Authority, Apostasy and Key Questions

Some questions on authority, apostasy and keys that I believe are vital to consider as we continue into the prophesied end times. 

Consider Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, Abinadi, Alma, Mormon, Moroni, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joseph Smith etc. How were these men called as true messengers (prophets) of the Lord, Jesus Christ?

Do true messengers from God worry about proving to the people that they have keys or do they just deliver the message God gave them to give to the people?

Do true messengers have others testify or try and prove that they have authority from God to give a message?

Do the Pharisees worry about authority? Remember they questioned Jesus who gave Him authority. Moses was the first one in the line back from the Pharisees, the Jewish leadership. Moses saw God. He received scripture from Him and guided the people. Over time the “church” that Moses had established was incapable of recognizing Jesus, the Messiah, when He ministered to them in fulfillment of their own prophecies given to them by Moses.

Do the Catholics, the universal church, worry about keys/authority? Peter walked and talked with Jesus, the Messiah. He wrote scripture along with the other apostles. In the Vatican today there are many statues with Peter holding keys. The Catholics still point to the keys they hold through the popes, even though the history of the popes is littered with all sorts of political and social injustices. 

Do the LDS worry about keys/authority? Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ. He received scripture from them and translated an ancient book of scripture. Today, those in succession are still pointing to his keys and proclaiming they have been passed down to the current leadership in the church through the succeeding presidents of the church to the current president. 

What do the Jews, Catholics and LDS have in common? What isn’t common about them?

Can keys of knowledge that an individual receives from heaven be passed down without being corrupted eventually? What happens if the knowledge turns to righteousness, ie: Enoch’s city and Melchizedek’s? What is the pattern that plays out over time if a group of people aren’t translated?

Is there a difference between the Church of God and the Kingdom of God? Is apostasy a pattern that will always happen if a group of people don’t ascend and are translated?

Was Russell M. Nelson called the same way as the prophets were called throughout scripture?