In Genesis 18:1-2, it states that “the Lord appeared unto (Abraham) in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground.”
These three men represent the keys of presidency and are a type of presidencies within the organization of the Church, such as the First Presidency, stake presidencies, bishoprics, quorum presidencies, Young Women presidencies, and Relief Society presidencies.
In the original Church organized by Jesus Christ, Peter, James, and John held the keys of presidency. Jesus said to Peter, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). Peter’s name means “a rock or a stone,” but Joseph Smith said this should be translated as “seer stone,” so the emphasis is on revelation. Incidentally, they are standing at the foot of Mount Hermon and looking upward at a 9200-foot rocky slope. Jesus had the best visual aids!
Such presidencies are symbolic of the Godhead. There are similarities with the original First Presidency of Peter, James, and John. Peter became president of the Church, or the Church Father as a type of Heavenly Father. James was a type of Christ, being the first of the apostles to be martyred, sacrificing his life in similitude of the Savior. He was also nicknamed by Jesus as a “son of thunder,” in likeness to the Son of God. Peter and James are resurrected beings, while John is a translated being. John is the only member of this inner circle who does not yet possess a resurrected body. The Holy Ghost is the only member of the Godhead who does not possess a physical body of flesh and bones.
Because of the Fall, we suffer spiritual death and are cut off from the presence of God. The purpose of the temple is to bring us back into God’s presence through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Thus, God sends messengers to teach us. It is significant that D&C 128 gives a detailed account of such messengers. The original keys conferred upon Peter, James, and John are referenced and quoted in verse 10. Verse 20 mentions, “The voice of Peter, James, and John in the wilderness between Harmony, Susquehanna county, and Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna river, declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times!” Other voices are heard, including “the voice of God in the chamber of old Father Whitmer” (verse 21).
This verse also mentions “the voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels.” I have a set of pseudepigraphal books entitled, The Forgotten Books of Eden. In The First Book of Adam and Eve, chapter 31, Adam asked the Lord for comfort. The Lord then gives him “three tokens as a consolation . . . that thou trust in Me and My covenant with thee: For I will come and save thee; and kings shall bring me when in the flesh, gold, incense, and myrrh; gold as a token of My kingdom; incense as a token of My divinity; and myrrh as a token of My suffering and of My death.” The gold was to shed light over Adam by night; the incense was for a sweet savor; and the myrrh was to comfort Adam in his sorrow. “Then God commanded the three angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, each to bring (the three tokens) and give it to Adam.”
Abraham was sitting in the door of the tent when he saw three messengers. The Hebrew word ‘ohel means “tent, tabernacle, or the sacred tent of Jehovah.” In this time period, husbands and wives commonly had separate living quarters. We see this idea in Genesis 24:67: “And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife.” Other pseudepigraphal sources have the women going into Sarah’s tent and the men going into Abraham’s tent in a temple-like worship ceremony.
I have attached photos of the upper room of the Red Brick Store in Nauvoo where the first endowment ceremonies were performed by the Prophet Joseph Smith. The chairs for the brothers and sisters were set up on opposite sides of the room. I took these photos when we visited Nauvoo seven years ago.
These three messengers visiting Abraham and Sarah revealed a key promise of the Abrahamic Covenant—that Sarah would conceive in her old age and have a son, commencing the promise that Abraham’s seed would be as innumerable as the stars of heaven.
