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My dear brethren, we are gathered across the world in the
marvelous brotherhood of the holy priesthood of God. How blessed we are to be
among the very few men on earth trusted to be authorized to act in the name of
the Savior to bless others through the righteous use of His priesthood.
I wonder, brethren, how many of us seriously ponder the
inestimable value of holding the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods. When we
consider how few men who have lived on earth have received the priesthood and
how Jesus Christ has empowered those individuals to act in His name, we should
feel deeply humble and profoundly grateful for the priesthood we hold.
The priesthood is the authority to act in the name of God.
That authority is essential to the fulfillment of His work on earth. The
priesthood we hold is a delegated portion of the eternal authority of God. As
we are true and faithful, our ordination to the priesthood will be eternal.
However, the conferring of authority alone does not of
itself bestow the power of the office. The extent to which we can exercise the
power of the priesthood depends upon personal worthiness, faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and obedience to His commandments. When supported by a secure
foundation of gospel knowledge, our capacity to worthily use the priesthood is
greatly enhanced.
The perfect role model for use of the holy priesthood is our
Savior, Jesus Christ. He ministered with love, compassion, and charity. His
life was a matchless example of humility and power. The greatest blessings from
the use of the priesthood flow from humble service to others without thought of
self. By following His example as a faithful, obedient priesthood bearer, we
can access great power. When required, we can exercise the power of healing, of
blessing, of consoling, and of counseling, as the quiet promptings of the
Spirit are faithfully followed.
For a few minutes I ask you to consider that you and I are
alone in a quiet place where the atmosphere permits direction by the Holy
Spirit. Some of you receive periodic personal worthiness interviews, while
others have callings where that seldom occurs. Will you consider that in the
next few minutes you and I will have a private priesthood interview?
As we share these moments together, I ask you to ponder your
personal worthiness to use the sacred authority you hold. I will also ask you
to consider how consistently you use your priesthood to bless others. My intent
is not to criticize but to help increase the benefits that flow from your use
of the priesthood.
Are your private, personal thoughts conducive to the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, or would they benefit from a thorough
housecleaning? Do you nourish your mind with elevating material, or have you
succumbed to the enticement of pornographic literature or Web sites? Do you
scrupulously avoid the use of stimulants and substances that conflict with the intent
of the Word of Wisdom, or have you made some personally rationalized
exceptions? Are you most careful to control what enters your mind through your
eyes and ears to ensure that it is wholesome and elevating?
If you are divorced, do you provide for the real financial
need of the children you have fathered, not just the minimum legal requirement?
If you are married, are you faithful to your wife mentally
as well as physically? Are you loyal to your marriage covenants by never
engaging in conversation with another woman that you wouldn’t want your wife to
overhear? Are you kind and supportive of your own wife and children? Do you
assist your wife by doing some of the household chores? Do you lead out in
family activities such as scripture study, family prayer, and family home
evening, or does your wife fill in the gap your lack of attention leaves in the
home? Do you tell her you love her?
If any of you feel uncomfortable with any of the answers you
have mentally given to the questions I have asked, take corrective action now.
If there are worthiness issues, with all of the tenderness of my heart I
encourage you to speak to your bishop or a member of your stake presidency now.
You need help. Those matters that trouble you will not heal themselves. Without
attention they will likely get worse. It may be difficult for you to speak to
your priesthood leader, but I encourage you to do it now for your own good and
for the benefit of those who love you.
Brethren, I now speak of how the priesthood should be used
to bless the lives of others, especially the daughters of Father in Heaven.
The family proclamation states that a husband and wife
should be equal partners. I feel assured that every wife in the Church would
welcome that opportunity and support it. Whether it occurs or not depends upon
the husband. Many husbands practice equal partnership with their companion to
the benefit of both and the blessing of their children. However, many do not. I
encourage any man who is reluctant to develop an equal partnership with his
wife to obey the counsel inspired by the Lord and do it. Equal partnership
yields its greatest benefit when both husband and wife seek the will of the
Lord in making important decisions for themselves and for their family.
Be sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit in the use of
that consummate privilege of acting in the name of the Lord through your
priesthood. Be more aware of how you can make greater use of the power of the
priesthood in the lives of those you love and serve. I am thinking particularly
of individuals such as a widow in need who likely could benefit from the help
of an understanding, compassionate priesthood bearer. Many such will never
request help. Be aware of the range of challenges you could help meet in her
home, such as the relief of anxieties through an inspired priesthood blessing
or the need for small repairs.
