I
will commence with the beginning—The keys or sign of the priesthood is for the
purpose of impressing on the mind [the order] of the creation. Penal Signs. In
the first place, the name of the man is given. A New name Adam signifies the
first man or Eve the woman. Adam['s] name was more Ancient than he was[;] it
was a name [of a man] long before him who enjoyed the priesthood [. The] New
name should be after some Ancient Man whereby you are enabled to ask for
present future & past[.] [A]fter his [Adam's] fall another name was
given—he being full of integrity & [having learned] not to listen to the
woman[,] he was permitted to receive the tokens of the priesthood I wish you to
learn one lesson[, and] you will find [that] one lesson [is] that you [should]
hold your tongues [and then] find you will never be extricated [from your
kingdom] unless you go to hell[;] unless you learn[,] you will be damned . . .(Seventies
Record, Book B, December 28, 1845, in The Nauvoo Endowment Companies,
1845-1846: A Documentary History, ed. Devery S. Anderson and Gary J.
Bergera [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 2005], 204)
