Legal administrators

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth... DOCTRINE & COVENANTS 13:1

As the Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery knelt on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, it must have been a thrilling and soul-satisfying moment to hear John, the great forerunner of the Master — the prophet designated by Jesus as the greatest of all the prophets (Luke 7:28 - 30) — utter the words “Upon you my fellow servants.” After long centuries when divine, saving authority had not been on earth, the heavens had now been opened and the keys of the priesthood of Aaron were returned to earth. Once more there were legal administrators to officiate in the affairs of God’s kingdom. Once more the ministry of angels, the gospel of repentance, and the power to baptize were conferred upon mortals. The foundation was in place, and the stage was set for the later receipt of apostolic authority and the organization of the Master’s own true Church. (Robert L. Millet and Lloyd D. Newell. Draw Near Unto Me: Daily Reflections on the Doctrine and Covenants. 45)