Priesthood.

Something has been on my mind lately. Elder Bednar's talk entitled, ThePowers of Heaven, quoted a Prophet, David O. McKay saying: “If at this moment each one of you were asked to state in one sentence or phrase the most distinguishing feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what would be your answer?” (“The Mission of the Church and Its Members,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1956, 781). "The response President McKay gave to his own question was the “divine authority” of the priesthood."

If the Priesthood is the most distinguishing feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon Church, then-why? What's so special or important about that above all other things? Among other answers, I believe it's because all the saving ordinances and special blessings we can receive on this earth to prepare us for Heaven are given through Priesthood power being exercised: baby blessing, baptism, reception of Holy Ghost, endowment in the Temple and Sealing of marriage. Not to mention other blessings one can receive when sick or need guidance. The ability and usage of the Priesthood is almost too hard to enumerate.

I’m a woman, so obviously I cannot hold the priesthood. Lately, some women have taken offense to that. They believe that the absence of the Priesthood somehow lessens them. In whose eyes? If it’s man’s eyes they are worried about, then they need to refocus their priorities. It should be God’s eyes that they are worried about. And God has designed the Priesthood to men for good reason. If you’re still worried about what that reason may be and cannot figure it out after searching, then just go on a thing called faith. Men and women are created differently, thank goodness. To be honest, there has been a couple times where I thought I could do something just as well as the guys alongside me. I was very wrong. They are stronger physically-I cannot shovel as hard, walk as long, lift as much as they can. But, to be honest, I don’t think they have as much patience with screaming children, figuring out meals week after mundane week, or the ability to run on as little sleep for the better part of a year as a woman...and then voluntarily choose to do that again. Now, there are some exceptions to the generalities, but for the most part, men have different strengths than women. And that plays out well with the Fathers responsibility to preside and provide for the family and the Mothers to nurture the children.

 I happen to have lived with someone holding the Priesthood in my home at all times. There was never a time when I couldn’t just go to a room inside the house, and ask for a blessing. I have never been at a disadvantage just because I didn’t have the Priesthood. The men cannot use the Priesthood on themselves, so just by having it does not give them some kind of advantage that the rest of us are not able to receive. I admire the way some men honor their Priesthood. Not all men are created equal and not all men hold their Priesthood with the same honor. Those that do, are blessed and able to bless. Even some of Christ’s 12 Apostles had to learn this lesson: Matt 17:14 ¶And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

  15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he ^afalleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O ^afaithless and ^bperverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your ^aunbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have ^bfaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this ^cmountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be ^dimpossible unto you.

 21 Howbeit this ^akind goeth not out but by prayer and ^bfasting.

I’m sure they weren’t out doing something wrong. And they were obviously preaching so they were being proactive…not lazy or slothful. But they still had something to learn about the POWER  that comes with the AUTHORITY of the Priesthood. Authority does not guarantee Power. The disciples who came to Jesus after the man left with his son learned that very lesson.

Elder Bednar also quoted another prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson, and said:

“It is not enough to receive the priesthood and then sit back passively and wait until someone prods us into activity. When we receive the priesthood, we have the obligation of becoming actively and anxiously engaged in promoting the cause of righteousness in the earth, because the Lord says:

“‘… He that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned’ [D&C 58:29]” (So Shall Ye Reap [1960], 21).

“President Spencer W. Kimball also pointedly emphasized the active nature of the priesthood: “One breaks the priesthood covenant by transgressing commandments—but also by leaving undone his duties. Accordingly, to break this covenant one needs only to do nothing” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 96).

The men who hold the Priesthood should be different. They should be separate and distinct from those who do not. That’s not to say that there aren’t good men out there who do not hold the Priesthood, and that all men who do hold the Priesthood are good. However, the very act of a man who holds the Priesthood laying his hands on another man to confer the power of the Priesthood to another, is special. It forever grants that man access to the very Powers of Heaven. He can assist in washing someone’s sins away, have command over the body’s immune system, seal two people with a power that will be in force after we die, and give a personal revelation to someone as a guide map to use throughout their life.

