President Boyd K. Packer
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"The most precious thing lost in the apostasy was the authority held by the Twelve — the priesthood keys. For the church to be his church, there must be a Quorum of the Twelve who hold the keys and can confer them on others.
"In time came the First Vision and the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James and John.
"There has been an unbroken line of authority. The priesthood keys given to the apostles have always been held by members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve.
"We do not hear the priesthood keys being exercised in other Christian churches. It seems odd that we are described by some as being non-Christian when we are the only ones who have the authority and the organization that he established.
"The present Twelve are very ordinary people. They are not, as the original Twelve were not, spectacular individually, but collectively the Twelve are a power.
"We come from a variety of occupations."
"Yesterday Elder Christofferson became the 96th apostle to serve in the Twelve in this dispensation. He will be ordained an Apostle and given all priesthood keys conferred that the other 14 prophets, seers and revelators — apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ — have."
