D&C 110

A week ago on Monday, I blogged how, through the seed of Abraham, the priesthood would a means where all the nations of the earth would be blessed quoting -

"I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;
10 And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father;
11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal."  (Pearl of Great Price | Abraham 2:9 - 11)

I believe there is something else the Lord covenanted with Abraham which was dispensed in his day.  We read that a week after the Kirtland Temple was dedicated -

"...Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 110:12)

Though we don't necessarily know whom "Elias" is referenced herein, we would have to assume that he lived around the same time as Abraham given the privilege of committing that which was dispensed or keys, ordinances, and covenants given in his day.  As I pondered these words, I noted the key words  -

• make of thee a great nation
• bless thee above measure
• in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed
• even of life eternal

The emphasis here seems to be on the "family" and exaltation.  For a family or mother and father to acquire exaltation, we learn that -

"IN the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;
2  And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]..."  (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 131:1 - 2)

Based upon these words, I would have to believe that what Elias committed in the Kirtland Temple is the power and authority of the new and everlasting covenant of marraige or eternal marriage, the key to "eternal lives".