Keys and Authority

Another part of the lesson I'm having a little bit of trouble with is the "Keys" metaphor. The Priesthood had already been restored by the time the Kirtland Temple was constructed. What was restored therein was the keys, or authority, to use the Priesthood to do missionary and temple work. The keys of the priesthood are essential. As the manual put it: "Priesthood holders may perform priesthood ordinances only as authorized by those who hold the appropriate priesthood keys. For example, before a father can baptize his child, he must receive permission from the bishop." Thus, even when one holds the priesthood, they still need authority to be given to them by those who hold the keys.

The trouble is that holding keys doesn't necessarily give a person authority to use them. I sometimes carry the spare key to Mom's car, but that doesn't give me the authority to drive her car. Perhaps physical keys are more like the Priesthood, in that one can hold it and still not have the authority to use it. Then, what are the Pristhood keys like? Ownership? Mom owns the car, so she has the authority to drive it and to allow other people to drive it. That sort of makes her like the bishop in the manual's example. I may have the ability to drive her car, but I still need her permission, just like a priesthood holder may have the power to baptise, but will still need the permission of the bishop.

I'm afraid that the fact that priesthood keys don't work the same way as physical keys may confuse my students. It's certainly somewhat confusing to me. Perhaps it would be best not to use this analogy at all, or maybe to draw some kind of diagram to show how these various concepts and symbols relate to each other. Or maybe I could make the analogy work by saying that Mom lets me borrow her keys, thus giving me temporary permission to use them. That might be simpler than trying to explain how physical and priesthood keys are similar or different. That's something the Primary kids can learn another day.

Saying that priesthood keys are like physical keys may be an oversimplification, but I hope it still works as an analogy. As I've learned before on my blog, no analogy is perfect. Under too much examination, any analogy would fall apart. Physical keys may not be a perfect analogy for priesthood keys, but I hope that, for the sake of my lesson tomorrow, the analogy is close enough.