“The persons present on the Mount of Transfiguration [God the Father, Jesus Christ, Peter, James, John, John the Baptist, Moses, and Elijah] played a prominent role in the latter-day Restoration of the gospel. This helps us to see that the same priesthood authority and keys held in previous dispensations were restored in this final dispensation” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 56).
“I invite each of you to consider how you would respond to the following question posed to the members of the Church many years ago by President David O. McKay: ‘If at this moment each one of you were asked to state in one sentence or phrase the most distinguishing feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what would be your answer?’ (“The Mission of the Church and Its Members,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1956, 781).
“The response President McKay gave to his own question was the ‘divine authority’ of the priesthood. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands apart from other churches that claim their authority is derived from historical succession, the scriptures, or theological training. We make the distinctive declaration that priesthood authority has been conferred by the laying on of hands directly from heavenly messengers to the Prophet Joseph Smith” (“The Powers of Heaven,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 48).
God gives priesthood authority to worthy male members of the Church so they can act in His name for the salvation of His children. The keys of the priesthood are the rights of presidency, or the power God gives to man to govern and direct God’s kingdom on the earth (see Matthew 16:15–19). Those who hold priesthood keys can authorize priesthood holders to preach the gospel and administer the ordinances of salvation. All who serve in the Church are called under the direction of one who holds priesthood keys. Thus, they receive authority and are entitled to the power needed to serve and fulfill the responsibilities of their callings. (See Dallin H. Oaks, “The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2014, 49–52.)
“(1) Jesus singled out Peter, James, and John from the rest of the Twelve; took them upon an unnamed mountain; there he was transfigured before them, and they beheld his glory. … [Peter] said they ‘were eyewitnesses of his majesty.’ (2 Pet. 1:16.)
“(2) Peter, James, and John, were themselves ‘transfigured before him’ [Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 105], … thus enabling them to entertain angels, see visions and comprehend the things of God. …
“(3) Moses and Elijah—two ancient prophets who were translated and taken to heaven without tasting death, so they could return with tangible bodies on this very occasion, an occasion preceding the day of resurrection—appeared on the mountain; and they and Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter, James, and John [see Teachings: Joseph Smith, 105].
“(4) John the Baptist, previously beheaded by Herod, apparently was also present. …
“(5) Peter, James, and John saw in vision the transfiguration of the earth, that is, they saw it renewed and returned to its paradisiacal state—an event that is to take place at the Second Coming when the millennial era is ushered in. [D&C 63:20–21.]
“(6) It appears that Peter, James, and John received their own endowments while on the mountain. [See Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. (1954–56), 2:165.] … It also appears that it was while on the mount that they received the more sure word of prophecy, it then being revealed to them that they were sealed up unto eternal life. (2 Pet. 1:16–19; D&C 131:5.)
“(7) Apparently Jesus himself was strengthened and encouraged by Moses and Elijah so as to be prepared for the infinite sufferings and agony ahead of him in connection with working out the infinite and eternal atonement. [See James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. (1916), 373.] …
“(8) Certainly the three chosen apostles were taught in plainness ‘of his death, and also his resurrection’ [Joseph Smith Translation, Luke 9:31 (in Luke 9:31, footnote a)]. …
“(9) It should also have been apparent to them that the old dispensations of the past had faded away, that the law (of which Moses was the symbol) and the prophets (of whom Elijah was the typifying representative) were subject to Him whom they were now commanded to hear.
“(10) Apparently God the Father, overshadowed and hidden by a cloud, was present on the mountain” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:399–401).
“It is not to be understood that John the Baptist was the Elias who appeared with Moses to confer keys and authority upon those who then held the Melchizedek Priesthood, which higher priesthood already embraced and included all of the authority and power John had held and exercised during his ministry. Rather, for some reason that remains unknown—because of the partial record of the proceedings—John played some other part in the glorious manifestations then vouchsafed to mortals. Perhaps he was there, as the last legal administrator under the Old Covenant, to symbolize that the law was fulfilled and all old things were done away, thus contrasting his position with that of Peter, James, and John who were then becoming the ‘first’ legal administrators of the New Kingdom” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:404).
“The Savior, Moses, and Elias [Elijah], gave the keys [of the priesthood] to Peter, James, and John, on the mount, when they were transfigured before him” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith[2007], 105).