The Powers of Priesthood

I was in the Provo City Center Temple recently for an endowment session. One of the delightful elderly sister workers, commented that my yellow tie was “swanky.” That’s an adjective I haven’t heard in a very long time.

Provo City Center Temple

I don’t think about looking swanky when I go to the temple (I know, shocker!) Instead, I am most often searching for the inspiration of the moment as I ponder the endowment ordinance. Lean back your chairs as you read this chapter, it’s going to be a long one, I predict.

We have recently witnessed the succession of another President of the Church, this time President Dallin H. Oaks as the 18th President is now in place. I invite each of you to consider with me how you would respond to the following question posed to the members of the Church many years ago by President David O. McKay: “If at this moment each one of you were asked to state in one sentence or phrase the most distinguishing feature of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what would be your answer?” (“The Mission of the Church and Its Members,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1956, 781).

The response President McKay gave to his own question was the “divine authority” of the priesthood. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands apart from other churches that claim their authority is derived from historical succession, the scriptures, or theological training. We make the distinctive declaration that priesthood authority has been conferred by the laying on of hands directly from heavenly messengers to the Prophet Joseph Smith. We declare that authority came by ordination under the hands of John the Baptist and Peter, James and John.

I was studying D&C 121 earlier in the morning and learned again what the Prophet Joseph was called upon to endure in Liberty Jail. His whole soul cried out in agony:

1 O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?

2 How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?

3 Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion toward them?

4 O Lord God Almighty, maker of heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy pavilion be taken up; let thy hiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us.

5 Let thine anger be kindled against our enemies; and, in the fury of thine heart, with thy sword avenge us of our wrongs.

6 Remember thy suffering saints, O our God; and thy servants will rejoice in thy name forever.

He was imprisoned on false charges during the winter of 1839, in conditions that were almost unimaginable. We can get some slight appreciation when we go there today, a site that has been restored as a Visitors Center by the Church. In his agony Joseph penned some of the most sublime language I have ever read in scripture. In his solitude he was shown the majesty of the “doctrine of the priesthood.”

Here were the words of comfort the Lord spoke to him in Liberty Jail:

26 God shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now;

27 Which our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve for the fulness of their glory;

28 A time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest.

29 All thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

30 And also, if there be bounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon, or stars—

31 All the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of times—

32 According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.

33 How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.

34 Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

35 Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—

36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. (D&C 121:26-37).

Just imagine how welcomed these words of comfort and power and must have thrilled the Prophet when he heard them and as he wrote them under inspiration! I was overcome with the reality of the priesthood power I felt yesterday. Then I went home and opened my scriptures again. Into my copy of the Doctrine and Covenants I had inserted these inspired thoughts from Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

This doctrine, this doctrine of the priesthood — unknown in the world and but little known even in the Church — cannot be learned out of the scriptures alone. It is not set forth in the sermons and teachings of the prophets and Apostles, except in small measure.

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. (See D&C 98:12.)

We have the revealed promise that if our souls are “full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith” and if we “let virtue garnish [our] thoughts unceasingly; then shall [our] confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon [our souls] as the dews from heaven.” (D&C 121:45.)

… His word goes forth by the mouths of his servants as they minister and labor in their weakness. That word is then carried into receptive hearts by the still small voice of the Spirit. (See D&C 85:6.)

… What, then, is the doctrine of the priesthood? What is this doctrine, framed in the courts above, which can distil upon faithful men as the dews from heaven? (See D&C 121:45.)

Priesthood is power like none other on earth or in heaven. It is the very power of God himself, the power by which the worlds were made, the power by which all things are regulated, upheld, and preserved.

It is the power of faith, the faith by which the Father creates and governs. God is God because he is the embodiment of all faith and all power and all priesthood. The life he lives is named eternal life.

And the extent to which we become like him is the extent to which we gain his faith, acquire his power, and exercise his priesthood. And when we have become like him in the full and true sense, then we also shall have eternal life.

Faith and priesthood go hand in hand. Faith is power and power is priesthood. After we gain faith, we receive the priesthood. Then, through the priesthood, we grow in faith until, having all power, we become like our Lord.

Our time here in mortality is set apart as a time of probation and of testing. It is our privilege while here to perfect our faith and to grow in priesthood power.

