Doctrine and Covenants 84 Insights and Teaching Activities

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INSIGHTS

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 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 6 How much more important it is to receive “all that [the] Father hath” than to seek or receive anything else which this life offers.

The crowning blessings of life come through obedience to the covenants and honoring of the ordinances received in the holy temples, 

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.

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

Doctrine and Covenants 84

LESSON #1 “Priesthood principles” (Doctrine and covenants 84)

TRUTHS:

There are many specific doctrinal principles taught in this first lesson, so it doesn’t make sense to boil it down into one statement. Here’s a list of the major principles your students are going to learn from this lesson.

·      Priesthood authority must be conferred by someone who already holds it.

·      The Aaronic Priesthood administers the preparatory gospel, meaning its ordinances prepare souls for greater covenants.

·      The Aaronic Priesthood prepares people to be cleansed; the Melchizedek Priesthood helps sanctify and bring them closer to God.

·      The Church must have priesthood authority to be considered the true Church.

·      All priesthood power ultimately originates from God the Father.

·      We cannot return to God's presence without receiving the ordinances of the priesthood.

·      The priesthood is eternal—without beginning of days or end of years.

·      Ordinances are sacred, physical actions that visually demonstrate God’s power and teach us divine truths.

·      A Bishop holds an office in the Aaronic Priesthood but also acts with Melchizedek authority as a presiding high priest.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

Priesthood power is one of the most deeply moving and motivating doctrines in the Church. The fact that God shares His authority with His children is an incredibly empowering truth. Many of our students may not yet grasp the profound relevance of priesthood authority in their lives, so our role here is to help them see it as a divine invitation to participate in God’s work. Let’s help them to recognize that priesthood power is real, that it matters, and that it’s for them, men and women.

OBJECT:

A welcome mat. And a sign that says, “God’s Presence”. Place the doormat in front of a door in your classroom and then place the “God’s Presence” sign above it. And we’re going to use those items to illustrate an important principle regarding the difference between the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood later in the lesson.

ICEBREAKER:

For the icebreaker, I like to do the “Line of Authority” illustration I explained in the insight video. I use my own personal line of authority to do this, and you could do the same if you are a priesthood holder, and if not, you could use the line of authority of someone you know. Any priesthood holder in the Church can request their line of authority on the Church’s website, and I’ll include those instructions in the video description below. (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/tools/help/request-a-priesthood-line-of-authority?lang=eng) But you ask your class to guess how many ordinations they think there are between you (or the person whose line of authority you’re using) and Jesus Christ himself? And I hope you understand what I mean by that. I received the priesthood from my Father, and then he received from somebody else, and that person received it from someone else. But eventually, that power has to be traced back to Christ. Well, how far away would He be from me? How many ordinations separate us? And then give them four numbers to choose from. My students are often surprised to find out that, for me, it’s only 11. The number isn’t large. And that’s going to be true for all priesthood holders in the Church. It’s not going to be some huge number. And then you can show them that line of authority. Put that up on the screen or pass a printed one around for them to see. The point you’re wanting them to get from this is to see just how closely connected priesthood holders in the Church are to the source of priesthood power.

Then explain to them that today’s lesson is going to help them to understand that power on a deeper level. Take them to Section 84 and point out to them the line in the Section Heading where it tells us that “The Prophet designated it as a revelation on priesthood”.

I also encourage you to make the point that this is not just a lesson for the men. Women also possess and exercise priesthood power and authority. They just don’t hold priesthood office. So, the principles we discuss in each of these lessons I’ll go over with you this week apply to ALL members of the Church. Here are some resources you may want to familiarize yourself with as a teacher so that you can be prepared to explain this important doctrine or answer questions that some may have about that.

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

SEARCH ACTIVITY/HANDOUT:

But as I said earlier, this lesson is going to focus on a number of different priesthood principles taught in section 84. And the way that I like to cover those is with the following study guide handout. Give your students some time to study and find the answers on the handout either individually, in pairs, or in small groups. Then, as you correct the study guide, you can have a deeper discussion about those principles and answer questions your students may have regarding those principles.

