President Boyd K. Packer taught, "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior." Note in this statement that it is not only true doctrine existing, or true doctrine known, but true doctrine understood that changes attitudes and behavior. Understanding true doctrine comes from a combination of hard work and effort with the Spirit testifying of these truths.
For some, the story of President Kimball helping my mother in the airport is a story of service and charity. For me, it is a story of individuals carefully and wisely using God's priesthood, a true show of charity using God's power.
Elder and Sister Renlund compare the way we use the term priesthood with the way we use the term earth. Earth can either be the entire globe upon which all of us live, or it can be the dirt that we can pick up with our hands or plant flowers in. If we think of the priesthood solely in terms of the power and authority of God delegated to man-or the dirt in the Renlunds' analogy-we will find that we have been very narrow in our definition, leaving out much of God's power and authority. If we think of priesthood as the power and authority of God-or the entire globe in the Renlund's analogy-we expand our view and include not only that which is commonly focused on but all that God defines as His power and authority.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that "God Himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, was to make Himself visible, I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form-lie yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from , and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as on man talks and communes with another.
Elder Neil L. Andersen: "A man may open the drapes, so the warm sunlight comes into the room, but the man does not own the sun or the light or the warmth it brings. The blessings of the priesthood are infinitely greater than the one who is asked to administer the gift."
President Oaks: "Men are not the priesthood."
We concluded that even if a man was perfect, calling any mortal "the priesthood" is demeaning to the power of God.
In the Church, therefore, it is equally important for both girls and boys to understand priesthood, priesthood authority, priesthood keys, and priesthood power.
His (the prophet's) geographic boundaries are the earth, including those who previously lived on the earth and have not passed beyond the veil.
Pres. Nelson: "With the help of the Lord and a supportive wife, a man can do infinitely more than he could ever do without that support."
Women, therefore, increase in priesthood power by making and keeping sacred covenants with God.
In fact, Joseph Smith stated that the women of the Church were organized after the organization that existed in Christ's Church anciently. He then visited Relief Society frequently and at least six times taught the women the doctrine of the gospel, focusing particularly on priesthood, to prepare them to receive their endowment in the house of the Lord.
President Nelson recently reminded us that Israel cannot be gathered without the women of the Church. And President Boyd K. Packer declared, "However much priesthood power and authority the men may possess-however much wisdom and experience they may accumulate-the safety of the family, the integrity of the doctrine, the ordinances, the covenants, indeed the future of the Church, rests equally upon the women.
No man-made answer can answer that which God has never revealed.
M. Russell Ballard : "All who enter the house of the Lord officiate in the ordinances of the priesthood. This applies to men and women alike." Interestingly enough, although men must be ordained to the priesthood in order to enter the temple and perform these ordinances, women do not.
Elder Talmage: "...there is no grade, rank, or phase of the temple endowment to which women are not eligible on an equality of with men."
Dale G. Renlund: "All blessings, benefits, and inheritances of the Melchizedek Priesthood are equally shared and achieved by husband and wife if they keep their covenants and live in love, harmony, and cooperation in the Lord."
Henry B. Eyring: "When you were baptized, your ancestors looked down on you with hope. Perhaps after centuries, they rejoiced to see one of their descendants make a covenant to find them and to offer them freedom. In your reunion, you will see in their eyes either gratitude or terrible disappointment. Their hearts are bound to you. Their hope is in your hands."
Often misunderstood, the priesthood keys held by the temple president are for the purposes of making sure the ordinances are done correctly-they are not sealing keys.
John A. Widtsoe: "The priesthood is for the benefit of all members of the Church. Men have no greater claim than women upon the blessings that issue from the Priesthood and accompany its possession."
Joseph Smith: "If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrain'd from being your associates-females, if they are pure and innocent can come into the presence of God."
Every woman is a mother by virtue of her eternal divine destiny.
Many women struggle enough when they are exceptions rather than the rule; although it is important to teach the rule, it is critical that we are kind, generous and thoughtful to the exceptions. All of us will be an exception at some point in our lives.