We received the priesthood first in the premortal existence and then again as mortals. Adam held the keys and used the priesthood when he participated in the creation of the earth. After his baptism he received the priesthood again, and he now stands as the presiding High Priest over all the earth.

All of us who have calls to minister in the holy priesthood were foreordained to be ministers of Christ, and to come here in our appointed days, and to labor on his errand.

The holy priesthood did more to perfect men in the days of Enoch than at any other time. Known then as the order of Enoch (see D&C 76:57), it was the power by which he and his people were translated. And they were translated because they had faith and exercised the power of the priesthood.

It was with Enoch that the Lord made an eternal covenant that all who received the priesthood would have power, through faith, to govern and control all things on earth, to put at defiance the armies of nations, and to stand in glory and exaltation before the Lord.

Melchizedek was a man of like faith, “and his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch.” (JST, Genesis 14:34.) Since his day the priesthood has been called after his name.

There are in the Church two priesthoods: the Aaronic or Levitical, and the Melchizedek. The Aaronic Priesthood is a preparatory priesthood, a schooling priesthood, a lesser priesthood, a divine system that prepares men to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.

The Melchizedek Priesthood is the highest and holiest order ever given to men on earth. It is the power and authority to do all that is necessary to save and exalt the children of men. It is the very priesthood held by the Lord Jesus Christ himself and by virtue of which he was able to gain eternal life in the kingdom of his Father.

Both of these priesthoods are given by covenant. (See D&C 84:33–41.) Both of them surpass any earthly power; both of them prepare men for salvation.

Those who receive the Aaronic Priesthood covenant and promise to magnify their callings, to serve in the ministry of the Master, to forsake the world, and to live as becometh Saints.

In return, the Lord covenants and promises to enlarge the standing and station of all who keep their Aaronic covenant. He promises to give them the Melchizedek Priesthood, out of which eternal life comes.

Those who receive the Melchizedek Priesthood covenant and promise, before God and angels, to magnify their callings, to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God” (D&C 84:44), to marry for time and all eternity in the patriarchal order, and to live and serve as the Lord Jesus did in his life and ministry.

In return the Lord covenants and promises to give them all that his Father hath, meaning eternal life, which is exaltation and godhood in that eternal realm where alone the family unit continues in eternity.

In return the Lord admits them to his eternal patriarchal order, an order that prevails in the highest heaven of the celestial world, an order that assures its members of eternal increase, or in other words of spirit children in the resurrection. (See D&C 131:1–4.)

These are the most glorious promises given to men. There neither is nor can be anything as wondrous and great. And so the Lord uses the most powerful and emphatic language known to the human tongue to show their importance and immutability. That is to say, the Lord swears with an oath in his own name, because he can swear by no greater, that everyone who keeps the covenant made in connection with the Melchizedek Priesthood shall inherit, receive, and possess all things in his everlasting kingdom, and shall be a joint-heir with that Lord who is his Only Begotten.

God swore with an oath that Christ would be exalted, and he swears anew, at the time each of us receives the Melchizedek Priesthood, that we will have a like exaltation if we are true and faithful in all things. [“The day will come, when you will be chosen, called up and anointed…” we are taught in the temple endowment].

Speaking messianically of the Lord Jesus, David said, “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalms 110:4.)

And Paul, after quoting this messianic word, this eternal oath sworn by God himself, said that Christ was “called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” (Hebrews 5:10.)

Then of Melchizedek, to whom Abraham paid tithes, Paul said, “For this Melchizedek was ordained a priest after the order of the Son of God, which order was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.” (JST, Hebrews 7:3.)

Anciently the Aaronic Priesthood was limited to the Levites. It came because of father and mother; it was conferred only upon the worthy male descendants of Levi. But the Melchizedek Priesthood was to be conferred upon any male person of any lineage who was worthy to receive it.

And so Paul continued, “And all those who are ordained unto this [higher] priesthood are made like unto the Son of God, abiding a priest continually.” (JST, Hebrews 7:3.)

Christ is the prototype; he is the Son; he is the Heir of the Father. But we, as joint-heirs, inherit equally with him because we also abide as priests forever.

Thus we make the covenant with Deity; and God swears the oath to us all, to show the importance and eternal worth of the covenant.

