“A Glorious Day of Restoration,” Liahona, Oct. 2025.
A Glorious Day of Restoration
I cannot think of a single day during the ongoing Restoration when there was more restored than on April 3, 1836.
Many people experienced miraculous manifestations in the Kirtland Temple at its dedication on March 27, 1836, and in the months leading up to it. Some saw angels, some observed cloven tongues of fire, others described pillars of light from the heavens, and a few experienced visions of the Savior.
Joseph Smith described the week of dedication as “a penticost and enduement [endowment] indeed, long to be remembered.” But in my mind, all these combined do not match the enduring—indeed eternal—significance of what happened there on April 3, 1836. I cannot think of a single day during the ongoing Restoration when there was more restored than on April 3, 1836.
Jesus Christ Appears to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, by Walter Rane
Priesthood Keys
To appreciate the significance of what was restored that day, it is essential to have a basic understanding of priesthood keys. The priesthood is the authority and power of God. He grants authority and power to His sons and daughters to act in His name for the salvation of His children. The keys of the priesthood are the authority to direct how, when, and where the priesthood is exercised. Keys do not create more priesthood; rather, they represent the authority to access and exercise the priesthood in specific ways and for specific purposes. They are part of God’s order and are given for the purpose of maintaining proper order.
In a stirring conversation with Peter and the other Apostles, Jesus said, in effect, “I’m going to build a Church, and it will be built on the rock of revelation” (see Matthew 16:18). As part of that Church, “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:19; emphasis added). And one of the things those keys would give them permission to do would be to bind and loose on earth and in heaven.
Prior to April 3, 1836, the Savior, acting through heavenly messengers, restored the priesthood and certain keys, giving Joseph authority to establish the Church, organize priesthood offices, and officiate in the matters set forth in the Articles and Covenants of the Church (see Doctrine and Covenants 20). But Joseph had not received all necessary priesthood keys to perform all ordinances that would become part of the Church. These important keys were restored on April 3, 1836.
On that day—Easter Sunday—Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery joined a large group of Saints in the Kirtland Temple to learn, fellowship, worship, and partake of the sacrament together. Sometime in the afternoon, Joseph and Oliver retired to the Melchizedek Priesthood pulpits on the west end of the main floor and lowered the veil so that they were secluded from others in the temple. They bowed in solemn, silent prayer. We don’t know exactly what they prayed, but we know their prayers were answered.
They reported, “The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.” They saw Jesus Christ standing on the breastwork of the pulpit. After introducing Himself, Jesus declared, “Your sins are forgiven you.” (See Doctrine and Covenants 110:1–5.)
This suggests that part of their silent prayers had been devoted to seeking forgiveness—something that Joseph Smith practiced throughout his life. In that moment, Jesus Christ made them sinless. He was without sin. They were without sin. And the temple had been dedicated, accepted, and sanctified. All things were ready for what was about to happen.
After this vision of the Savior closed, heavenly messengers came to restore priesthood keys: Moses conferred the keys of the gathering of Israel; Elias, committed “the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham”; and Elijah restored the “keys of this dispensation,” or what is often called the sealing power (see Doctrine and Covenants 110:11–16). It is important to understand that these restored keys are complementary. There is great interconnectivity and ultimately interdependence among them.
The Keys of the Gathering of Israel
Anciently, because of disobedience, God’s covenant people, the house of Israel, were scattered. But God promised that He would one day gather them again, restoring them to their original covenant and ultimately to His presence. With the restoration of His Church and gospel through Joseph Smith, the Lord began to fulfill His promise to restore or gather Israel.
Even before the restoration of the keys for the gathering of Israel, those who had been baptized in nearby states were commanded to gather in Kirtland (see Doctrine and Covenants 29:2, 7–8; 37:3).
