seams really odd to me. As I pondered it I thought about how both accounts that we have are given to Moses and that just down the mountain the Israelite were building a golden calf and they had just left Egypt that has many gods that have forms of cattle. Then contrasting this to who he is speaking about, Satan. He who tried to take God's glory in exchange for making everyone pass the second estate. He wanted to be a God without the trials. I think this statement about being cursed above the cattle is that Satan will never be a god in the sense that our Heavenly Father is a God, but only a little more then a god as the cattle are. Worshiped but without any real glory or power. His progress to God hood has been stopped. In face Jacob in the next verse of 2 Nephi 9:8 tells us exactly that.

 8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

"to rise no more" is defining what it means to become the devil, or in other words to stop in ones progression to becoming as god is.

The Second is the First Judgement on Woman:

 22 Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

The Third is the First Judgement on Man:

 23 And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

 24 Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.

 25 By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die—for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.

While I was studying this out I felt impressed that I might have look at the one third part being cast out of heaven with some false assumtions. While the Earth was still in its Premortal state it was still in Heaven in the presence of God the Eternal Father. So might it be that the three parts talked about are the Followers of Satan, Woman and Man. I know most people think of it as 1/3 and 2/3 but the scriptures normally say 'Part' meaning a segment or division not necessarily equal or the same. It just seams interesting to me I had never felt that impression before, but something rings true about it.

Foreordination – some thoughts

My mind has been all over the place lately and I can tell you I have been having some awesome spiritual experiences recently. Sad thing is, the situations around these experiences I’ve been in many times before but this time the whole experiences are almost surreal. If you remember in Mosiah 2:30 where King Benjamin says,

 “For even at this time, my whole frame doth tremble exceedingly while attempting to speak unto you; but the Lord God doth support me”

I feel like I have experienced that off and on.

I’m still connecting lots of dots that I never even considered before. It is like I am seeing with new eyes. We talk in the church about Foreordination which as defined by the church is different from Preordination. On the church website foreordination is explained such . . .

In the premortal spirit world, God appointed certain spirits to fulfill specific missions during their mortal lives. This is called foreordination. Foreordination does not guarantee that individuals will receive certain callings or responsibilities. Such opportunities come in this life as a result of the righteous exercise of agency, just as foreordination came as a result of righteousness in the premortal existence.

The doctrine of foreordination applies to all members of the Church, not just to the Savior and His prophets. Before the creation of the earth, faithful women were given certain responsibilities and faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood duties. As people prove themselves worthy, they will be given opportunities to fulfill the assignments they then received.

I’ve come to understand more fully what Joseph Smith meant when he taught that life is truly one eternal round.

In the Preexistence we learned our first lessons and prepared for the mortal realms. As part of this preparation we received blessings, instruction, and for the faithful foreordination in preparation for our mortal sojourns. When this journey is complete it is not intended to be the end of our progress. Yet, as we know a third part of the heavenly hosts have already ended their progress. We learn that the only realm after this life for which progress can continue is in the Glory of the Celestial Kingdom.

I have often heard it said that this life has two main events, receiving a physical body which we do at birth, and that of being tried and tested, which I’m not sure that even ends in this life or the life to come. The only thing I can relate this second item with is that of rebirth, or becoming born again through water, Spirit and blood as spoken of in Moses 6:59 which is a series of post all unto its self. The time frame for this is from mortal birth till the final judgment which takes place after the resurrection.

The only ordinance spoken of as required for entry into the Celestial kingdom is that of Baptism D&C 75:51-52 and as usual I speak of baptism as a whole (water, fire, and Spirit). I also understand that Eternal progress is possible for all in the Celestial realm not just those who receive Exaltation.

Would it not make sense that we should be prepared through instruction, blessings and foreordination in this mortal realm? The truth is we are. It happens predominantly in the Temple. Think of how the washing and anointing goes. If things are truly an eternal round and progress is only possible in the Celestial Kingdom and the only ordinance required for entry is baptism what is all the rest of the things we do in the church for. Even from birth the celestial patterns are began with the family structure. We practice just as children play house, we practice the celestial order of things in this life. We are continually preparing for higher realms.   We are to learn all we can in the second estate before we move onto the next, just as we were to do in the first estate before moving onto the one we are currently in. The more we learn here the better we will be off in the next. It is far easier for the spirit to remind us of what we once learned then to teach us those things anew.