This matter of swearing with an oath in ancient days was far more significant than many of us have realized.

For instance: Nephi and his brethren were seeking to obtain the brass plates from Laban. Their lives were in peril. Yet Nephi swore this oath: “As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.” (1 Nephi 3:15.)

Thus Nephi made God his partner. If he failed to get the plates, it meant God had failed. And because God does not fail, it was incumbent upon Nephi to get the plates or lay down his life in the attempt.

One of the most solemn oaths ever given to man is found in these words of the Lord relative to Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. “He [meaning Joseph Smith] has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him,” saith the Lord, “and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true.” (D&C 17:6.)

This is God’s testimony of the Book of Mormon. In it Deity himself has laid his godhood on the line. Either the book is true or God ceases to be God. There neither is nor can be any more formal or powerful language known to men or gods.

And so it is with the Melchizedek Priesthood. As the Lord lives, it is his holy order, and all those priesthood holders of every nation and kindred and tongue and people and race and color who will keep the covenant shall abide as priests forever, ruling and reigning everlastingly with the great High Priest of our profession, who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

What, then, is the doctrine of the priesthood? And how shall we live as the servants of the Lord?

This doctrine is that God our Father is a glorified, a perfected, and an exalted being who has all might, all power, and all dominion, who knows all things and is infinite in all his attributes, and who lives in the family unit.

It is that our Eternal Father enjoys this high status of glory and perfection and power because his faith is perfect and his priesthood is unlimited.

It is that priesthood is the very name of the power of God, and that if we are to become like him, we must receive and exercise his priesthood or power as he exercises it.

It is that he has given us an endowment of heavenly power here on earth, which is after the order of his Son and which, because it is the power of God, is of necessity without beginning of days or end of years.

It is that we can enter an order of the priesthood named the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (see D&C 131:2), named also the patriarchal order, because of which order we can create for ourselves eternal family units of our own, patterned after the family of God our Heavenly Father.

It is that we have power, by faith, to govern and control all things, both temporal and spiritual; to work miracles and perfect lives; to stand in the presence of God and be like him because we have gained his faith, his perfections, and his power, or in other words the fulness of his priesthood.

This, then, is the doctrine of the priesthood, than which there neither is nor can be anything greater. This is the power we can gain through faith and righteousness.

Truly, there is power in the priesthood — power to do all things! (Ensign, April 1982, emphasis mine).

* * *

I cherish my temple time. I am routinely overwhelmed with the language I hear in the temple. Yesterday after reading D&C 121-123, I remembered something President Brigham Young had written about the priesthood keys. He was away in the East on a mission when he got the word of the martyrdom and was waiting for a train on the platform:

“The first thing which I thought of,” President Brigham Young recalled in his journal, “was whether Joseph had taken the keys of the kingdom with him from the earth; brother Orson Pratt sat on my left; we were both leaning back on our chairs. Bringing my hand down on my knee, I said the keys of the kingdom are right here with the Church.” (Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 1801-1844, comp. Elden Jay Watson [1968], 171, LDS Church Archives).

Notice in the Center - Only 9 Apostles Had All the Keys

He remembered what the Prophet Joseph had taught them:

From the summer of 1841 until the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum on 27 June 1844, the Twelve were extensively tutored by the Prophet and heavily involved with the temporal and spiritual governance of the Church. In the months before his death, the Prophet Joseph expressed his forebodings concerning his death. “He often observed that he was laying the foundation, but it would remain for the Twelve to complete the building,” observed Elder Parley P. Pratt. “Said [Joseph]: … I am constrained to hasten my preparations, and to confer upon the Twelve all the ordinances, keys, covenants, endowments, and sealing ordinances of the priesthood, and so set before them a pattern in all things pertaining to the sanctuary and the endowment therein.

“Having done this he rejoiced exceedingly; for, said he, the Lord is about to lay the burden on your shoulders and let me rest awhile; and if they kill me, continued he, the kingdom of God will roll on, as I have now finished the work which was laid upon me, by committing to you all things for the building up of the kingdom according to the heavenly vision, and the pattern shown me from heaven.”

