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ICEBREAKER
For an Icebreaker I like to talk about what we call in the Church a priesthood "Line of Authority". This is a really special record that the Church provides for those that have been ordained to priesthood office. What it does is it traces your priesthood genealogy, in a sense, all the way back to Jesus Christ by going line by line and showing you who received their priesthood ordination from who. But I don't like to display my line of authority right off the bat. There's an aspect of priesthood lines of authority that I find really fascinating. I first like to ask them how many lines of ordinations they think stand between me and Jesus Christ. Or in other words, how many pairs of hands would separate me from Jesus in priesthood authority? Which number would be the closest?
11
53
107
324
My students are often surprised to discover that, for me, that number is 11. There are only 11 sets of hands between my priesthood authority and that of Jesus Christ. That, blows my mind! To think that I am that closely connected to the Son of God in authority. In fact, it's only four sets of hands before you run into a prophet. And, this is not a boastful thing. This isn't unique to me. It's not like I'm this special, privileged priesthood bearer that has such a short line of authority. This is basically true for all priesthood in the Church. Even for the young men who have only recently been ordained to priesthood office. Their lines of authority wouldn't really be that much longer. Maybe a few more lines. No more than 20 I would imagine. What a wonderful thing to realize just how close our connection to the source of divine priesthood power we are.
If you're a teacher and you have not been ordained to priesthood office, perhaps you could use the line of authority of someone you know. OR, if you have been ordained but you don't know your line of authority, you can email the church and they will send it to you. I'll put the specific instructions on how to do that in the video description below.
TRANSITION
Well, today we're talking priesthood. We are a very fortunate people to have that power among us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter-days. This is one of those things that really sets us apart from other Christian denominations--that we claim to have that divine authority, and to be the ONLY church that has that divine authority. Section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants is going to help us to better understand this sacred power. The Section Heading tells us that Joseph Smith designates this as a revelation on priesthood.
NOTE
A quick note before we dive in. This is not a lesson for men only. Just as I said when we had our lesson on Section 25, that the principles contained in that section pertain to all members of the church and not just women. Section 84 also pertains to all members of the church. It's true that there are certain aspects of the priesthood that are particular to men, and some of those principles are covered here. But so much of what we learn about priesthood pertains to all faithful followers of Christ. In recent years, our understanding on the subject of women and their relationship to the priesthood has grown significantly. I'm not going to go deeply into that topic right now, but if you feel you need a review of some of those principles, the two best sources I can refer you to would be the gospel topic essay entitled:
Joseph Smith's Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/joseph-smiths-teachings-about-priesthood-temple-and-women?lang=eng
And a talk given by President Dallin H. Oaks in the April, 2014 Priesthood session of General Conference entitled "The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood". https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2014/04/the-keys-and-authority-of-the-priesthood?lang=eng
I'll put links to these two resources in the video description below if you're interested, but one quick point I'd like to make here. There is a difference between priesthood power, priesthood authority, priesthood office, and priesthood keys. Only male members of the church may be ordained to priesthood office and only a small portion of those individuals are authorized to exercise priesthood keys. However, the women of the church do in fact possess and exercise both priesthood power and authority. And in that sense, Sisters, as we study section 84, keep that in mind that many if not most of these principles and instructions apply to you as well.
With that said. Let's see what we can learn about the priesthood.
SEARCH-PRIESTHOOD PRINCIPLES
The first thing I want to do is cover some general principles and doctrines of the priesthood taught here in Section 84. I like to do that with this little study guide. It has a number of different types of questions that can help students learn some priesthood principles on their own. So, it's got some multiple-choice questions, short answer, true/false and a matching activity. Then, as you correct it as a class, you could have some discussion about what they've found.
But let's go ahead take a look at the answers here together:
First the multiple-choice questions:
How does one receive priesthood ordination and office? Well, the provided verses contain what appears to be a line of authority for Moses. And in each of those verses the phrase "under the hand of" appears every time. What this teaches us is that
B. If worthy, you receive it under the hands of another person that possesses it themselves.
And that makes sense right. Authority is the kind of thing that must be bestowed by somebody who already possesses that power. You can't give something you don't have. Like Article of Faith #5 says: “We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.”
