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.
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.