The Patriarchal Priesthood

I noticed that in the Temple initiatory the workers “anoint you preparatory to your becoming a king and a priest unto the most high God, hereafter to rule and reign in the house of Israel forever.

In the endowment thy remind you specifically, “You have been anointed to become hereafter kings and priests unto the most high God, to rule and reign in the house of Israel forever.”  To receive this ordinances as a male you have to have received the Melchizedek priesthood. Even for a young man to enter the temple he must first have received of the Aaronic Priesthood.  Yet, even then you are not counted as a Priest unto God. The Office of Priest is as an office of the Aaronic Priesthood and High Priest is ia an office of the Melchizedek Priesthood. The King part I understand, but why not a Priest. The true name of the Melchizedek priesthood is I think key:

D&C 107 

2 Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest.
3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.

4 But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.

This is the Priesthood after the order of the Son, Not after the order of the Father.

It is interesting that In the Endowment you put on Aaronic Priesthood robs in the Telestial world and then change into Melchizedek Priesthood robes in preparation to enter the Terrestrial world, and yet you don’t change them again to go into the Celestial world; or do you.

The new garment that you receive in the temple is called the Garment of the Holy Priesthood. Holy is another name for God the Eternal Father, or Man of Holiness. Even in the initiatory for deceased brethren the Melchizedek Priesthood is bestowed upon them in the washing stage in preparation for the anointing which is in preparation for receiving the garment of the holy priesthood. Note the levels of progression and the roles of the members of the God Head. Let it not be confused the anointing is performed with the Melchizedek Priesthood only it is in many ways a fore-ordination into the the Order of God.

Joseph Smith taught that the true nature of the Patriarchal priesthood would be learned inside the Nauvoo Temple and urged the saints to complete it.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843B 44, p.323

The 2nd Priesthood is Patriarchal authority. Go to and finish the temple, and God will fill it with power, and you will then receive more knowledge concerning this priesthood.

We learn that even in Moroni’s visits to Joseph that it would be Elijah that would reveal this priesthood

D&C 2

 1 Behold, 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.

 2 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

 3 If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

We know that it was in the Kirtland Temple that Elijah came to Joseph Smith Jr.

Again in the August of 1830 we have the lord talking about the three Priesthoods, yet he talks of the first, the last and then the second in this verse. Yet at this point only the first two priesthoods had been restored.

D&C 27

 7 And also John the son of Zacharias, which Zacharias he (Elias) visited and gave promise that he should have a son, and his name should be John, and he should be filled with the spirit of Elias;

 8 Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto the first priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron;
 9 And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse;
 10 And also with Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, your fathers, by whom the promises remain;

 11 And also with Michael, or Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the ancient of days;

 12 And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them;

 13 Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fullness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;

D&C 110 (1836)

 13 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, stood before us, and said:

14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—

 15 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—

16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

The Sealing Ordinance is the ordination into the Patriarchal Priesthood. It is the same priesthood given to Adam and passed down through the ages.

It would be right to say one with the Patriarchal Priesthood has the Melchizedek just as all who have the Melchizedek have the Aaronic also. To say they are three or one or even to say two Priesthoods would be correct also. Also, since we are taught that it was passed down from Adam, Melchizedek would have been the rightful heir to the Patriarchal Priesthood in the days of Abraham.

D&C 107:39-41

39 It is the duty of the Twelve, in all large branches of the church, to ordain evangelical ministers, as they shall be designated unto them by revelation--

40 The order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made.

41 This order was instituted in the days of Adam, and came down by lineage in the following manner:

We are told that the Patriarchal order is the order of heaven. Heaven is not ordered by wards and stakes as is the church is here on the earth, but by family units. In this world the Melchizedek priesthood is the Highest priesthood because it is only through Christ that we can obtain eternal life, which is the whole point of this estate, but it is through the Patriarchal priesthood that we can receive Exaltation we practice living in family units here in preparation for eternal increase and abiding in that order of the priesthood for the eternities.