How does the Aaronic priesthood hold the keys of the preparatory gospel? (:24-27).
That's a phrase that we find in verse 26 that tells us that the lesser priesthood contains the preparatory gospel. The answer here is D. Its ordinances prepare people for the ordinances and covenants of the higher priesthood.
Were you tempted to choose A as an answer to that question? That it prepares young men to eventually hold the higher priesthood? You're not entirely wrong if you chose that, because, yes, it does do that. The duties of the Aaronic priesthood helps to prepare young men to eventually take on the larger responsibilities of the Melchizedek. However, you'll notice that it doesn't call it the preparatory priesthood, but the preparatory gospel. It's not about the priesthood holder here. It's about the people the priesthood holder ministers to.
The ordinances of the Aaronic priesthood are preparatory. They prepare our souls for greater things by cleansing us from sin. Then the ordinances of the Melchizedek priesthood can come in and sanctify us and bring us closer to God. So we're baptized by the authority of the Aaronic priesthood, which washes away our sins, and then by the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood, we're sanctified by receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The administration of the sacrament cleanses us by the authority of the Aaronic priesthood, so that the rest of the meeting can be dedicated to increasing our knowledge and bringing us closer to God under the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood. As a bishop, when people come into me to confess and work through the repentance process, I believe I'm acting in an Aaronic priesthood role, a preparatory role. Bishop, after all, is actually an office in the Aaronic priesthood. I help to prepare them to become worthy to receive the higher ordinances of the temple performed under the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood. Therefore, Aaronic priesthood it is the priesthood of the preparatory gospel. The gospel that prepares people to then be sanctified. You can't be sanctified without first being purified.
All right, now the TRUE/FALSE questions.
For the church to be considered “true” it must contain the priesthood. (:17) And the answer to that is true. Verse 17 tells us that the priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations. We make a really big deal about this in the church. For the church to be the "true" church, it must have the approval and order of God's authority in it.
The ultimate source of all priesthood power is Jesus Christ himself. (:12, :18). And for this one, I'm going to have to say False. But only just barely. Yes, Christ is a source of priesthood power, but ultimately that power comes from God the Father.
You can see that in verse 12, 18.
We cannot return to the presence of God without receiving the ordinances of the priesthood. (:20-22)
That is true. Verse 21 and 22 teach us that:
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
I don't think last line is referring to earthly visions--that an individual has to have received the ordinances in order to have a vision of God--to see his face. It means that we cannot return to God's presence without the ordinances of the priesthood. Like Jesus said. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God". (John 3:5)
Now for our short answer questions.
How old is the priesthood? (:17)
According to verse 17, it is without beginning of days or end of years. It's eternal. A power that has always existed, and always will exist. It's as eternal as God himself.
Next. What do you think the scripture means by “in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest” (:20)?
That's a pretty open-ended question and could lead to some great discussion.
Here's what I think. Ordinances are sacred rituals. And I know there is a lot of baggage tied up in that word. A ritual sounds so mystical or even cultish. But we can avoid that problem if we just stop to think about what ordinances are and why we do them. Ordinances are physical actions that are meant to teach us truths about God and his gospel. They make those truths memorable. God is a good teacher, and what is more memorable or effective in teaching? A lecture or an object lesson? A lesson where you sit and listen or a lesson where you are up and doing and participating in something. That's what ordinances do. And it is through those ordinances that God teaches things about himself. The power of godliness is manifest in them.
To be clearer, I might ask the question this way: How do the ordinances of the gospel show what God has the power to do?
Well, let's think of some.
When we see a baby blessing. What apparently does God have the power to do? He has the power to bless children.
How about baptism? He has the power to cleanse and purify
How about marriage? He has the power to bind people together for eternity.
How about ordination? He has the power to bestow power and authority on others
And we could go on, but it's through those ordinances that I am visually taught truths about his power. And even more intriguing, these are the powers that he promises us if we return to Him.