This last charge to the Twelve from Joseph the Prophet included not only instruction and the conferral of priesthood keys and authority to govern the Church, but also essential temple ordinances, including the endowment and the fulness of all priesthood blessings. This was an essential element of the Twelve’s claim to succession inasmuch as others who claimed the leadership of the Church after Joseph and Hyrum’s death had not received these priesthood ordinances and keys. Elder Wilford Woodruff testified that Joseph instructed the Quorum of the Twelve a few months before his death to prepare them for the endowment:

“And when they [the Twelve] received their endowment, and actually received the keys of the kingdom of God, … he [Joseph] exclaimed, ‘upon your shoulders the kingdom rests, and you must round up your shoulders, and bear it; for I have had to do it until now. But now the responsibility rests upon you. It mattereth not what becomes of me.’”

In March 1844, nine members of the Twelve met with the Prophet Joseph and heard him prophetically declare:

“Brethren, the Lord bids me hasten the work in which we are engaged. … Some important scene is near to take place. It may be that my enemies will kill me; and in case they should, and the keys and power which rest on me not be imparted to you, they will be lost from the earth; but if I can only succeed in placing them upon your heads, then let me fall a victim to murderous hands if God will suffer it, and I can go with all pleasure and satisfaction, knowing that my work is done, and the foundation laid on which the kingdom of God is to be reared in this dispensation of the fulness of times. Upon the shoulders of the Twelve must the responsibility of leading this church henceforth rest until you shall appoint others to succeed you.”

With the deaths of Joseph and Hyrum Smith, the Twelve became the presiding quorum of the Church. President Brigham Young heard the news of the Martyrdom while on a mission in the East.

… Brigham was unwavering in his assurance that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had become the Presidency of the Church. With this assurance, Brigham declared to the Saints at the special conference in Nauvoo on 8 August 1844, that the Twelve were “ordained and anointed to bear off the keys of the Kingdom of God in all the world. … If you let the Twelve remain and act in their place the keys of the Kingdom are with them, and they can manage the affairs of the Church and direct all things aright.” (From Brent L. Top and Lawrence R. Flake, “The Kingdom of God Will Roll On: Succession in the Presidency,” Ensign, Aug. 1996, 22).

I am writing today to add my witness to the early prophets in this dispensation. I am intentionally including it in Volume 6 of my memoirs for all my posterity to look upon in a future day with assurance. We are led by living prophets, who trace their priesthood keys and powers directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those keys will never be taken again from the earth.

It is by the authority of those very priesthood keys that we will claim all our blessings as a family in eternity.

And it will have little or nothing to do with “swankiness.”

"He Was Wounded For Our Transgressions"

Enough days have passed since a recent automobile accident that I can finally write about it. Up until three weeks ago all my near death experiences had involved horses. Now I can add a one-car roll over to that list.

It was a Thursday afternoon, and I was near home on my way from the office. The skies were clear, the air was warm, it was a perfect spring day. The stealthy all-electric Nissan Leaf I was driving was silently humming along. I put the car on cruise control at the posted speed limit, 50 mph. That was my last conscious memory until the car left the highway and started tumbling.

I hit a tree on the passenger side, and the force of the accident flipped it in midair and landed it on all four wheels in the opposite direction I had been traveling. The force of the impact came from the rear, smashing six of my ribs in my back. When the car came to rest I was strapped into my seat belt surrounded by destruction. All the windows were broken and shattered, and the interior was mangled beyond recognition. All the air bags deployed and I found myself in a protective cocoon inside the car. The car was a total loss.

I first moved my hands that had sustained some broken glass scratches and nicks, then my arms and legs, then my neck. I tried to reach for my cell phone, but the pain in my back was excruciating and I couldn't get it out of my pocket. I knew I had broken ribs, but I also knew my spine was not involved. I would live. I didn't lose consciousness throughout the ordeal. A passing motorist called for help on his cell phone and alerted Patsy.

In due time the paramedics arrived with an ambulance and I was transported on a back board with a neck brace to the emergency room at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake. The trip was nearly unbearable as I felt every bump in the road and the pain registered in my back.

I will spare the readers all the medical details. Suffice it to say I had never stayed overnight in a hospital in my entire life as a patient. I was told pain management was the only thing medicine had to offer me with my broken ribs. The trauma team put me through a CT scan from head to toe, and discovering no other injuries other than the cracked ribs, offered surgery to mend the bones with titanium plates on the six ribs, but when they described the benefits their case was not compelling enough to me. I opted for no surgery. They loaded me up with eight different meds in varying cocktails until they found a combination and frequency that worked. I was there for three days. Oxygen was added to aid my breathing.

