I gave a talk in church today that I wanted to add here.
How I access the Priesthood Power of God
Brothers and Sisters, I can’t begin to describe what the last two weeks have meant to me as
I’ve pondered on what the Oath and the Covenant and really what the priesthood means to
me. It has been such a life-altering experience. I pray to have the Spirit with me so that I am
able to convey at least a part of what I have learned and felt.
So with that, let me start by saying that the older I get the more the Gospel of Jesus Christ
boils down to this - saving ourselves and others by pointing everyone to our Savior Jesus
Christ and by becoming closer and more like Him. God achieves our salvation through the
Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is what
sanctifies us. It is the power by which we cleanse our inner vessels. The priesthood is the
power God uses to partner with us to then help point others to Jesus Christ. So for me the
Atonement of Jesus Christ is the Christ’s love manifested inward and the Priesthood is
Christ’s love manifested outward. These two ideas for me have come through evolution of my
testimony throughout my life.
I remember growing up in the Church believing that the Atonement of Jesus Christ didn’t really
apply to me since I had no real sins for which I neither needed repentance nor forgiveness.
Through experience and study I realized that everything about that thought process was
completely wrong. 1. I make more mistakes than I’d care to admit. 2. Repentance includes but
is not limited to confessing and forsaking sins. 3. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is available
to be accessed for sins, weaknesses, heartaches, even help making and setting personal
goals or just getting through a day. It was such a paradigm shift for me to realize that Christ’s
Atoning sacrifice can help me organize my day, not hate running, or give me the grace to start
over time after time. That paradigm shift has truly changed my life.
My thinking of the priesthood has similarly evolved over time. As a youth I totally spaced any
time we talked about the priesthood. Doesn’t apply. Even into my adulthood not much about
my thinking changed. Any Relief Society lesson featuring the Priesthood seemed contrived to
make women feel better about everything they weren’t doing and aren’t the men so great for
their service?
It wasn’t until just a few years ago when I was teaching the Doctrine and Covenants to my
seminary students and the young women in my class began asking questions for which I
didn’t then have answers. I began to understand that every woman who has ever been set
apart in a calling serves with priesthood authority - The power and authority that God gives to
man to act in all things necessary for the salvation of God’s children. Then one morning one of
the young women asked if mothers exercise priesthood authority in her home. I told her that I
wasn’t sure but given her temple covenants and her stewardship over her children I couldn’t
see why her priesthood authority as her calling of mother would be any different from her
calling in any other function within the church.
My thoughts were further broadened over the past few weeks as I’ve studied and pondered
what else I am missing. As I studied section 84 which includes the Oath and the Covenant of
the Priesthood, I have come to believe just as so many other General Officers of the Church
that we as women and men in the Church are living far below our privileges in relation to the
priesthood or the power and authority that God gives to man to act in all things necessary for
the salvation of God’s children.
In a gospel topics essay regarding Joseph Smith’s teaching on the priesthood, temples and
women, it says that “The priesthood authority exercised by Latter-day Saint women in the
temple and elsewhere remains largely unrecognized by people outside the Church and is
sometimes misunderstood or overlooked by those within. Latter-day Saints and others often
mistakenly equate priesthood with religious office and the men who hold it, which obscures
the broader Latter-day Saint concept of priesthood.”
In two recent General Conferences our beloved Prophet, President Nelson has urged
everyone but especially the women of the Church to study the priesthood and what it means
to them.
“How I yearn for you to understand that the restoration of the priesthood is just as relevant to
you as a woman as it is to any man.
“Every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants,
and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God.
Those who are endowed in the house of the Lord receive a gift of God’s priesthood power by
virtue of their covenant, along with a gift of knowledge to know how to draw upon that power.
“The heavens are just as open to women who are endowed with God’s power flowing from
their priesthood covenants as they are to men who bear the priesthood. I pray that truth will
register upon each of your hearts because I believe it will change your life. Sisters, you have
the right to draw liberally upon the Savior’s power to help your family and others you love.”
Sister Eubank recently said that once she recognized she had that priesthood power in her life
her focus shifted to better questions. She began asking herself: ‘What am I doing with that
endowment of priesthood power? How does it affect my calling? What does it mean for my
most important relationships? And how might I use it to help someone else’”
These quotes along with many other powerful resources have really shifted my thoughts on
the Priesthood. Here’s another scripture:
Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-42: No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by
virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness,
and by love unfeigned;
By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and
without guile.