All right, our final section is a matching activity of sorts. It invites the students to categorize different terms found within the section as either pertaining to the Melchizedek Priesthood or the Aaronic Priesthood.
The Sons of Moses refers to bearers of the Melchizedek priesthood since this was the priesthood that Moses had.
While the sons of Aaron refer to bearers of the Aaronic priesthood, for obvious reasons.
The greater priesthood would be Melchizedek, and the lesser priesthood would be referring to the Aaronic.
The preparatory gospel is a term used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, as we talked about earlier, and the priesthood that administers the gospel is a function of the Melchizedek.
Now it's the Aaronic priesthood that holds the key of the ministering of angels, while the Melchizedek holds the key of the knowledge of God.
Elder is an office of the Melchizedek priesthood
It mentions Bishop here also which technically is an office in the Aaronic priesthood, however, it could go in both, because the Bishop also acts as the presiding High Priest in his ward, so he has both Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood roles.
But then, both deacon and teacher are offices within the Aaronic.
And that completes our study guide. I hope everyone was able to learn at least something new here. It's just a quick and simple way to gather some of the priesthood principles found in this first portion of section 84.
OBJECT LESSON
But for this next section of the lesson, I like to focus a little more personally on the power of the priesthood and our specific relationship to it. One might wonder what is that God actually wants us to do with this power He's bestowed on us. There are some really fantastic phrases in Section 84 that, to me, teach what priesthood is all about. I'll often introduce this segment with an object lesson. I like to pull out a large magnifying glass and ask them what it does, or what it's used for. (If you don't have a magnifying glass lying around, I'll put a link to an inexpensive one you could purchase on Amazon if you're interested (https://amzn.to/2UGBHNE). And of course, they'll say things like, "It makes thing's appear bigger", "It helps you see things up close", "It makes it so you can see details better". And all of that is correct. But then I ask them what they think the Lord means by 84: 33
33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.
What do you think he means by "magnifying our calling"?
My opinion is that he wants the priesthood to fill our vision. That's what a magnifying glass does. It takes something smaller, and it fills our vision with it. God wants our priesthood purpose to be magnified in our eyes. To prioritize it above other things. To make it a bigger part of our lives when others may very well let it remain small or insignificant. I also really like the word calling in this verse. This is not referring to church callings in the way we usually use that word. This is our general "calling" from Jesus Christ. We sometimes talk about finding our "calling" in life. The Savior is calling to us to rise up and magnify the power that he's granting us.
SEARCH
Well how do we do that? What do we actually do with this power? I'd like to send you in to a number of specific verses in Section 84 that contain those fantastic phrases I mentioned earlier. I'll give you the verse, while you give me the phrase that describes what we can do to "magnify our callings".
We're going to start out with my favorite one of all. In fact, if I were to ask a class what they thought the purpose of the priesthood was, I'm sure many would say things like "It gives us the power to act in God's name", or, "We perform ordinances with authority through it", or "We serve with it". And those are all very correct and important. But I think the best description I've ever heard of what we do with the priesthood is found in verse :23. Can you pick it out?
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
Moses is a perfect example of someone who magnified his priesthood calling. He sought diligently to sanctify his people so that they could one day behold the face of God, so that they could return worthily to his presence. That's what we do with the priesthood. We diligently seek to prepare others to return to the presence of God. Really, isn't that the whole reason we have the priesthood in the first place. We know from Moses 1:39 that God's work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. The priesthood allows us to participate and assist God in that purpose.
So priesthood power is really all about people.
In fact, what would you say is the most important thing God restored in the restoration? I know that when we hear that term "Restoration", we often think about the restoration of the gospel, the restoration of the priesthood, the restoration of the church. It's a helpful historical term, but you may be surprised to learn that the phrases "restoration of the church" and "restoration of the priesthood" never actually appear in the Doctrine and Covenants. Hard to believe, right? You may find those words in some of the section summaries, but never in the actual text of the scriptures themselves. But here in section 84, there is a restoration phrase. The Lord tells us what he is most adamant about restoring. It's in verse 2. It's the restoration of his people. That's what God has been after all along. He has set about to restore his covenant people once again upon the earth. That’s the restoration that really matters. All the other “restorations” are a means to that end.