After a personal story regarding a conversation Elder Bednar had with his dad, he said, his dad had a “correct assumption that men who bear God’s holy priesthood should be different from other men. Men who hold the priesthood are not inherently better than other men, but they should act differently. Men who hold the priesthood should not only receive priesthood authority but also become worthy and faithful conduits of God’s power. “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord” (D&C 38:42).

Imagine a conduit:

And the Priesthood acts as a direct conduit of heavenly power that can stream from His throne directly to us. That is how special that power is…and what a bold declaration we give that this Church is the only one found with that power.   

Men who are worthy, are given a great gift. The very power by which this earth and our bodies were created is the same power that worthy Priesthood holders possess. There are, of course, different degrees and keys associated with this power, but it stems from the same source…and one must learn well their duty and how to obtain power with their conferred authority before they can advance in their Priesthood. Maybe it’s like graduating to a bigger size conduit. You gain a greater capacity to bring down more blessings from Heaven.

I teach 11 year olds at Church. I’m new at it. I only have about 3 Sundays under my belt. But, when we talked about the Priesthood being restored to the earth, there was a certain boy that is usually not a very good listener…but this time, he was listening-and with a sponge-like attitude. It was as if he could sense that the Priesthood was something to sit up and pay attention to. It was something that distinguishes the goats from the sheep. Something to be serious about and know well the duty he was about to be recommended for. I cannot put into words the excitement I feel for the time when my little boy will be recommended, and found worthy for the Priesthood. I hope in this home, he will get a real good sense of what the Priesthood does by watching his father and how wonderful that gift is by watching his mother. I hope to support the Priesthood. I’m not entirely sure what that all entails. But it sounds like if I do it right, my husband’s Priesthood authority will have the capacity to develop great power. If it’s Power from Heaven, sign me up. Get me on the list. Let me know how to increase that kind of power. I’d like to do my part to support my husband in his effort to honor his Priesthood.

For a great portion of the history of the world, a relatively few men have held the Priesthood. And out of those few, we have some pretty remarkable records of what they were able to do with their Priesthood…people healed and even raised from the dead, seas calmed, gates to Heaven opened through baptism, and small things like preaching, prophesying so that others will know what to do to prepare for the future so they will experience a feeling called peace in place of fear. Matthew could have been referring to the Priesthood when he said in 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Heaven won’t be reserved for only those who were able to move a mountain or cure leprosy. In The Book of Mormon, there’s a book called Alma and in 37:6 a prophet says, “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.” That probably also can apply toward the Priesthood. Home teaching, month after month, may bring about a change that a single, great event could not. Partaking of the sacrament is a small and simple thing…but by it, we gain forgiveness and a life more near Christ...possibly one right next to Him forever. That’s pretty great stuff.  

Doctrineand Covenants says in 123rd section:

15 Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.

 16 You know, brethren, that a very large ship is ^abenefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.

 17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us ^acheerfully ^bdo all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the ^csalvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

In Preach My Gospel, it defines Priesthood as: “the power and authority given to man to act in God’s name for the salvation of His children.”

This Church has that power and authority. This Church has men who act in God’s very name and by the power that these men hold, I and my family, have the chance at salvation. Without these men and the power they hold, it is not possible to gain entrance through the pearly gates. God is governed by laws, and there are no shortcuts or byways. Only one path has been declared by God to give access to a Celestial life. And that path must be accompanied by, watched over, and guarded by men who hold the Priesthood. And the only way to access that Priesthood is through this Church. It distinguishes us from all other Churches on the earth. And it’s power is available to be felt by any who would wish to receive a blessing. I have personally been the fortunate recipient of a few blessings that have altered the course of my life. I would not be the same without the Priesthood.