As a bishop, be sensitive and attentive to the sisters who
serve in your ward council. They can identify the needs of the women in your
ward who are not blessed with priesthood in the home. Through a home visit, the
Relief Society can identify needs and recommend solutions to you. For matters
beyond the scope of the Relief Society, you can call upon the elders quorum or
the high priests group to provide assistance according to the need.
As a bishop, when you counsel with a husband and wife who
are in marital difficulty, do you give the same credence to the statements of
the woman that you do to the man? As I travel throughout the world, I find that
some women are shortchanged in that a priesthood leader is more persuaded by a
son rather than a daughter of Father in Heaven. That imbalance simply must
never occur.
Do single sisters receive the consideration and attention
they deserve when they attend family wards? Do they have opportunities to serve
in significant callings where they are made to feel welcome and wanted? Do they
receive the required priesthood support?
The purpose of priesthood authority is to give, to serve, to
lift, to inspire—not to exercise unrighteous control or force. In some
cultures, tradition places a man in a role to dominate, control, and regulate
all family affairs. That is not the way of the Lord. In some places the wife is
almost owned by her husband, as if she were another of his personal
possessions. That is a cruel, unproductive, mistaken vision of marriage
encouraged by Lucifer that every priesthood holder must reject. It is founded
on the false premise that a man is somehow superior to a woman. Nothing could
be farther from the truth. The scriptures confirm that Father in Heaven saved
His greatest, most splendid, supreme creation, woman, to the end. Only after
all else was completed was woman created. Only then was the work pronounced
complete and good.
Of our wives, mothers, grandmothers, and sisters and other
important women in our lives, President Hinckley declared: “Of all the
creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring
than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why
she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and
divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her
understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth.” 1
By divine design a woman is fundamentally different from a
man in many ways. 2 She is compassionate and seeks the interests of others
around her. However, that compassionate nature can become overwhelming for
women who identify far more to accomplish than they can possibly do, even with
the help of the Lord. Some become discouraged because they do not feel they are
doing all they should do. I believe this is a feeling that many worthy,
effective, devoted women of the Church experience.
Therefore, as a husband or son, express gratitude for what
your wife and mother do for you. Express your love and gratitude often. That
will make life far richer, more pleasant and purposeful for many of the
daughters of Father in Heaven who seldom hear a complimentary comment and are
not thanked for the multitude of things they do. As a husband, when you sense
that your wife needs lifting, hold her in your arms and tell her how much you
love her. May each of us ever be tender and appreciative of the special women
who enrich our lives.
Often the real value of something is not recognized until it
is taken from us. To illustrate, consider a man who had lost the use of the
priesthood through transgression. Later it was returned to him as part of the
restoration of ordinances he obtained through full repentance. After the
restoration, I turned to his wife and said, “Would you like a blessing?” She
enthusiastically responded. Then I looked at the husband, now capable of using
his priesthood, and said, “Would you like to give your wife a blessing?” Words
cannot express the profound emotion of such an experience and the bonds of
love, trust, and gratitude it created. You shouldn’t have to lose your
priesthood to appreciate it more fully.
I know the immense joy and happiness that come from loving,
cherishing, and respecting my precious wife with all my heart and soul. May
your use of the priesthood and treatment of the important women in your life
bring you the same satisfaction.
As one of the 15 Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth,
I express my own feelings regarding the priesthood as it has been captured
perfectly by this statement of President Howard W. Hunter: “As special
witnesses of our Savior, we have been given the awesome assignment to
administer the affairs of his church and kingdom and to minister to his
daughters and his sons wherever they are on the face of the earth. By reason of
our call to testify, govern, and minister, it is required of us that despite
age, infirmity, exhaustion, and feelings of inadequacy, we do the work He has
given us to do, to the last breath of our lives.” 3
God will hold us accountable for how we treat His precious
daughters. Therefore, let us treat them as He would wish to have them treated.
I pray that the Lord will guide us to be more inspired, sensitive, and
productive with the priesthood we hold, especially with His daughters. In the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
References:
1. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Our Responsibility to Our Young
Women,” Ensign, Sept. 1988, 11.
2. See Moses 4:17–19; 5:10–11.
3. Howard W. Hunter, “To the Women of the Church,” Ensign,
Nov. 1992, 96.
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