So now we've seen Moses as a great example of someone who magnified his priesthood, let’s take a look at another. John the Baptist. How did he magnify his calling?
28 For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, (that's kind of some cool information to know) to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power.
So we magnify our priesthood by preparing people for Christ to come into their lives. Again, it's about people. So we prepare them by setting a good example, we prepare them by serving and sacrificing for them, we prepare them by sharing the gospel and our testimonies with them, we prepare them by inviting. As a priesthood magnifier, all I am is a signpost pointing to Jesus and the Father. WE want to prepare them so that THEIR power can come into their lives.
Another one, :31
31 Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses--for the sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed.
This verse really highlights one of the major messages of the section. The entire section begins with a charge to Joseph and other church leaders to establish the city of Zion. That's verse 2. And Zion always begins at the same spot. Verse 3. At the temple. So, let's tie this in with our overall purpose of the priesthood, which we decided was to sanctify people so that they might behold the face of God. So it's as if the Lord is saying. You can't sanctify them, unless you have a temple, because it's in the temple that they're sanctified. In one sense, the priesthood's whole role is to bring people to the altars of the temple. So if I'm a parent, how do I know I've succeeded in my priesthood responsibility with my family. When they go to the temple and continue faithful. If I have a ministering family, how do I know I've succeeded in my priesthood responsibility? When they go the temple and continue faithful. As a Bishop, what is my priesthood role with those who have not been endowed yet? To get them to the temple to be endowed and sealed. And then, once people have gotten to the temple, one of the major roles of the priesthood is to keep them there. So once every other year there is a check in. A temple recommend interview to see if you're still ok.
But, in order to build a temple, you have to gather people together. Verse 4. And how will we gather people together? By proclaiming the gospel, which is an idea that a large portion of this section is dedicated to.
So let's say we do all that. We proclaim the gospel, people are gathered, we start to establish Zion by building a temple. We get them into the temple and sanctify them. Now what? verse 31, we offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice within the temple. What is that acceptable offering? It could be a number of things. It could be the offering of our temple covenants. It could be the offering of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. It could be the offering of our time and talents and blessings. It could be the offering of ourselves, our will. It could be all those things, but most definitely, it's referring to the offering of the work we do for the dead. You can see that in Doctrine and Covenants 128:24
Let us, therefore, as a church and a people, and as Latter-day Saints, offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness; and let us present in his holy temple, when it is finished, a book containing the records of our dead, which shall be worthy of all acceptation.
All of these "offerings" are a part of magnifying our calling.
:43-44 How else do we magnify?
43 And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
44 For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.
We magnify by giving diligent heed to the words of eternal life. This whole next section, from verses 43- 61 deals with that topic. He emphasizes their need to "not only say, but to do according to that which I have written" (:57) And he warns them:
54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received.
They've been treating things lightly, specifically he mentions the Book of Mormon. We can't magnify our callings if we aren't taking his words seriously.
So we study the scriptures, we listen closely to the prophets, we hearken to the Spirit because the magnifying priesthood bearer gives diligent heed to the words of eternal life.
One more.
62 Therefore, go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature.
So we magnify our calling by proclaiming the gospel. Like we said earlier. In order to sanctify his people, we need to build a temple, and in order to build a temple, people need to be gathered, and in order to gather, we must proclaim the gospel.
Now the rest of the section, from verses 62-120 deals with the theme of proclaiming the gospel and a represents a major part of magnifying our calling. I'm not going to spend as much time in this half of the section. Many of the principles that we find here we've seen before, but I encourage you to study this section looking for counsel on better proclaiming the gospel.
Still, I'd like to mention just a few verses of note.
Verse 106 teaches an important principle about companionship:
106 And if any man among you be strong in the Spirit, let him take with him that is weak, that he may be edified in all meekness, that he may become strong also.
