Section 18

Piece by piece, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth again through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  In this section it was revealed that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was to be reestablished.  The Apostles were to go unto all the world preaching repentance.  They go in the name of Jesus Christ whose name they have taken upon themselves through baptism.  The keys of the apostleship were restored by Peter, James, and John to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery!  Those keys have been passed down as each new apostle has been ordained since Joseph Smith's time. Today we have fifteen apostles on the earth.  Three apostles serve in the First Presidency; the other twelve apostles serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  The keys will never be lost again from the earth.

Every soul is precious to God.  When a soul accepts the gospel how great the joy for God, the individual, and the person(s) who preached the word.  One of the greatest joys a person can feel comes when they bring a beloved son or daughter to God.  And if that is great for one soul, imagine how great the joy that comes to someone who brings many souls back home to the Father!