Lessons on the Temple
Lesson No. Eighteen
Mysteries and Ordinances
Ordinances hold the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom and the knowledge of God – The LDS Bible Dictionary defines word mystery “as a spiritual truth that was once hidden but now is revealed and that without special revelation would have remained unknown.” The close relationship between the “mysteries of the kingdom” and “ordinances of the gospel” is shown by the fact that the words ordinance and mystery comes from the same Hebrew root word.
The relationship between the “mysteries of the kingdom” and the “ordinances of the gospel” is also explained in D&C 84:19-25. This is important doctrine. (My commentary is italicized)
“And this greater priesthood (the Melchizedek Priesthood) administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
“Therefore, in the ordinances (of the Priesthood primarily in the temple) the power of godliness is manifest. (President Ezra Taft Benson referring to these verses promised that in the temple “you will receive the key of the knowledge of God. You will learn how you can be like Him. Even the power of godliness will be manifest to you” (Ensign, August 1985). President Russell M. Nelson in his keynote sermon The Power of Spiritual Momentum given in April 2022 General Conference outlined Five Ways to Fuel Positive Spiritual Momentum, one of which was “learn about God and how He works.” Temple worship is the way we obtain “the key of the knowledge of God” (D&C 84:19), and it is a wonderful way to “learn about God and how He works).
“And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; (The ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood administered in the temples gives to men and women the power to become Godly.)
Knowledge of the mysteries is obtained by personal experience through ordinances – On October 9, 1843, eleven years after the revelation found in D&C 84 had been received and after the Prophet Joseph had introduced the ordinances of the temple, he explained:
“All men know that they must die. And it is important that we should understand the reasons and causes of our exposure to the vicissitudes of life and of death, and the designs and purposes of God in our coming into the world, our sufferings here, and our departure hence….
“If we have any claim on our Heavenly Father for anything, it is for knowledge on this important subject….
“Could we read and comprehend all that has been written from the days of Adam, on the relation of man to God and angels in a future state, we should know very little about it.
“Reading the experiences of other, or the revelations given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience through the ordinances of God set forth for that purpose. Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject” (TPJS, p.324).
By this time much of the Prophet’s teachings related to the temple. Certainly, “the ordinances of God” he referred to “that gives us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God” refer to the ordinances of the temple.
Testimony – Jesus petitioned His Father on our behalf: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). This petition takes on a profound meaning when we remember that the ordinances of the temple “holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God” (D&C 84:19). The key of the mysteries of the kingdom and the key of the knowledge of God is given and learned in the temple.