That's some fairly good advice to consider when it comes to pairing people up into companionships
And I also love the teaching advice found in verse 117 when it says that we should teach by:
"setting forth clearly and understandingly"
Notice that he didn't say clearly and understandably. Those would be synonymous terms. But he says understandINGly. When we teach others, or proclaim the gospel, it's best to teach with understanding. To really seek to understand before we are understood. We can try view things from their perspective, walk in their shoes, and be patient and compassionate with their progress and comprehension. We can't expect people to completely overhaul their lives and beliefs from one day to the next. Hopefully we stop to consider where others are coming from when we teach them, whether in the church or out of the church.
Now step back and take a look at that list. Altogether, we have a really nice idea of what it means to magnify the power of the priesthood.
PRIESTHOOD BLESSINGS
Now, one final question about the priesthood that I want to take a look at today from section 84. And that is "What are the blessings promised to those who righteously exercise its power?"
You could approach this as a word search activity. I've gone through and highlighted some of the blessings and promises of the priesthood found in Section 84. What your students will do is go through and fill in the blanks from these verses that describe the blessings. When they're done, they'll have the list of words that they should look for in the word search, and they'll also have a neat list of priesthood blessings in front of them. That, of course, could be used as a vehicle for discussing those blessings on a deeper level.
· :32 They "shall be filled with the ____________ of the Lord". Glory
· :33 They are "sanctified by the Spirit unto the _________________ of their bodies". Renewing
· :34 "They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the ___________ of God". Elect
· :38 "All that my Father hath shall be _____________ unto him". Given
· :63 "Ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my ___________". Friends
· :65 "And these _________ shall follow them that believe". Signs
· :88 "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 _________ round about you, to bear you up". angels
· :98 "they shall __________ this new song". Sing
Let's go over the answers.
:32 they shall be filled with the GLORY of the Lord
:33 sanctified by the Spirit unto the RENEWING of our bodies
I've really tried to ponder what that could mean. I suppose it could be referring to a number of different things. It could be the resurrection. Those that magnify their priesthood will be brought forth in the morning of the first resurrection and receive a glorified and celestial body. It could also have reference to our bodies here. We will be blessed and able to fulfill our work here on earth. President Nelson seems to be a good example of this. At 95 years old, you get the sense that God is "renewing his body" so that he is able to perform the work the Lord has for him at this time. We could also cross reference this promise to verse 80 where faithful priesthood bearers are promised that they . . .shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst. There are physical blessings associated with magnifying the priesthood.
:34 we become the sons of Moses and of Aaron, and the seed of Abraham, and the church, and kingdom, and ELECT of God.
Elect means to be chosen. We become his chosen people. The seed of Abraham is another important designation there. It means that we become partakers of the Abrahamic covenant, which is a topic much too big to tackle here, but through that covenant, the Lord promised to bless all the families of the earth by granting priesthood power to his covenant people.
:38 All that my Father hath shall be GIVEN unto him.
I've thought a lot about what that means as well and I'm afraid I haven't come to any certain conclusion yet. Does that mean that we will be given literally what the Father has, OR does it mean we will receive the kinds of things he has? Does that make sense? If I were to say, as a Father, that I want my son to have everything I do, that doesn't mean that I want him to have the very things that I have, but similar things of his own. I want him to have a good job that he loves, like I do. I want him to have a comfortable home, like I do. I want him to have a fulfilling and happy marriage, like I do. It doesn't mean he is going to actually have the very things I have but have the same kinds of things. Perhaps it is that way with God. I don't actually take God's throne and might and power, but I am given my own throne, and might, and power like unto Him.
:63 I love this one. What designation does Jesus give here to those who follow him. Disciples? Servants? Members of his Church? No, friends. "Ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my FRIENDS".
I love that. When we magnify the priesthood, we become friends of Christ. That's such a personal and close kind of term. It elevates discipleship to a much more familiar relationship. He continues that thought in verse 77.
77 And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling to preach the gospel in my power;
So, magnify the priesthood, and you've got a friend in Jesus.
:65 "And these SIGNS shall follow them that believe".