If we aren't there as covenant women, in the path, on the side, in front, pulling, pushing, and walking beside our sisters, I'm confident that someone else or something else will be doing the work we should have been doing.
M. Russel Ballard: "Any priesthood leader who does not involve his sister leaders with full respect and inclusion is not honoring and magnifying the keys he has been given. His power and influence will be diminished until he learns the ways of the Lord."
Joan Chittister: "Without the input of women, humanity sees with only one eye, hears with one ear and thinks with only one half of the human mind." It is often easier and faster to counsel with only those with whom we agree, but coming to a consensus is not the reason for counseling-rather, it's to receive inspiration.
“This passage [D&C 107:2–4] clearly establishes the fact that the Melchizedek Priesthood existed before the great High Priest Melchizedek, but that it existed under another name, viz--‘The Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God.’ That is to say, it was the same kind of priesthood, the same order of priesthood, that the Son of God held. But this was before the days of Melchizedek, before Abraham, and hence hundreds of years before the birth of the Christ into the world. … Jesus, then, held what we call now the Melchizedek Priesthood before he appeared in this world, and doubtless before the world itself was formed, … but ‘how, where and by whom’ he received it, no man knoweth, except perhaps as to the last, viz., ‘by whom.’ He must, of course, have received it of God”
You have the power of the priesthood directly from the Lord to protect your home. There will be times when all that stands as a shield between your family and the adversary’s mischief will be that power.
While fathers and sons bear the burden of the priesthood, it was declared in the very beginning that it was not good for man to be alone. A companion, or “helpmeet,” was given him. The word meet means equal. Man and woman, together, were not to be alone. Together they constituted a fountain of life. While neither can generate life without the other, the mystery of life unfolds when these two become one.
The Lord revealed that the purpose of it all is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” (Moses 1:39.) Ordinances and covenants were ordained to protect this power to generate life. When laws are obeyed, happiness follows, for “men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Ne. 2:25.)
Ever and always there is the destroyer waiting to disturb and disrupt, to scatter abrasives into this marvelous system. His purpose is to rupture those circuits which interconnect the physical, the emotional, and the spiritual, or to cross-connect them in ways that never were intended. His purpose is to pollute that sacred fountain of life and to generate, if he can, unnatural affections. (See 2 Tim. 3:2–3.)
The well-being of the mother, the child, the family, the Church, indeed of all humanity depends upon protecting that process. The obligations of motherhood are never-ending. The addition of such duties as those which attend ordination to the priesthood would constitute an intrusion into, an interruption to, perhaps the avoidance of, that crucial contribution which only a mother can provide.
The limitation of priesthood responsibilities to men is a tribute to the incomparable place of women in the plan of salvation.
The prophet who said that “no success [in any field of endeavor] can compensate for failure in the home” (David O. McKay) did not exempt callings in the Church.
Men and women have complementary, not competing, responsibilities. There is difference but not inequity. Intelligence and talent favor both of them. But in the woman’s part, she is not just equal to man; she is superior! She can do that which he can never do; not in all eternity can he do it. There are complementing rewards which are hers and hers alone.
It should not disturb either men or women that some responsibilities are bestowed upon one and not the other. Duties of the priesthood are delegated to men and are patriarchal, which means “of the father.” From the very beginning this has been so. The scriptures plainly state that they were “confirmed to be handed down from father to son. … This order was instituted in the days of Adam.” (D&C 107:40–41.)
Many in the world now press for a melding of the identities of man and woman, claiming that the virtue of equality requires a homogenization of all relationships. Following an absolutely hopeless quest, some seek for an enduring physical and spiritual relationship with one of the same gender. That wicked deception has unleashed a pestilence which now threatens the whole of humanity. There can be no fulfillment there. To find fulfillment, they must—and praise be to God, they can—find it where it has been from the beginning.
There is no task, however menial, connected with the care of babies, the nurturing of children, or with the maintenance of the home that is not his equal obligation. The tasks which come with parenthood, which many consider to be below other tasks, are simply above them.
When our sons were growing up, they enjoyed a very broad tolerance from their father toward their mischief and mistakes. But there was no tolerance for even the slightest disrespect toward their mother. And the question our daughters-in-law have heard most often from me has been, “Is he being good to you?”