Brothers and Sisters, we are partnering with Heavenly Father to save souls and we are to do
that by becoming more like Him. These verses include virtues that perfectly describe
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. For me this means that as we mirror our hearts, minds,
and actions with those of God we are going to have more power, more influence to turn others
to Him.
But let’s step back for a moment. Take a moment to think about what partnering with God
looks like in your callings or in your family relationships. To me it makes me more bold, more
confident, and more compassionate than I would otherwise be, because I have faith that I’m
doing what Heavenly Father needs me to do. We might say we are being led by the Spirit,
which we are but another way of saying it is partnering with God and using the priesthood
power He has given us to bless the lives of others.
In the last 10 years or so we have been asked to rephrase things - instead of the Atonement
we are to refer to it as the Atonement of Jesus Christ or Christ’s Atoning sacrifice. Instead of
the LDS church or the Mormons we are to be the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Is this rebranding? Is this semantics? According to President Nelson it’s not. Using Christ’s
name adds power and redirects our thoughts to Him. So what if we did the same thing with
our priesthood power?
Instead of thinking of the priesthood merely as priesthood blessings, priesthood offices, and
priesthood ordinances, what if we consciously thought of our service, any service,as
partnering with God to point His children to Jesus Christ. Would we be more bold as we invite
our neighbor to an activity, as we compliment someone in the grocery store line, or as we
share a scripture with a friend?
We are told time and time again that God is with us:
And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your
right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about
you to bear you up.
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are there ready to partner with us. They are pleading with
us to use our priesthood power that we receive in the waters of baptism through our
covenants as well as the additional power we obtain as we receive our endowment in the
temple to bless others. I truly believe that if we called our promptings to serve for what they
are, priesthood power, partnering with God to save souls it would revolutionize the way we
approach others.
So I come back to Sister Eubank’s questions: “What am I doing with that endowment of
priesthood power? How does it affect my calling? What does it mean for my most important
relationships? And how might I use it to help someone else?” Or in other words how do we
use priesthood power more fully in our lives?
I have a few thoughts to help us in this journey to more fully utilizing our priesthood power.
First is humility. I feel that so much of the Doctrine and Covenants is about humility. Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ are telling the early Saints to go and do some pretty amazing things
but they first need to recognize whose power they are using to accomplish it all.
Doctrine & Covenants 112:10 - Be thou humble, and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the
hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.
Let’s remember that the Lord wants and expects us to do amazing things, He wants us to use
the gift of priesthood power He has given us but if we don’t counsel with Him and let Him
show us the way, if we begin thinking that we are the amazing party in these transactions, “the
heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn,
amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man (or woman).
So let’s partner with God and be bold in what He asks us to do, but let us never forget who is
really doing the work that we get the amazing privilege to witness and take part.
Second is to cultivate that priesthood power. It takes work to mirror our hearts and minds and
actions with God. It’s why repenting daily, studying the scriptures daily, praying daily, partaking
of the sacrament weekly, and attending the temple regularly are so vital. They put us on the
path to employing the power of Christ’s Atonement in our lives so we can be in a position to
maintain the power and influence of the priesthood.
Third is to expect to work, to get out of your comfort zone and to bless others. If we are
humble, if we are working to become more like our Savior, then the Lord is going to use us in
unexpected ways to bless others.
I was listening to a podcast this week about the story of this man, Stacey whose job it was to
help others climb Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America. Stacey tells the story of
how he was helping his client, Denny, come back down the mountain when Denny fell into a
crevasse. Denny was almost literally twice the size of Stacey and after only a few hours was
succumbing to hypothermia. With Denny hanging by a rope, Stacey remembered he had
priesthood power that could call down the powers of heaven to help this man. He prayed, and
called on his CB radio one more time for help. Within 15 minutes both men were safely off the
mountain. As I was listening to the story and Stacey mentioned his priesthood power I
honestly thought he was going to give Denny a blessing. But when he said he had priesthood
power and prayed for help for his client I thought, well that priesthood power is available to
anyone, man or woman.
So we may not be called upon by God to use his power for such amazing feats at that. But we
will be asked to get out of our comfort zones and be bold. But if we remember that we are
partnering with God, and that this is His work, it hopefully somehow makes it easier.
Brothers and Sisters. I love this Church. I love the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And
I love that while I may never know why men are the ones called to serve as Bishop, bless and
pass the sacrament, or baptize my children, I am so grateful that the Lord trusts me enough to
want to partner with me, narcissistic as I sometimes can be, oblivious as I sometimes can be,
to help point His children to Jesus Christ. This thought may not change what I am doing but I
know it will change how I approach priesthood power and my access to it.