I’m not going to cover those answers here because you can review those in the insight video. However, I would be sure to explain to my students the difference between the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods and that’s where our object lesson comes in. The Aaronic priesthood is preparatory—it cleanses and prepares us to experience and come closer to God and his power. It’s like the welcome mat. To approach God, we must become clean. It’s the Aaronic priesthood that does that. We can clean off our shoes so that we are more prepared to experience God’s power. So baptism is performed under the Aaronic priesthood because it cleanses and prepares us to come closer to God. 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. Bishop is an office in the Aaronic priesthood because a bishop can help us to repent, become clean, and prepare us for the ordinances of the temple that sanctify us by the power of the Melchizedek priesthood. Aaronic priesthood justifies, and Melchizedek priesthood sanctifies. The door mat and door can help your students to visualize that dynamic. I clean and prepare myself (the welcome mat) and then walk through the door to come closer to God.

VIDEO:

A video suggestion here. “How the Priesthood Works” can help your students understand the importance of priesthood power and its connection with the atonement of Jesus Christ.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2018-01-0090-how-the-priesthood-works?lang=eng&alang=eng&collectionId=c6e50d752a734588ba5ebb7843d3579c 

QUOTE:

From President Russell M. Nelson:

“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.”

(Conference Report, October 2019 “Spiritual Treasures”)

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

When have you seen priesthood power or authority make a difference in your life? (And that could be through an experience you’ve had with an ordinance, a priesthood blessing you received, an interaction with a priesthood leader, or how you have used priesthood power or authority yourself in some capacity). As a teacher, I would be prepared to share one of those experiences myself with my class.

I WILL GO AND DO QUESTION:

How can I prepare myself more fully to receive the power of the priesthood in my life? 

TAKEAWAY:

Our takeaway slide reminds our students that priesthood is God’s REAL power given to his children to perform his work. Remind them the priesthood has been restored to bless our lives in personal and powerful ways. Through its ordinances, we can be made clean, be lifted higher, and come closer to our Heavenly Father. Invite them to prepare themselves to receive it, to honor it, and to participate in it.

LESSON #2  magnificent magnification (DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 84)

TRUTH:

We magnify the priesthood when we help others come unto Christ, become sanctified, and ultimately return to the presence of God.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

For the fire in the bones, consider how the priesthood has helped you personally come closer to God. We want to help our students feel the wonder and weight of righteously exercising priesthood authority. To know that it’s not about personal glory or gain but about helping and blessing others. Priesthood is ultimately about service. Help them to feel and know that they’re a part of something grand and exciting—the only Church on the earth that has access to that real authority and power of God.

OBJECT:

A magnifying glass

Link to purchase Magnifying Glass: https://amzn.to/2UGBHNE

ICEBREAKER:

And for the icebreaker, ask if they know what it does. And of course, they'll say things like, "It makes things appear bigger", "It helps you see things up close", "It makes it so you can see details better". And for fun, you could even have them try to guess what the following objects are that are magnified.

And this is pasta. Cheese. A paintbrush. Cantaloupe. And chocolate.

But then I ask them what they think the Lord means by section 84:33. There it instructs us to magnify our calling in the priesthood. 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 the priesthood and its 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. 

Section 84 can help us to understand how we do that—how we magnify our calling to righteously exercise priesthood power.

SEARCH ACTIVITY:

Now you can send your students into the scriptures to examine some specific verses that I feel help us to understand what God wants us to DO with his priesthood. There are some wonderful phrases in this section that can help us define what magnifying the priesthood looks like. You give them the verse, and they identify a phrase that describes what we can do to "magnify our callings".

The specific verses I would send them to are  Verse 23, which is my favorite one and the one that I would begin with which teaches us that a major purpose of the priesthood is to seek diligently to sanctify people so that they can behold the face of God. We can also find great phrases in verse 2, 28, 31, 43-44, and 62.

You could also approach this lesson by giving them the following handout and inviting them to fill it in by studying the identified verses and writing the phrases in the provided boxes.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

Why do you think God cares so much about how we use His priesthood power?

VIDEO:

A video that could accompany this lesson is the following entitled: “With All Your Heart”. It features a young man who has an inspiring experience as he sought to magnify his calling. A search question you could ask before the movie is played could be: What sacrifices or efforts did this young man make to magnify his priesthood duty?  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2015-01-0004-with-all-your-heart?lang=eng&alang=eng&collectionId=c6e50d752a734588ba5ebb7843d3579c 

QUOTE:

I like the following quote where President Monson quotes the prophet Joseph Smith:

The Prophet Joseph Smith was once asked, “Brother Joseph, you frequently urge that we magnify our callings. What does this mean?” He is said to have replied, “To magnify a calling is to hold it up in dignity and importance, that the light of heaven may shine through one’s performance to the gaze of other men.” (“Our Sacred Priesthood Trust,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2006, 56)

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

Who is someone that you feel has magnified their priesthood by helping you come closer to God?