When I left to go home, I discovered everything had changed and I had to begin again with even rudimentary tasks like learning how to go to the bathroom again with regularity. Showering was painful, but efficacious and it felt wonderful. Tiny shards of glass kept appearing as I showered and I meticulously picked them out of my skin. Eating was a chore, and nothing tasted right. My head was spinning. I was light-headed and dizzy. For those who talk about the benefits of masking pain with narcotics, I found them to be the antithesis of a desired life. I was walking with a walker to keep my balance, and I was admonished to practice my deep breathing to avoid pneumonia. Sleeping in a bed was nearly impossible, and I finally gave that up in favor sitting up in an overstuffed couch with pillows bracing my back. I was awake most nights, slept most days, and I found it difficult to discern the difference between night and day. Patsy was setting an alarm every two hours during the night and day to administer my meds.

Then, finally, after a week of all that at home I decided I'd had enough. I told her no more meds. I wanted to discover what my baseline of pain was without the meds, so I quit everything one night to see what would happen. I awoke to discover that I had slept and the pain was tolerable. Soon thereafter I quit the oxygen. By the time I went in for a follow-up exam with my doctor about a week and a half after the accident, I was walking unaided without oxygen and my blood was sustaining normal oxygenation levels again. His comment: "Your speedy recovery is an indication that your underlying health profile is excellent."

Based upon what I had been told at the hospital, I had expected 6 to 8 weeks of agonizing pain in the recovery process. In fact, I had gone back to the office and was driving again after 2 1/2 weeks.

I still feel some pain, but it is manageable. I am sleeping on both sides in bed without pain. My energy and stamina are still lagging, but I feel so blessed. My bruised and broken body is healing rapidly.

The rest of the story is that on scene at the accident site, the tow truck driver who came, along with the paramedics and the local police and volunteer fire department were all members of my ward. Patsy insisted that they give me a blessing before I was transported to the hospital, which they did. Then at the emergency room my sons who were nearby gathered and gave me another priesthood blessing. I was not appointed unto death (see D&C 42:48), and I am still healing and living on in mortality for purposes yet unknown to me. I am so grateful for this merciful deliverance. But for an inch or two here or there in that event, the outcome might have been very different.

Fifteen years ago this week, my mother passed away after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. I became aware of her presence seated next to me last week in the chapel of the Woodland Ward at our fast and testimony meeting. I felt a distinct impression from her, "The time for us to be reunited is not yet. You have a work yet to do." My father, who still lives and is 93, was less comforting. He reminded me that I had arbitrarily taken away his car keys and sold his car to prevent this very kind of thing from happening to him. And now it had happened to me. Touche, father.

I have no idea what that work might involve, but I know I have gained added perspective on the suffering of our Savior in this Easter season. Never again when I read or sing the words about His broken and bruised body bleeding at every pore will I not personally connect and have immediate recognition of the degree of pain that was inflicted upon Him in the agonizing hours preceding His death and resurrection. While I may never know in full what that pain might have been, I have come to appreciate only in a small part what He must have suffered for each of us.

"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5).

Elder Neal A. Maxwell offers this perspective:

". . . we are told that Jesus took upon Himself the infirmities of all of us in order 'that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.' (Alma 7:12. Italics added.) Being sinless Himself, Jesus could not have suffered for personal sin nor known what such agony is — unless He took upon Him our sins, not only to redeem us and to save us, but also in order that He might know how 'according to the flesh . . . to succor his people according to their infirmities.' A stunning insight!

"Thus the compassion of the divine Jesus for us is not the abstract compassion of a sinless individual who would never so suffer; rather, it is the compassion and empathy of One who has suffered exquisitely, though innocent, for all our sins, which were compounded in some way we do not understand. Though He was sinless, yet He suffered more than all of us. We cannot tell Him anything about suffering. This is one of the inner marvels of the atonement of Jesus Christ!" (Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, 35).

May we come to appreciate and understand what His liberating agony in Gethsemane and on Golgotha might mean to each of us, is my prayer.

