Are the keys to the priesthood in the Mormon religion the same keys to the magical land of make believe?

Answer 1

The keys of the Priesthood, that you are asking about are not a physical set of keys. The term "keys" in this case is a symbolic representation of God's approval of that person's ability to act in His name.

The keys of the priesthood are symbolic of the idea that God is a God of order. Just like you must turn to the person with the keys to get through a locked door, you must turn to God, or his authorized servants to get permission to act in His name.

Let me give an example to help illustrate what I am talking about.

In the Christian world there is a lot of differences in understanding about how to properly follow Jesus Christ. One major one is Baptism.

There are some Christian denominations that believe that you must be baptized to be able to get into heaven. There are others who believe that Baptism is a nice act but not needed at all.

Among those that believe it is needed there is even further differences in opinion about Baptism.

Some believe that it is a purely spiritual process, without any physical steps.

Others believe that, you must be physically baptized in water to be properly baptized.

Of those that believe that you must be baptized in water there is even further differences in opinion about the nature of Baptism.

There are some that believe that it does not matter how you get baptized, just as long as you do it. Others believe that you must be baptized in a specific manner.

Of those that believe you must be baptized in a specific manner, there are 3 main groups.

1. Baptism by complete immersion in water.

2. Baptism by pouring water over someone's head.

3. Baptism by sprinkling water on someone.

The Bible does not give us an answer to how a person should be baptized. But it does contain a clue about priesthood keys.

When Christ went to get baptized the record tells us that he was somewhere around Galilee and that John was at Bethabara (which tradition tells us is somewhere near Jericho) a easily a journey of 75 miles and by foot that is several days worth of travel.

So with that in mind one must ask if Christ felt the need to get baptized then way travel all that way to John? If he wanted to he could have just given someone else the authority to baptize him and stay at the sea that he was already near. Well the answer to that question can actually be found from the Sadducees and Pharisees, or at least in what they did not do.

The Sadducees and Pharisees took every opportunity to criticize Christ on every little thing they could think of, and yet they never once criticized him for getting baptized, or for going to John to get baptized.

From that fact we must conclude that Baptism was a practice that the ancient Jews took part in regularly and that the Sadducees and Pharisees recognized John the Baptist's authority to do so.

So given that Christ took every opportunity possible to teach we must then conclude that He wanted us to know about not only baptism but the proper authority to perform it. And when you look at the confusion that exists in our day about Baptism it is not hard to guess why He would have wanted to know about the idea of authority, because if more people knew who held the proper keys to perform things like Baptism then there would be a lot less confusion and disagreement with in the Christian World.

----------------------------------------

No, the keys to the priesthood are those mentioned in Matthew 16:19, which Jesus gave to Peter shortly before his transfiguration. They are not literal keys, but a symbol of authority.

As the priesthood keys are Biblical, they are found in many Christian religions, not just Mormonism. You can check out the "Related Links" below to find representations of the priesthood keys in various Christian religions.