Amazing Later-day Saint Talks: Power of the Priesthood

When a boy in our Church (LDS) turns 12 he has the opportunity to receive the Aaronic Priesthood.

This is the 1st step toward gaining the power & authority to act for Heavenly Father on earth in all things pertaining to the salvation of man.

It is necessary to learn about the Priesthood step by step, performing the duties of Deacons, Teachers, and Priests to build toward receiving the Melchesidic Priesthood.

It makes sense that we take on the responsibilities & blessings of the Priesthood gradually as we are able to accept it.

President Spencer W. Kimball said,

“It would be unfortunate if you received the total power of God all at once if you were not wholly ready for it, because you might make many mistakes. You might make people well, when they ought to pass away. You might make many, many errors if you had no limitations to your priesthood. So the Lord has very wisely given to you the priesthood commensurate with your need and your ability to handle it.”

A big part of the Priesthood is service.

In the Aaronic Priesthood we learn to serve others when we collect fast offerings each month, & when we usher or prepare & pass the Sacrament each week

We start our role as home teachers when we hold the Aaronic Priesthood & that is all about serving & fellow shipping those we teach.

I think at this time we learn that service can be fun & satisfying as well as a help to others.

Forming a good attitude about service when we are a deacon, teacher, & priest is very important, because we can either start to think it is a hardship & a burden & avoid it, or that it is a privilege, a source of happiness & an opportunity to get know other people & lighten their loads.

This attitude about service starts now when we are in the Aaronic Priesthood & grows & develops & expands to when we receive the Melchezedic Priesthood.

We have all had opportunities to be in leadership positions in our quorums as president, counselor, or secretary.

This gives us experience in planning conducting & carrying out activities & working together for a good purpose.

It would be very difficult for a man to be given the position of Elders Quorum President or High Priest if he had not first had all the experiences we are able to get while we are serving in the Aaronic Priesthood.

President Gordon B. Hinckley has some good advice on how we can develop & magnify our priesthood. He said, “All of you, of course, are familiar with binoculars. When you put the lenses to your eyes & focus them, you magnify &, in effect, bring closer all within your field of vision. But, if you turn them around & look through the other end, you diminish & make more distant that which you see.

So it is with our actions as holders of the priesthood. When we live up to our high & holy calling, when we show love for God through service to fellowmen, when we use our strength & talents to build faith & spread truth, we magnify our Priesthood. When, on the other hand, we live lives of selfishness, when we indulge in sin, when we set our sights only on the things of the world rather than on the things of God, we diminish our priesthood.”

I pray that as we are growing in our callings in the Aaronic Priesthood, or whatever calling we may have, that we can magnify it, through our service & love of others.