We hold that there can be no true Christian Church without a priesthood directly commissioned by and in immediate communication with the Son of God and Savior of mankind. Such a church is that of the Latter-Day Saints, called by their enemies Mormons; we know no other that even pretends to have present and direct revelations of God’s will.
Doctrine of the priesthood--unknown in the world and but little known even in the Church--cannot be learned out of the scriptures alone....The doctrine of the priesthood is known only by personal revelation. It comes, line upon line and precept upon precept, by the power of the Holy Ghost to those who love and serve God with all their heart, might, mind, and strength.
Nothing is more important than marrying the right person at the right time, in the right place, and by the right authority.
Of all the holy agreements pertaining to the gospel of Jesus Christ, few, if any, would transcend in importance the oath and covenant of the priesthood. It is certainly one of the most sacred agreements, for it involves the sharing of heavenly powers and man’s upward reaching toward eternal goals. None of us can afford to be ignorant of the terms of this contract. To do so might cause us to miss the mark in our performance of duty and result in the forfeiture of promised blessings.
The priesthood is a divine power and authority held in trust to be used for God’s work for the benefit of all of His children.
Ordinances that are received worthily and remembered continually open the heavenly channels through which the power of godliness can flow into our lives. We do not come to the temple to hide from or escape the evils of the world. Rather, we come to the temple to conquer the world of evil. As we invite into our lives the “power of godliness”19 by receiving priesthood ordinances and making and keeping sacred covenants, we are blessed with strength beyond our own20 to overcome the temptations and challenges of mortality and to do and become good.
As I kneeled down, my petition was, “What kind of an organization should be set up in order to accomplish what the Presidency has assigned?” And there came to me on that glorious morning one of the most heavenly realizations of the power of the priesthood of God. It was as though something were saying to me, “There is no new organization necessary to take care of the needs of this people. All that is necessary is to put the priesthood of God to work. There is nothing else that you need as a substitute.”
The Holy Priesthood is conferred, as an individual bestowal, upon men only, an this in accordance with Divine requirement. It is not given to woman to exercise the authority of the Priesthood independently; nevertheless, in the sacred endowments associated with the ordinances pertaining to the House of the Lord, woman shares with man the blessings of the Priesthood.
If our prophets are indeed prophets and our apostles indeed apostles then it is for them and them alone to mark the path which all must follow who would return to their divine Father.
Now, brethren, I think there is one thing which we should have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord. An individual may fall by the wayside, or have views, or give counsel which falls short of what the Lord intends. But the voice of the First Presidency and the united voice of those others who hold with them the keys of the kingdom shall always guide the Saints and the world in those paths where the Lord wants them to be.
I do not know when or why the restrictive practices against my people were adopted and carried out by the LDS Church, but I do know that the policy and practices were the Lord’s doing and not the autonomous or unilateral act of any man or men. I know this by faith in God and through personal revelation from the Holy Ghost. According to God’s wise and just purposes, He allowed the restrictions to be placed upon my people for the trial, growth, and benefit of all His children, especially my people and those of His church and kingdom on earth.
...I was taken back in my thoughts a quarter of a century to an experience I had with President Heber J. Grant. We were discussing some criticism that had been directed against an action taken by him in his official capacity. Putting his arm across my back and resting his hand on my left shoulder, he said, "My boy, you always keep your eye on the President of the Church, and if he tells you to do something wrong, and you do it, the Lord will bless you for it."
This concept is consistent with the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple where the Prophet Joseph Smith prayed: “And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them” (D&C 109:22, emphasis added). The term “servants” is gender neutral and applies equally to both men and women.