I WILL GO AND DO QUESTION:

If you were to “magnify” your priesthood influence this week, what would that look like at home? At church? Among your friends?

TAKEAWAY:

The takeaway slide highlights our major focus of this lesson—to magnify the priesthood in our lives. Just like we talked about with the magnifying glass—God wants His work, His calling for us, to fill our vision. He doesn't want it to stay small or blurry in the background. Testify that when we choose to magnify our priesthood—when we serve, invite, teach, lift, and help others come closer to Christ—we feel His power more fully in our own lives too.

LESSON #3  All that my father hath (DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS 84)

Our final lesson builds on the previous one. Where lesson 2 focused on our part of what the Lord refers to as the oath and covenant of the priesthood, lesson 3 will focus on God’s part. The blessings he promises to grant those who do seek to magnify his priesthood power.

TRUTH:

When we magnify the priesthood, God promises us His presence, His power, and eventually, all that He has.

FIRE IN THE BONES:

The fire in the bones for this lesson can burn as we consider all that God promises to those who seek to magnify the priesthood. This lesson shifts the focus from responsibility to reward—from what we do with the priesthood to what God does for us. Help your students to see that God is not asking them to give their all without offering His all in return. Help them to feel the weight of those blessings as real, attainable gifts from a covenant-keeping God.

OBJECT:

An object you could display would be a gift box which you display at the front of the room. Tell your students that it represents all the wonderful blessings God promises to give those who seek to magnify their priesthood.

ICEBREAKER:

For an icebreaker and this week’s GAME idea. Play Charades. Randomly select a student to come to the front and act out a given word. If the class gets it in 30 seconds or less, they earn a point. Select a different student for each word and tell them that if they can earn at least 3 points out of the 5 given words, then the entire class will earn some kind of reward. That reward could be a small piece of candy for everyone, or you could promise to end class a few minutes early. Or you could promise to show them a funny video (I like to use Studio C videos for this because I know they’ll be appropriate). But the five words that I would give them to act out are:

Priesthood

Sing

Blessings

Angel

And then a harder one: Sign

You can then tell them that each of those words has a connection with today’s lesson which is going to focus on the blessings God promises to those who magnify their priesthood in Section 84.

SEARCH ACTIVITY/HANDOUT:

The search activity uses the following handout. It’s a word search. But the catch is, they have to find the words first. Using their scriptures, they’ll go in and fill in the blanks from the provided phrases and then try to find those words in the word search above. You could offer a reward to those who complete the handout first.  After that’s complete, you can go through those phrases and discuss what they mean.

DISCUSSION QUESTION:

A way to have that discussion would be to ask the following question for each answer:

What do you think that means? For example. What do you think God means when he promises to “renew our bodies” when we magnify the priesthood. What does it mean to be the elect of God? Or to receive all that the Father has? I’d also be sure to discuss the figurative interpretation of the signs of true priesthood holders found in verses 65-72. That can be a very eye-opening experience for our students. The insight video is full of a lot of different ideas and thoughts that you might consider using in a discussion of that nature.

At some point though, I would be sure to refer your students specifically to verses 33-40 which contains what God refers to as the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. Remind them that a covenant is a two-way promise with God. We promise to do certain things, and God promises to bless us. These last two lessons have highlighted those two sides of the covenant.

VIDEO:

A video suggestion. “Sanctify Yourselves”. This video portrays a very sacred experience where a worthy priesthood holder was able to bless someone through God’s power which also blessed him and all those who witnessed this miracle. It could be a good way of emphasizing the point that God blesses those who magnify his priesthood power.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-09-0005-sanctify-yourselves?lang=ase&alang=eng&collectionId=cf79ace8cd6041ce97ce30525d926745

QUOTE:

Elder Rasband:

“To know that we have a Father in Heaven and that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son means we are looking farther down the covenant path than just where we are standing today. It means we appreciate we are heirs to all that the Father has; kingdoms without number are His realm and can be ours.” (“The Divine Destiny of His Daughters” [BYU Women’s Conference, Apr. 30, 2021], broadcasts.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

TAKE IT TO HEART QUESTION:

Which of the promised blessings have you either seen in your life or look most forward to?

I WILL GO AND DO QUESTION:

What will you do this week to better recognize and remember the blessings God has already given you through priesthood power?

TAKEAWAY:

The takeaway slide can remind your students of the great blessings God has to offer those who use his power in righteousness. All that he has shall be given to us. Testify of the reality of priesthood power and how you’ve felt it, seen its influence, and been blessed by it.