The promise is that magnifiers of the priesthood will see and do miracles. Some examples :66-72
66 In my name they shall do many wonderful works;
67 In my name they shall cast out devils;
68 In my name they shall heal the sick;
69 In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf;
70 And the tongue of the dumb shall speak;
71 And if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them;
72 And the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them.
Now somebody may look at that list and say, wait a minute. I've never done any of those things through the power of the priesthood. Am I not worthy? What's wrong with me? I know that Jesus did those kinds of things, but not me. I believe that one of the major purposes of Jesus’s miracles was to show people, through his physical healing, what he could do for them spiritually. I feel that this is the major way we perform these same kinds of wonderful works today. Yes, I do believe that literal miracles of this nature can and do happen, but that they're not very common. Spiritually speaking, though, I've seen these kinds of miracles frequently in my life. I may not actually raise my hand to cast out an evil spirit, but as a Bishop, I can help someone repent and help them to rid themselves of that evil in their life and cast it out. I may not actually bring sight to the blind, but I can open someone's eyes to the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation or Christ's restored gospel. I may not literally bring hearing back to the deaf, but I can help to open someone's ears to God's wisdom and counsel. I may not literally be immune to poison, but my priesthood worthiness can protect me from the poison of worldliness, pride, addiction, and hate. So don't feel like less of a disciple when you don't perform the literal interpretation of these signs. I'm willing to bet, that in a symbolic sense, you have experienced all of these miracles--these wonderful works.
:88 "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".
Isn't that a beautiful promise? Christ and his angels are in every direction around us and in us. We have that companionship and that protection at all times. Left hand, right hand, in our hearts, round about, under us bearing us up. Have you ever felt that presence? It reminds me of that story in the Old Testament where the servant of Elisha is worried about an attacking army that has surrounded the city, but Elisha doesn't seem concerned. And he prays and asks God to open the eyes of his servant. The servant looks around and the entire city is surrounded by chariots of fire. The promise. They that be with us, are more than they that be with them
.
:98 "they shall SING this new song".
Now, I'm glad that I've saved this one for last. One of the greatest blessings we gain for magnifying our priesthood is the opportunity to sing this new song. This song is spoken of in numerous places in the scriptures. Alma called it the song of Redeeming Love. And here, in section 84, the Lord actually gives us the words. You can read them for yourself in verses 99-102. It's a beautiful hymn praising the Lord's power, the establishment of Zion, and the victory of grace and the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. So we have the words, but he doesn't give us the tune. We only get half. And the Lord says, if you wish to enter my kingdom, you need to sing this song for me. But I say, "Lord, I don't know the notes, I don't know the music". And he smiles and says "Follow me, magnify your priesthood, restore my people, build my Zion, and the notes will come. Your heart will write the tune." So, we go out and we honor that priesthood power. But we don't do it simply out of a sense of responsibility, or duty, or obligation, we do it out of sense of love and enthusiasm. Because we want to sing the song with the Savior. There is a joy and willingness in that image of joining with the angelic choir. We sing the power of the priesthood. It is a marvelous work and a wonder! A privilege!
TRUTH
You may have noticed a pattern here in what we've done. We've looked at the things that we promise to do as recipients of the priesthood, and the things that God promises us if we do them. What do we call that, when there is a two way promise between God and man? That is a covenant.
Let's go to verses 39-40.
39 And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.
40 Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.
If we are willing to take upon ourselves these privileges, to proclaim, to gather, to sanctify, to heed, to offer, to magnify, then the Lord promises us everything. All that he has will be given us. That "he" is referring to God. He cannot break that oath and covenant. Reminds us of 82:10 "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say". He cannot break it. He will not break it. We may, but not God. So, in light of all we've talked about today, whether you are male or female, young or old:
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Which of the promised blessings have you either seen in your life or look most forward to?
How could you better magnify the priesthood in your life?
CONCLUSION
I am so grateful for the power and authority of God manifested amongst mankind. I'm so grateful for the priesthood. I know that it is a real power, because I've felt it, I've seen its influence, I've been blessed and guided and healed by it. It really is a privilege to be given even the smallest measure of that heavenly influence. May we all fill our vision with that power, magnify it, and join in the choir singing the greatest song ever written, the song of redeeming love.
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