As Church historian Steven Harper has explained, “One immeasurable result of Doctrine and Covenants 107 is the way it gives meaning to men’s lives. Section 132 emphasizes the priesthood’s exalting power for women and men, but the particular power of section 107 gives ordinary, even inadequate men both duty and destiny that can motivate them to rise to far greater heights of service to God and family than they would if left to their natural inclinations. The revelation came at a time when American culture was beginning to erode fatherhood. Noting how the exalting priesthood principles of section 107 seemed to have a powerful influence on Joseph’s own father, historian Richard Bushman went so far as to say that ‘in restoring priesthood, Joseph restored fatherhood’”
This connection between fatherhood and priesthood helps us interpret what the Family Proclamation means when it states that “by divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families” (Ensign, Nov. 1995). Historically, some fathers have neglected these responsibilities or assumed that this commission gave them a right to be the boss and practice “unrighteous dominion” (D&C 121:39; see Oaks Ensign Oct. 2005). In reality, to preside as a priesthood leader means to serve (Matt. 23:11) and fathers are to fulfill their unique calling to preside, provide, and protect by using their priesthood to bless and serve their families
This echoed the words of Elder M. Russell Ballard who has taught that “men and women are equal in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the Church, but equal does not mean the same. The responsibilities and divine gifts of men and women differ in their nature but not in their importance or influence. God does not regard either gender as better or more important than the other”
The different gifts and roles of men and women are intended to complement each other. “The natures of male and female spirits complete and perfect each other, and therefore men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation” (Elder David A. Bednar, Ensign Feb. 2006). It was never intended that man or woman be alone. As President Boyd K. Packer taught, “At first, Adam was alone. He held the priesthood, but alone, he could not fulfill the purposes of his creation. No other man would do. … Except Adam and Eve by nature be different from one another, they could not multiply and fill the earth. The complementing differences are the very key to the plan of happiness”
But what did it mean for Adam to preside? How did he fulfill his specific role in the family? To preside means to “be in a position of authority in a meeting or gathering” or, in this case, a family. What gave Adam authority in the family was that he held the priesthood, meaning he was conferred the priesthood and ordained to priesthood office by God “in the creation” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 157). Although women are given priesthood authority in their Church callings and endowed to priesthood power in the temple, only men are called by God to hold the priesthood by holding priesthood office (see President Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign May 2014). Apparently, one reason why men like Adam are given the priesthood is so that they can bring that authority into their home and use it to govern their family with their wife.
But this order is otherwise described in modern revelation as an order of family government where a man and woman enter into a [marriage] covenant with God—just as did Adam and Eve—to be sealed for eternity, to have posterity, and to do the will and work of God throughout their mortality.
In this family government, wives do not serve as their husband’s “first counselor” in a lower position of hierarchy. Instead, she serves as his equal partner. President Dallin H. Oaks explained this concept when he taught the following about partnership: “A most important difference in the functioning of priesthood authority in the family and in the Church results from the fact that the government of the family is patriarchal, whereas the government of the Church is hierarchical. The concept of partnership functions differently in the family than in the Church” (Oaks, Ensign Nov. 2005).
Presiding in this case simply means that the father holds the priesthood in their joint leadership and equal partnership. Holding the priesthood does not make him more of a leader, but it does mean that it is through the authority that he holds that they can both lead and govern their family together.
For Adam, presiding with the priesthood meant using his priesthood to bless his family and bring them into the presence of God through saving ordinances.
“One immeasurable result of Doctrine and Covenants 107 is the way it gives meaning to men’s lives. Section 132 emphasizes the priesthood’s exalting power for women and men, but the particular power of section 107 gives ordinary, even inadequate men both duty and destiny that can motivate them to rise to far greater heights of service to God and family than they would if left to their natural inclinations. The revelation came at a time when American culture was beginning to erode fatherhood. Noting how the exalting priesthood principles of section 107 seemed to have a powerful influence on Joseph’s own father, historian Richard Bushman went so far as to say that ‘in restoring priesthood, Joseph restored fatherhood’”
This means that after the original revelation explained the role of presiding high priests, Bishops, Seventy, and Apostles, it culminated by teaching about priesthood fathers. In this inspired sequence the Lord was sending the message that the ultimate purpose for men holding the priesthood is not to serve as Bishops, stake presidents, or even General Authorities. The ultimate purpose is to serve as priesthood fathers and to use their priesthood to bless, serve, and save their families—just as our Heavenly Father does! In a world that often views fathers as unnecessary or obsolete, priesthood gives them a unique role and something irreplaceable to contribute. It gives them a divine and eternal purpose in the family.
