The Strength and Honor of the Priesthood

Introduce myself and family

…

Introduce the Topic

Assigned topic “The Strength and Honor of the Priesthood”.

Three quotes that immediately spring to mind…

Succint and straightforward definition, President Joseph F. Smith described the priesthood as

“the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family.”

Boyd K. Packer, April 2010,

“We have done very well at distributing the authority of the priesthood. We have priesthood authority planted nearly everywhere. We have quorums of elders and high priests worldwide. But as distributing the authority of the priesthood has raced, I think ahead of distributing the power of the priesthood. The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families as it should be.”

From the Aaronic Priesthood Come, Follow Me manual lesson entitled “How does worthiness affect priesthood power?”,

“Priesthood authority comes through ordination, but priesthood power requires personal righteousness, faithfulness, obedience, and diligence. Even if we receive priesthood authority by the laying on of hands, we will have no priesthood power if we are disobedient, unworthy, or unwilling to serve.”

I believe that church assignments/callings/etc are meant for those doing them. Especially true of talks. I had been given a very similar talk assignment before and never gave it. So I know this talk is meant for me as much as for anyone else. So, I have pondered what personal experiences I can share and what lessons those taught me, or at least should have taught me. This has led to a very different type of talk I usually give. My original plan was to dive into Doctrine and Covenants Section 121. Although I won’t be citing any scriptures there today, verses 34 through 46 weighed heavily on my mind as I prepared my thoughts.

I hope in some way any principles shared can be applied by all. Some of my experiences may have happened in a priesthood setting but are not exclusive to the priesthood per se. I will be sharing personal experiences, so please treat them with kindness. I admit though that I will be holding back. Some relevant experiences are too personal.

Experiences

Brother Cummings

As a youth, I absolutely loved going to my quorum meetings. There are lessons I learned there I have applied throughout my life.

When I was in the Deacons quorum presidency, the adult leader was Brother Cummings. I remember meeting with him as a presidency and him teaching us how to organize ourselves and the quorum, how to plan, how to delegate Deacons quorum responsibilities and duties. I especially remember a discussion about how to reach out to our less active fellow quorum members and making plans to reach out to them and help bring them back. In all of this he made the priesthood feel like something very real to me. As a 13 year old I felt like something special was truly entrusted to me.

Brother Andrus

In my Teachers quorum I had instructors like Brother Andrus who would go through Doctrine and Covenants sections 13, 20, 84, 107 and 121 and expound on them and made sure we understood the doctrinal significance of the priesthood we held. I loved his lessons and he made me love searching through and pondering the scriptures.

Brother Mitchell

One of my other Teachers quorum instructors was Brother Mitchell, my own father. I always enjoyed having my own dad teaching us. I remember incredibly well 2 lessons he gave. I actually don’t remember exactly what he taught, but I have remembered through my life, even 26 years later, the points of those 2 lessons. Why I think I remember those 2 is because I also remember that during those lessons I had the distinct impression that those lessons were just for me.

Now, as my father, he had some advantages to give a tailor-made lesson for me. Looking back, I’m also sure it was no accident my father was called to be a part of my Aaronic priesthood instruction. But, I also know that my father is a type of man to be led by the Spirit. And I have little doubt that my father gave lessons that allowed the Spirit to touch my fellow quorum members in similar ways, so they all had lessons just for them as well.

As I have grown older I have discovered this happens all the time. There have been numerous times that there has been a lesson planned for quorum meeting, but either an impression during sacrament meeting or an impression during the start of quorum meeting has led to an entirely different lesson.

Inspired, Spirit-led teaching is not at all unique to the priesthood or priesthood quorums. But I am so thankful to experience it and to have benefited from it in my priesthood quorums.

