The Power of the Priesthood

Good morning brothers and sisters. To use what is probably one of the most frequent phrases and also biggest falsehoods in our church Im happy to be here today. I really am grateful for the opportunity to speak. I think more so for the preparation and learning that takes place than the actual speaking portion. Growing up, I like the vast majority of boys in our area, was a member of the Boy Scouts of America. Since Ive returned home from my mission, several years ago, I can count on nearly one hand the number of years Ive actually spent in my proper priesthood quorum. Ive spent all the other years in some sort of scouting capacity and as a function of that, attended the Deacons, Teachers, or Priests quorum. In this ward over the past year Ive had the unique opportunity to serve with two of the best scoutmasters Ive ever seen in Darrel Moon and Martin Johnson. The scouting program is all I really know. Over the years Ive had the Boy Scout Motto of Be Prepared drilled into my mind. During this time the motto has been used with additional lines of instruction such as Be Prepared for life, to live happily and without regret knowing that you have done your best. In its current form the Boy Scout Motto is simply Be Prepared with the additional instruction being For Life. When the founder of scouting, Lord Baden Powell, was asked prepared for what? he responded by saying why, for any old thing. Id like today to share a few thoughts on the power of the priesthood and hope for the next few minutes we can keep the Boy Scout Motto of Be Prepared in our minds as I do so. With any luck and a lot of help from the Spirit Ill be able to link preparation and the power of the priesthood and well all learn something.

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Weve been taught through the scriptures and modern day prophets that the priesthood is the authority and power which God has granted to men on earth to act for Him. He first authorizes men to act in his name through the laying on of hands. When that authority is used properly, the priesthood bearers do what He would do if He were present. Ill let that sink in for a minute. I think we sometimes are able to give the technical explanation to a question or concept because that explanation has become so ingrained in us over the years, but Im not confident we always understand the explanation. But think about that statement for a minute. When that authority is used properly, the priesthood bearers do what He would do if He were present. That means, Aaronic priesthood, holders that had Christ been physically present today he would have administered to this congregation the sacrament, just as you did. That also means, Melchizedek priesthood holders, when a priesthood blessing is given, that is what He would have done and the words used are very same words He would have used. In an April 2010 conference talk President Boyd K. Packer expressed concern at the fact that the priesthood doesnt have the power that it should have here on the earth. He pointed to the family unit as the reason behind that. Specifically he said 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 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.

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Id like to open myself up to some ridicule by sharing a story that will hopefully help illustrate this point. This past weekend I competed in my first triathlon. I should probably rephrase that there wasnt any competing going on. I participated in my first triathlon. I come from a very active family. I have two brothers that really enjoy triathlons. I dont know why but they do. Our family is getting older and starting to go our separate ways. As far as we could tell this summer was that last that we would all be together for quite some time. One of my brothers, in his ultimate wisdom back in December, had the brilliant idea that doing a triathlon would be a fun way to spend our final summer. My other brother was quickly on board and, against our better judgment, my father and I signed up as well. I signed up to participate in the triathlon on December 31st. I was, as of that moment, authorized to race. I was entitled to show up on race day, enter the area designated for racers, pick up my race packet, get my tshirt, and race. I was excited. Over the winter months, however, that excitement wore off. The training I started began to fade and became less and less frequent. It finally stopped all together. I did not prepare as I should have. There were some legitimate reasons during that time. I had an injury in January that was healed in about 2 weeks. I got sick once or twice those lasted a few days each. Fast forwarding to a week ago Friday night, I had convinced myself that those were the reasons I hadnt trained. I tried to tell myself it wont be that hard. How much training do I really need for this anyway? However, if I was honest with myself, I knew that I wasnt prepared for this race. As the evening wore on, and race time drew closer, I became more and more apprehensive. I tried to blame my brothers for talking me into this, I tried to blame my injury and illness for the lack of training. I think I even sent Bishop Davis a text and told him he should have counseled me against doing this. In the back of my mind though, I knew there was nobody to blame but myself.

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Race day came. I woke up and was sick to my stomach for the events that were about to unfold. We drove to the race location and checked in. Standing in the racers area with all the other racers it was apparent I didnt belong. These people were prepared. They were actually looking forward to this event. They knew they had done everything possible to train and were excited to reap the rewards of their hard work. They had swam laps in the pool, put in miles on their bike, had worn out pairs of shoes running, and had properly fed their bodies with nutritious foods for several months. I nearly left. You see though I was authorized to race, I did not have the power to race effectively. I wasnt prepared for it. Many of us are authorized to use the priesthood and act as He would act if He were here. However, sadly, there are far too many of us who do not have the power of the priesthood. We have taken ourselves out of the race because of our lack of preparation. In order to be prepared to use the power of the priesthood we as families must be diligent in our preparation, or staying with the triathlon theme, our pre-race training. That preparation must come at an early age in the home. Though the church acts as a supplement, the home is the primary source of training. The training must include daily prayer. It must include Family Home Evenings. In the home children and future priesthood holders get a taste for service and see the priesthood in action. As adult priesthood bearers our training cannot stop. I had the luxury of knowing the exact date and time that I was going to race. We never know when we will be called on to use the power of the priesthood. Since we dont know the when or where, we must be, as Lord Baden Powell described it, prepared for any old thing. We must learn to navigate, our spirit unscathed, through the dangerous waters that is our society and run from anything that would drive the spirit from us. We must feed our spiritual bodies the nutrients it needs in the form of daily prayer, attendance at our church meetings, and regular visits to the temple so that we can be ready to exercise the power when called upon. Page | 4

Sisters you play an integral role in this training. Mothers, daughters, and sisters have a tremendous amount of influence on their fathers, sons, and brothers. In many instances youre the only people us stubborn men will listen to. Your role in the training of current and future priesthood leaders cannot and must not be ignored. Finally, if we have injured ourselves and our ability to train and fully participate through a pattern of laziness or sin we must be restored and healed through repentance and forgiveness. As we do these things we will Be prepared. We will be able to be competitive rather than just authorized to race. The power of the priesthood will have the strength it should. When this happens the Lords ultimate purpose for authorizing us to use the priesthood in the first place is made effective which is to bring ourselves and our families closer to perfection. He has said this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Through the power of the priesthood Ive seen miracles. Ive seen it transform lives. Just as in ancient times, I have seen sinners change their ways. Ive seen the comfort settle in after a priesthood blessing has been given and Ive watched as the sick have been healed. These are all things Christ, our Lord and Savior, would have done had he been here. In many ways he was through his worthy and prepared servants. I know that He lives. I know that He suffered and died for our sins so that we dont have to. I dont know how it happened only that it did and for that I am eternally grateful. I know that through his prophet, Joseph Smith, He restored His gospel and gave us the priesthood so that we may become better. I am grateful for a beautiful and loving wife who, despite all of my many flaws, helps and encourages me to be a better man. I am humble enough to realize I do not deserve her. I am also selfish enough to keep her all to myself. Page | 5

As we near Fathers day I can still remember that September day in 1995 when Jesus Christ authorized me, through my father, to use His priesthood. I cannot stand here and tell you that Ive never struggled along the way. I can tell you that I will never stop training. This is one race Im not willing and do not intend to lose. May we gain a testimony of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and of the power of the priesthood. May we gain a testimony of the fact that He needs us, and wants us, to succeed. Once we have that testimony may we prepare ourselves is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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