Eve, as a mother, was primarily focused on the nurture of their children. And when it came time for baptism or confirmation, for blessing the sick or afflicted, for priesthood ordination or temple sealings, Adam alone was qualified to do this. He held the priesthood and was called to exercise it to serve and save his family. That is central to what it means to preside, and why priesthood is “the right belonging to the fathers” (Abr. 1:2).
Men and women are equal in God’s eyes and in the eyes of the Church, but equal does not mean the same. The responsibilities and divine gifts of men and women differ in their nature but not in their importance or influence. God does not regard either gender as better or more important than the other.
Prophets have a way of seeing more deeply and more distantly than the rest of us. They can, under the direction of the Spirit (to refer to an episode in the Old Testament), see a thundercloud when it is no larger than a man's hand. (1 Kings 18:44.) Their mortal sense of anticipation is sharpened by the divine, fully developed and perfected anticipation of God Himself—of which much is written in an earlier chapter.
Elder Reed Smoot was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1900 until his death in 1941. During much of this time he was also an outstanding member of the United States Senate. Many people encouraged him to run for president of the United States. But they told him he would have to give up his religion because people at that time would not elect a Mormon for president. He said, “If I had to take my choice of being a deacon in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or being President of the United States, I would be a deacon”
To a small gathering of priesthood holders in a schoolhouse in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1834, the Prophet Joseph prophesied, “It is only a little handfull of Priesthood you see here tonight, but this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.”
Only a man who has paid the price for priesthood power will be able to bring miracles to those he loves and keep his marriage and family safe, now and throughout eternity.
I have given other priesthood blessings with equal faith, and the Lord did not grant complete healing in this life. We trust His purposes and leave the results to Him. We can’t always choose the outcome of our actions, but we can choose to be ready to act.
As women, we do ourselves an injustice if we assume that only men need to understand the priesthood. And we diminish God's power when we equate *holders of the priesthood* with *priesthood power.* Statements such as, "We would like to thank the priesthood for setting up the chairs," or "I'm so grateful to have the priesthood in my home" are not accurate and do not do the priesthood justice. Priesthood holders are men. "The priesthood" refers to keys, authority, and power--God's power.
Gender is not, and has never been, a qualifier for receiving the blessings of priesthood power.
The ultimate aim of the Melchizedek Priesthood is to enable men and women to be exalted. Exaltation is available only to a man and woman together, a couple who are sealed in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, who are true and faithful, and who qualify for a 'fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever'. No one will be exalted alone.
Women are not required to hold the priesthood to enter the house of the Lord, though the ordinances performed there are priesthood in nature, whereas men are. Neither are women required to hold the priesthood to serve as leaders in the Church.
In any case, the things I don't yet understand do not negate what I do know: that Joseph Smith was a prophet, foreordained by the Lord to restore His gospel, and that we have a living prophet today; that the priesthood has been restored to the earth; and that priesthood keys literally unlock God's power in behalf of all of us.
Think of the decision of a fourteen-year-old boy who had read that if anyone lacked wisdom, he should ask of God, "that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5.) He made the decision to put to the test the epistle of James. He went into the grove and he prayed. Was that a minor decision? No—that was a decision that has affected all mankind and particularly all of us who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What are the important decisions our youth must make? First, what will be my faith. Second, whom shall I marry. And third, what will be my life's work.
It is a culture governed by the priesthood, the authority to act in God’s name, the power of God to bless His children. It edifies and enables individuals to be better people, leaders, mothers, fathers, and companions—and it sanctifies the home.
True miracles abound in this, the oldest of all cultures, wrought by faith in Jesus Christ, the power of the priesthood, prayer, self-improvement, true conversion, and forgiveness.
The father is the patriarch of the family and has important responsibilities that are his alone. He is the priesthood holder and has the duties of priesthood leadership.”
President Boyd K. Packer taught, "True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior." Note in this statement that it is not only true doctrine existing, or true doctrine known, but true doctrine understood that changes attitudes and behavior. Understanding true doctrine comes from a combination of hard work and effort with the Spirit testifying of these truths.