Moral Agency, Rebellion and Reconciliation

This has been an eventful week. Two stories from real life have become a useful metaphor for me in helping to describe what has just happened in our country.

TUACHAN, Ivins, UT

My wife and I took a long weekend trip to a distant city for a little R&R. We had a delightful weekend enjoying the splendor that is Southern Utah's color country. Without being too specific to protect the identity of the family we witnessed in action, a small drama played out in front of me that has some metaphorical value.

We attended a sacrament meeting while we were away. We happened to pick a ward where the ward conference was happening. Presiding at the meeting was the stake president. Their stake theme was published in the program - "Coming to understand the use of priesthood keys in the Church and our personal lives." Maybe it was because it's a topic with which I am very familiar and I've written about extensively, but I had a feeling their stake was in good hands and they were well-led by the man from whom we would be hearing later in the meeting. I was not disappointed in my early assessment.

The bishop bore a brief five-minute testimony. Then the stake president called on a youth leader and a young woman, both of whom had attended the stake girls' camp that week. They reported on the camp, their feelings about it, and what a spiritual uplift it had been in their lives.

Then a mini-drama played out in front of me. A mother and one of her daughters (it was a family of five children seated in the row in front of me), began exchanging hand-written notes on the front of the printed program. Because I was situated a row behind and between them, I could easily read their written exchanges.

The mother began, "Did you feel anything at girls' camp this week?" I should mention this was her oldest daughter whose natural hair color was red. But this daughter had dyed the front of her hair blue.

The daughter took the proffered note from her mother and returned it without comment, a look of loathing and rebellion on her face as she handed it back defiantly.

By now the stake president was at the podium and was developing a topic, ironically, of standing firm in our faith by choosing correct principles and aligning ourselves with the Lord and His admonitions through living prophets.

The mother then wrote: "You will NEVER be able to feel the spirit in your life with such a BAD ATTITUDE!"

The stake president from the pulpit: "Even God had to bow before the agency of His children in their poor choices, because He decreed that each would have the freedom to exercise moral agency. When our children rebel, it must never be because we have failed to teach them or to berate and judge them harshly for those choices. We must love and succor unconditionally as He would each of His children. His patience with us must mirror our own with our children."

The daughter had finally had enough. She grabbed the program and the pen and screamed on paper, "STOP IT!"

The stake president, continuing to develop his theme: "Obedience is the key to having the spirit in our lives to direct us. As we obey, as we love one another in our families, and as we give heed to the counsel of our living oracles, we develop the power of the priesthood in our individual lives to weather the storms of adversity and sin that will continually beat upon us until the Lord comes again."

The mother, seemingly oblivious to the counsel of their stake president and determined to have the last word with her daughter, then wrote: "You will NEVER be happy until you obey the commandments." This time the daughter refused to even pick up the program or look in her mother's direction. She simply ignored the note. The icy exchange had ended and her mother put away her program. I was struck by the fact that this blue-haired daughter had gone to girls' camp and she was sitting in Church. She could not be considered in my quick calculations as a total loss.

Another human drama between a 91-year-old father and a son who has rejected him as a father was also playing out last week. A copy of a letter from the father to the son was shared with me. This is a father whose history with this son has been tempestuous their entire lives. Now, the father, attempting a final reconciliation in the gathering sunset of his life writes in part:

"Your refusal to accept my telephone calls makes my efforts to reach you very difficult. . . I have faithfully written to you each month to express my love and to plead and beg for some response from you. All this has been to no avail and only painful silence has resulted. After a year I am still bewildered by your failure to respond [he then postulates on the possible reasons for being ignored]. . . There are other possibilities of course, but I have concluded that I cannot continue on with my practice of writing letters to you each month when I never know after a whole year whether they are even read, welcomed or useful in any respect. So, unless I receive an answer to this fervent inquiry, I will cease formal writing. Then, what are we left with? A father-son relationship that only I acknowledge and treasure. That is so saddening and empty. Only you can make it otherwise and I pray with all my heart that you will do so."

Two real-life examples of the painfully poignant feelings of distraught parents who are grappling with the rebellion and rejection by children of their parenting efforts. I would suspect these examples are not isolated. Perhaps they are universal.