Once the keys of gathering were restored, missionary efforts increased almost immediately. The gospel was spread not just to neighboring states but also to a neighboring nation and, soon, across the sea in every direction—literally to the four parts of the earth. With these keys, the Apostles could “unlock the door of the kingdom in all places” throughout the world (Doctrine and Covenants 112:17).
At least three things regarding the gathering of Israel are noteworthy. First, when Moses was born, Israel was already gathered into one place. But they were not gathered in the right place. Location matters. They were in bondage, without the freedom to worship. God wanted His covenant people to be in a covenant land or promised land. For ancient Israel, Egypt was not that place. Canaan was. Similarly, He gathers Israel now into a promised place—Zion and her stakes.
Second, the gathering is not simply a grouping of friends, relatives, or like-minded people. The purpose for gathering is to be gathered unto God, in His presence. Ancient Israel carried the traveling tabernacle, a symbol of God’s presence. The same is true for modern Israel. Joseph Smith declared that the “main object” for the gathering of modern Israel is “to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation.” In short, the purpose for gathering was to establish Zion, a place where God can dwell among a people with whom He is comfortable dwelling in His temple.
Finally, the spirit of gathering that came over the Saints sustained them through every insidious expulsion they experienced. By their actions, their defiant declaration was, “If you drive us from here, we will gather elsewhere. But we will gather. We have the commandment; we have the keys. The scattering is over. It is time for Israel to gather!”
President Russell M. Nelson taught: “There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than [the gathering of Israel]. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing.”
The Dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham
After the appearance of Moses, Elias committed “the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham” (Doctrine and Covenants 110:12). Often, the word dispensation denotes a time period, but it can also mean an exceptional permission or privilege. The gospel of Abraham, including the covenants God made with Abraham and the blessings He promised to him, are truly exceptional, out of the ordinary. How exceptional? We believe that God promised Abraham all He has. This promise and gospel given to Abraham constitute a genuinely special dispensation. On April 3, 1836, this special dispensation and the authority to promulgate it were restored to Joseph Smith. Interestingly, keys associated with the gospel of Abraham are not specifically mentioned in section 110, but to the extent those keys were necessary for this dispensation, they were restored.
Turning of Hearts and the Sealing Power
After Elias, Elijah appeared, announcing the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy that the hearts of the children would turn to their fathers (see Malachi 4:5–6). Joseph was no stranger to this prophecy. It was part of Moroni’s message to him when he was 17 years old. Moroni taught Joseph that Elijah would “plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers” (Doctrine and Covenants 2:2).
Who are the fathers, and what are the promises made to them? One was certainly Abraham. And the promises made to him constitute exaltation—life with God, life like God. Abraham himself sought after these promises, knowing that they had been made to “fathers” before him (see Abraham 1:2–4).
The effect of the exercise of this power, directed by keys that Elijah restored, is at least two-fold. First, every essential ordinance we receive and every covenant we enter in this life by virtue of the priesthood becomes binding with a seal of legitimacy in the next life—bound on earth, bound in heaven. Second, by this sealing power, relationships, beginning with husband and wife and extending to both roots (ancestors) and branches (posterity), are bound or sealed together forever in what we call an everlasting covenant—the covenant made with Father Abraham. To that end, Elijah restored the sealing power.
Do you see the interconnectivity of these three—the gathering of Israel, the gospel and covenants of Abraham, and the sealing power? President Nelson summed it up this way: “These keys authorized Joseph Smith—and all succeeding Presidents of the Lord’s Church—to gather Israel on both sides of the veil, to bless all covenant children with the blessings of Abraham, to place a ratifying seal on priesthood ordinances and covenants, and to seal families eternally. The power of these priesthood keys is infinite and breathtaking.”
That is why the events of the Kirtland Temple are so important. There is little we do in this Church of lasting significance that is not done under the authority of the keys restored on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple. The priesthood and those keys transcend both the location and the building, but the Kirtland Temple itself does provide a magnificent reminder of God’s dealings with His people. It is sacred evidence of the greatest restoration ever.