We also learn that the Patriarchal priesthood can only be entered into through the sealing ordinance which requires both a Man and a Woman, because likewise women are promised similar blessings as men in the temple albeit as Queens and Priestesses. This is even hinted at in the token that is used in this ordinance. 

D&C 131

 1 In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;

 2 And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];

 3 And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.

 4 He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.

Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.257

How did Adam bring his descendants into the presence of the Lord? The answer: Adam and his descendants entered into the priesthood order of God. Today we would say they went to the house of the Lord and received their blessings. The order of priesthood spoken of in the scriptures is sometimes referred to as the patriarchal order because it came down from father to son. But this order is otherwise described in modern revelation as an order of family government wherein a man and woman enter into a covenant with God just as did Adam and Eve to be sealed for eternity, to have posterity, and to do the will and work of God throughout their mortality.

Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN

Revelations to the Prophet Joseph Smith supplement those of the New Testament to indicate that the Church of the Firstborn consists of those who have the inheritance of the Firstborn and become joint-heirs with Christ in receiving all that the Father has (Rom. 8:14-17; D&C 84:33-38; see Heirs of God). The Lord said, "If you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fullness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; I am the Firstborn; And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the Church of the Firstborn" (D&C 93:20-22). The Church of the Firstborn is the divine patriarchal order in its eternal form. Building the priesthood family order on this earth by receiving sealings in the temple is a preparation and foundation for this blessing in eternity (see Gospel of Abraham).

The patriarchal order is, in the words of Elder James E. Talmage, a condition where "woman shares with man the blessings of the Priesthood," where husband and wife minister, "seeing and understanding alike, and cooperating to the full in the government of their family kingdom" (Young Woman's Journal 25 [Oct. 1914]:602-603). A man cannot hold this priesthood without a wife, and a woman cannot share the blessings of this priesthood without a husband, sealed in the temple.

I think that this modern Day Parable illustrates this well.

For Time and All Eternity

Boyd K. Packer

Once a man received as his inheritance two keys. The first key, he was told, would open a vault which he must protect at all cost. The second key was to a safe within the vault which contained a priceless treasure. He was to open this safe and freely use the precious things which were stored therein. He was warned that many would seek to rob him of his inheritance. He was promised that if he used the treasure worthily, it would be replenished and never be diminished, not in all eternity. He would be tested. If he used it to benefit others, his own blessings and joy would increase.

The man went alone to the vault. His first key opened the door. He tried to unlock the treasure with the other key, but he could not, for there were two locks on the safe. His key alone would not open it. No matter how he tried, he could not open it. He was puzzled. He had been given the keys. He knew the treasure was rightfully his. He had obeyed instructions, but he could not open the safe.

In due time, there came a woman into the vault. She, too, held a key. It was noticeably different from the key he held. Her key fit the other lock. It humbled him to learn that he could not obtain his rightful inheritance without her.

They made a covenant that together they would open the treasure and, as instructed, he would watch over the vault and protect it; she would watch over the treasure. She was not concerned that, as guardian of the vault, he held two keys, for his full purpose was to see that she was safe as she watched over that which was most precious to them both. Together they opened the safe and partook of their inheritance. They rejoiced for, as promised, it replenished itself.

With great joy they found that they could pass the treasure on to their children; each could receive a full measure, undiminished to the last generation.

Perhaps some few of their posterity would not find a companion who possessed the complementary key, or one worthy and willing to keep the covenants relating to the treasure. Nevertheless, if they kept the commandments, they would not be denied even the smallest blessing.

Because some tempted them to misuse their treasure, they were careful to teach their children about keys and covenants.

There came, in due time, among their posterity some few who were deceived or jealous or selfish because one was given two keys and another only one. “Why,” the selfish ones reasoned, “cannot the treasure be mine alone to use as I desire?”

Some tried to reshape the key they had been given to resemble the other key. Perhaps, they thought, it would then fit both locks. And so it was that the safe was closed to them. Their reshaped keys were useless, and their inheritance was lost.

Those who received the treasure with gratitude and obeyed the laws concerning it knew joy without bounds through time and all eternity.