Now take those two stories and imagine that pathos and the disappointment of our Father in Heaven who looks down on the SCOTUS rulings against DOMA and Prop 8 in California last week, having the effect of further bolstering the LGBT agenda for gay marriage in the name of "marriage equality." He has given revelation upon revelation, following centuries, even millennia since creation's dawn, of confirming conformity from the majority of His children with respect to marriage being defined as between one man and one woman, then having His doctrine ridiculed, derided and decried as "discriminatory." Imagine the patience, the irony, the disappointment and the long-suffering of God who is also a Parent. Yet how does He react? Does He harshly condemn, berate, brow beat, work with guilt to compel His children to do what He commands? No. He bows beneath the rod of moral agency. He warns, He continues to instruct through His living oracles upon the Earth today, and He continues to patiently nurture until the day of the final harvest. He must submit, even the God of the universe, to the immutable principle of moral agency. Even He. And so must we.

There are natural consequences involved with poor choices. It is Parenting 101. Children must be taught correctly to see and to learn what those consequences will be. Sadly, they must often suffer painful experiences to learn those natural consequences. Only last night, little munchkins living for the weekend with their parents under our roof for the holiday weekend, were reminded gently by their parents that failing to eat their dinner resulted in the natural consequence of having to forego Grandma's homemade cookies for dessert. Screams of how HORRIBLE their parents were rang through the house. Screams of protest and anger, harsh judgments about their abilities as parents were rendered. "You are the MEANEST mother in the whole world!!" But the consequences stood. They were learning as little ones, not having to wait until they had dyed their hair blue, or were still stoutly refusing the impassioned entreaties of aged parents after a lifetime of rejection.

It was Kahlil Gibran who wisely stated: "We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them."

And so it is. The day will come when America will pay a terrible consequence in its rebellion against God and the natural law of marriage between a man and a woman. I hope before the final judgment day arrives I will be living on the other side of the green, green grass in the cemetery. There is nothing in the scriptures suggesting to me things are going to get dramatically better before we see the Second Coming.

But I am cheered by the hope that out of all this chaos will someday emerge the Zion for which I long:

"And now I give unto you a word concerning Zion. Zion shall be redeemed, although she is chastened for a little season. . . Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for all things shall work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church. For I will raise up unto myself a pure people that will serve me in righteousness; And all that call upon the name of the Lord, and keep his commandments, shall be saved. Even so. Amen." (D&C 100:13, 15-17).

I suspect before that day comes even young ladies with blue hair and recalcitrant sons who refuse to accept their aged father's earnest entreaties will also submit.

An additional valuable insight was reinforced the other night as we were participating in a sealing session. "I seal upon you the blessings of the holy resurrection." Fathers will someday resurrect their children. The keys of the holy resurrection are a patriarchal priesthood entitlement to the faithful. And knowing the patience of our Father in Heaven, I suspect patient patriarchs seeking to become just like Him will also wait for as long as it takes for their children to be given every possible chance to repent and align themselves with the revealed gospel of Jesus Christ even beyond the grave.

Just a thought. . . sometimes reconciliation takes a very long time, but it is ALWAYS possible.

How Men and Women Share Priesthood Power

Yesterday's release of the annual statistical report of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prompted me to update the numbers in my Priesthood Keys illustration (see above). It's already out of date. Since the end of last year, the Church now has 65,000 missionaries in 58 new missions scattered around the globe.

Much has already been said in this 183th Annual General Conference about the priesthood, the keys and how priesthood blesses both men and women. While it is true the priesthood keys of authority operate in a very hierarchical linear fashion emanating from the Godhood down through the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles to the newest Deacons Quorum President, and is very male-dominated, there is a rarely discussed dimension in which this grand set of priesthood keys operates. It the spiritual realm of personal power. 

We will call these “the spiritual keys of power,” because they are the keys to all the spiritual blessings of the Church. (D&C 107:18-19). These keys give all the children of God access to the things of the spirit. Our Father in Heaven is not pleased when women who foment for priesthood keys of authority are confused about their supposed need to preside, when that dimension of the use of priesthood is completely unnecessary and inappropriate. They participate with their husbands in this more important dimension of the use of the priesthood keys. 