Paul Hernandez

When I was in high school, my older sister and her friends helped bring a young man from our high school into the church named Paul Hernandez. He was a few years older than me and I didn’t know him very well, but I did look up to him. I admired his bravery to make the types of changes he made in his life in high school. He stopped living an old way, like going to parties and such, and started living a new way. I lived the gospel in large part because that is how I was raised and what was, in some part at least, expected of me. He lived the gospel because he chose to. And without his family also joining the church, and with losing friends as well, I’m sure that choice wasn’t always easy. But maybe because it wasn’t an easy choice is also why he was so incredibly valiant and so totally changed. I remember him admonishing me at a Stake Dance for something stupid I was doing. But because I looked up to him, I never for a moment fought against his correcting me. There is a lesson in that I’m sure about being a good example and how living the gospel valiantly can affect others.

But I bring up Paul Hernandez for another reason. He being a few years older than me, I remember when he became an Elder when I was a Priest. We had a Stake missionary activity where all the youth of the Stake lived as missionaries for a couple of days. A part of that we were all set apart as missionaries. I remember a few of us in a room getting set apart and my bishop then inviting Paul to set apart the next person, since he now held the Melchizedek Priesthood. It was the first time I saw a peer do this, and not just some older guy at church, and the first time I imagined myself being asked to give a priesthood blessing. I wondered if I would be worthy. I wondered if I would hear the Spirit tell me what to say. I wondered if it was actually real. Although not taught to me explicitly there, it was the first time I began to think about the difference between the authority of the priesthood versus the power of the priesthood. Innately I learned there that priesthood power doesn’t come just by having hands laid upon my head, but by being worthy of it and by living in such a way that the Spirit could speak to me. I felt like this was something I couldn’t just take for granted would come to me.

Brother Wynn

When Rachael and I were newlyweds we stayed after church to get set apart in a new calling. There was a small group of us there as part of a new Young Men’s presidency, I was to be the Teacher’s Quorum advisor. The bishop asked Brother Wynn to set apart Brother Clubb. As Brother Wynn spoke the opening lines I felt the Spirit in a way I had never felt before during what I had considered up to that point to be something of a mere formality. As he gave the blessing I had no doubt that Brother Wynn was acting as the mouthpiece of the Lord in that moment. I knew his words were exactly what the Lord wanted him to say. The only other time I had felt that same absolute certainty from hearing a blessing was at my Patriarchal blessing. I didn’t know until then that all priesthood blessings could be that powerful. As I sat there and listened, I decided I would never take a priesthood blessing lightly again. I wanted for myself to be able to give a blessing with the same power that Brother Wynn did. Brother Wynn, not only had the authority of the priesthood, but the power as well.

Now I don’t know if I have been successful in emulating Brother Wynn, in whom I hold in such high regard. However, since that moment, I can say that I have ALWAYS felt the Spirit when I have taken part in priesthood ordinances and blessings.

Bishop Phelps

I felt the Spirit incredibly strong when Bishop Phelps set me apart in my current calling. And he spoke words I absolutely needed to hear at the time. Through the Spirit I know Bishop Phelps acted with both the authority and power of the priesthood.

Other Moments

I feel the Spirit strongly as I kneel and bless the Sacrament, affirming to me the sacredness of that ordinance.

I have felt the Spirit while blessing my children, and baptizing them, and ordaining them to priesthood offices.

I feel the Spirit while performing ordinances in the temple.

And when I have felt the Spirit doing these things I always thank my Heavenly Father immediately for that assuring witness that the priesthood is real, and that it’s true, and that in some small way he has entrusted me with His power.

Conclusion

So, the assigned was topic, “The Strength and Honor of the Priesthood”. I am so thankful to the examples in my life of men who honored the priesthood. I am thankful they were righteous, faithful, diligent and willing to serve. And by so doing the power of the priesthood was manifested through them.

I am thankful to good examples set by friends, to thoughtful and inspired teachers, to inspired priesthood leaders. I am especially thankful to my father who taught me, sat and discussed the gospel with me, showed me countless examples of priesthood service, and lived the gospel and honored the priesthood.

When my son Henry was baptized and as we stood in the water together, a non-member cousin we had invited leaned over to his mom and he said to her, isn’t it wonderful that in this church that a father can baptize his own son. I think we sometimes, at least I know I have sometimes, forget what an incredible gift the Lord has entrusted to the members of His church.

I know this Church is true. I know its teachings are true. And I know the priesthood found in this church is real and true.

I say these things….

 

 

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