The Committing of Keys

One revelation lists who is to be present at a future meal and, in passing, what each of them holds. A later vision report names three of the same figures arriving in sequence and states what each committed.

What this page maps. Modern revelation, reported as the text gives it. D&C 27 is a first-person divine address; D&C 110 is a first-person plural vision report (“The veil was taken from our minds” — D&C 110:1) inside which two speakers are quoted directly. Occasions, dates, and places are outside this wiki’s source text; where this page says a house was built and accepted, it is quoting verse text (D&C 110:6–7) and not naming the building.

Standing disclosure — KJV-overlap material. This page reports verbal correspondence with the King James text as textual fact, including where the correspondence follows the KJV’s English translation. What that correspondence implies about the origin of the Doctrine and Covenants text — in any direction — is an external question outside this wiki’s scope.

Account

The list, and what each figure is said to hold

D&C 27 attaches the roster to a promised meal — “the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth” (D&C 27:5) — and states a holding for each of five figures as it names them. Moroni holds “the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim” (D&C 27:5); Elias, “the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began, concerning the last days” (D&C 27:6); Elijah, “the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse” (D&C 27:9); Peter, James, and John “bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them” (D&C 27:12) and hold “the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times” (D&C 27:13). John the son of Zacharias is described by a role rather than a holding: sent “to ordain you unto the first priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron” (D&C 27:8). The two men so ordained are named in that verse — “my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Oliver Cowdery” (D&C 27:8) — which is verse text, not headnote material.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 27:13: “and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth” - Ephesians 1:10: “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him”

Sixteen of the letter’s words recur in the revelation, broken by one insertion: the letter reads “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are…”, the revelation “gather together in one all things, both which are…” without the intervening phrase. “the fulness of times” stands at exactly ten frozen verses in the corpus — Ephesians 1:10 and nine in the Doctrine and Covenants (27:13, 76:106, 112:30, 121:31, 124:41, 128:18, 128:20, 138:48, 138:53).

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 27:11: “And also with Michael, or Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the ancient of days” - Daniel 7:9: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool”

“Ancient of Days” stands at exactly six frozen verses in the corpus, counted case-insensitively: Daniel 7:9, Daniel 7:13, Daniel 7:22, D&C 27:11, D&C 116:1, and D&C 138:38. The case difference is worth stating because the count folds it: this verse prints “ancient of days” in lower case, the prophecy “Ancient of days,” and D&C 138:38 “Ancient of Days.” The prophecy leaves the enthroned figure unnamed; all three Doctrine and Covenants carriers apply the title to Adam. Whether the prophecy’s figure is the same figure is not something this page settles.

The armor, taken over almost whole

The revelation closes on a passage that follows a letter of Paul’s clause by clause across four verses.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 27:15: “and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand” - Ephesians 6:13: “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

The single most consequential divergence is the possessive: the letter’s armour is “of God,” the revelation’s is “my whole armor” — first person, matching the revelation’s speaker. Spelling divergence: “armor” for “armour.”

[Textual] — verbatim quotation. () - D&C 27:16: “Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness” - Ephesians 6:14: “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness”

Identical but for one dropped conjunction (“and having on” reads “having on”) and the comma after “Stand.” The clause the revelation continues with is the letter’s next verse — “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15) against “and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (D&C 27:16) — after which the revelation adds a clause with no counterpart in the letter: “which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you” (D&C 27:16).

[Textual] — verbatim quotation. () - D&C 27:17: “Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” - Ephesians 6:16: “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

Thirteen consecutive words match as printed; counted case-insensitively and with the comma the letter prints after “faith” set aside — the revelation opens its sentence with “Taking” where the letter has “taking” mid-sentence — the shared run is nineteen words, “Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (D&C 27:17). The letter’s opening “Above all,” has no counterpart in the revelation.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 27:18: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you” - Ephesians 6:17: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”

Two divergences carry the whole difference of frame: “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17) reads “the sword of my Spirit” (D&C 27:18), and the letter’s identification of that sword with the word of God becomes, in the revelation, a first-person promise of both — a Spirit “which I will pour out upon you” and a word “which I reveal unto you” (D&C 27:18).

The prophecy about Elijah, cited by name

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 110:14: “Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come” - Malachi 4:5: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD”

The vision report names the prophet and states that the time of his prophecy has come. Divergences: the prophecy reads “before the coming of the great and dreadful day,” the report “before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come,” and the capitalisation of the divine name differs (“the LORD” against “the Lord”). The bracketed gloss “[Elijah]” stands in the frozen text and is quoted as it stands. This record was minted asserted_by: "source" at the 2026-08-10 editorial review.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 110:15: “To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse” - 3 Nephi 25:6: “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

The number of “heart” differs — the record and the prophecy both read the singular “heart of the fathers” (3 Nephi 25:6), the two Doctrine and Covenants carriers the plural “hearts of the fathers” (D&C 110:15). The clause “the hearts of the fathers to the children” stands at exactly four frozen verses in the corpus: D&C 27:9, D&C 98:16, D&C 110:15, and Luke 1:17. The reversal also differs: the prophecy turns the children’s hearts “to their fathers,” this verse “to the fathers.” The Bountiful rendering of the same prophecy is 3 Nephi 25:5–6; the further carriers of the promise in the Doctrine and Covenants are mapped at Revelations Recorded Twice.

The figure standing on the breastwork

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 110:3: “His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow” - Revelation 1:14: “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire”

The eyes-clause matches word for word. The hair-clause does not: the vision of Revelation gives two comparisons, wool and snow, where the report gives one — “the pure snow” (D&C 110:3). The nearby prophecy compares the hair to wool alone: “the hair of his head like the pure wool” (Daniel 7:9), which is the same adjective attached to the other noun. All three are reported; none is ranked.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 110:3: “and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah” - Revelation 1:15: “and his voice as the sound of many waters”

“many waters” (Revelation 1:15) reads “the rushing of great waters” (D&C 110:3). The report then names the voice — “even the voice of Jehovah” (D&C 110:3) — where the vision of Revelation leaves the speaker to its own surrounding verses.

[Textual] — verbatim quotation. () - D&C 110:4: “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.” - Revelation 1:17: “Fear not; I am the first and the last”

Six words identical. What follows differs: the vision of Revelation continues “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18) where the report reads “I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain” (D&C 110:4) — the participle “dead” replaced by “slain,” and the two clauses given parallel first-person openings the other does not have.

Significance

The two sections do the same bookkeeping from opposite ends of a promise. D&C 27 states holdings prospectively — who holds which keys, in a list attached to a meal not yet eaten. D&C 110 reports arrivals: “Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel” (D&C 110:11); “After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham” (D&C 110:12); “Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us” (D&C 110:13). Two of the three figures are named in both sections with the same associated holding, and the third — Moses — appears only in the later report. That correspondence is checkable in the text, and this page tables it as such. What the correspondence establishes about authority is a claim the sections make for themselves in the first person; the wiki reports it as their claim and does not extend it.

Key references

D&C 27:5–14 — the roster and the holdings
D&C 27:15–18 — the armor passage
D&C 110:1–10 — the figure on the breastwork; the house accepted
D&C 110:11–16 — Moses, Elias, and Elijah; the keys committed
Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 6:13–17 — the letter the revelation’s closing follows
Malachi 4:5–6, 3 Nephi 25:5–6 — the Elijah prophecy in its two frozen carriers
Revelation 1:14–18, Daniel 7:9 — the descriptions the vision report’s language tracks

The Two Priesthoods · Revelations Recorded Twice · Temple in the Record · Moses · Joseph Smith · Oliver Cowdery · Index · Connections

Sources

Doctrine and Covenants sections 27 and 110 (verse text only; headnotes excluded). Cross-references quoted from Ephesians 1, Ephesians 6, Daniel 7, Malachi 4, 3 Nephi 25, and Revelation 1. Luke 1:17, D&C 98:16, D&C 116:1, and the further carriers of “the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10) are cited inside distribution disclosures rather than registered as connections of this page.

Every quote is verbatim from the frozen source text, cited to its exact reference and checked character-for-character; no quote crosses a verse boundary. Eleven connection records are registered here, all [textual]. One — the Elijah prophecy, where the vision report names Malachi at the point of quotation — was minted asserted_by: "source" at the 2026-08-10 editorial review; the other ten are asserted_by: wiki, since neither section names a source for that language. Distribution figures are counts of distinct frozen verses in the corpus, derived by search at the time of writing.