There is no competition involved for priesthood power between men and women. Understanding the appropriate use of the priesthood keys is the purpose of the book Scott Strong and I wrote, way back in 1996, entitled Power and Covenants: Men, Women and Priesthood. We've been giving it away to anyone who asks for it ever since. The complete unpublished manuscript is available here, and has risen to the number two slot in all-time popularity on this blog page. I suspect that is because confusion over gender roles in our society and among members of the Church has never been more pronounced than it is now.

The English language sometimes uses the two terms “power” and “authority” interchangeably or synonymously, but the two terms are not true synonyms in the gospel context. Though the keys of the priesthood are the same, their use in Church administration (authority) and personal revelation (power) are very different in the scope of their influence. On the general administrative level they provide inspiration and revelation to direct, organize, call, ordain, set apart and administer. On a personal level, however, they operate only within the purview of an individual’s personal life and family stewardships. While revelation is (or should be) the common denominator in the use of priesthood keys, the scope of personal revelation does not extend into another’s stewardship, one who is called to a position of authority in the Church we do not hold.

We are rather loose in our usage of the names of these priesthood keys, because we have never thought how the simple principles and ordinances of the gospel might be considered priesthood keys. What follows lies at the heart of the matter with respect to women and the professed need by some to ordain them to the various offices in the priesthood men hold. These keys of spiritual power are administered only by the authority of the priesthood to the sons and daughters of God. Men and women receive these keys only from the priesthood, and nowhere else.

These spiritual keys of power are used to obtain access to the mysteries of the kingdom of God in heaven. One will profit from a thorough review of these principles by studying the manuscript cited above. The keys of the oracles of God also redound to the benefit of each individual son and daughter of God. Personal revelation is a hallmark of Mormonism. We believe we are guided by the Holy Spirit and we champion the quest for personal revelation in our Church callings and our personal lives. “Oracles” are simply personal conversations with God. No one, male or female, can commune with God, receive knowledge of the mysteries of Godliness and know God except through these sacred spiritual keys.

Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood Keys

Because there are “two divisions or grand heads,” Melchizedek and Aaronic (see D&C 107:6), it will not be surprising to learn each priesthood has two specific priesthood keys associated with it. The scriptures reveal four spiritual keys of power in the priesthood: The first and second Aaronic Priesthood keys (so-called because they are administered by the Aaronic Priesthood), and the first and second Melchizedek Priesthood keys (so-called because they are administered by the Melchizedek Priesthood). These spiritual keys of power are administered to all worthy persons, male and female, in the Church regardless of position just as Joseph promised they would be. To this day we witness the keys being routinely given to even the “weakest” of saints.

The Aaronic Priesthood’s First Key

Section 13 of The Doctrine and Covenants consists of the words John the Baptist spoke, as he conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery: “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels. . .” 

Those who have the Aaronic Priesthood conferred upon them, we are frequently taught in the Church, thereby have right to the ministering of angels. The implication is those who do not hold this priesthood have no right to the ministering of angels. We have misunderstood, and obtaining a proper knowledge of these things is absolutely fundamental to the establishment of the latter-day Zion if we will ever be enabled to come into the presence of an “innumerable company of angels.” (See TPJS, 325). 

John said the Aaronic Priesthood holds the key of the ministering of angels. However, John did not say what that key was. What is the key of the ministering of angels?

The Prophet Mormon revealed this first Aaronic Priesthood key:

. . . it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men. . . (Moroni 7:37).

The key is faith, specifically faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the key by which angels appear and minister unto men and women. It is the first spiritual key of power. Like “the Hebrew Church [we must come] to an innumerable company of angels, unto God the Father of all, and to Jesus Christ the Mediator of the new covenant.” (TPJS, 325). 

Upon reflection, this makes perfect sense. Acting in his editorial role in the compilation of the records comprising The Book of Mormon, Moroni reflected on the faith of his forefathers:

I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers. . .

Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith. . .

It was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God. . .

By faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled.

For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth.

Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites.

Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after.

And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith.

And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God.

And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad. . . (Ether 12:6-22).

All the mighty works recorded in holy writ have come by faith without exception. Without faith nothing happens. Of course it is the first key of power! No other possibility qualifies. From the “Lectures on Faith” in Joseph’s School of the Prophets, we learn:

Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion and authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God. Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation, nor existence! (Lectures On Faith, 1:24).

[Faith] is the principle of power in the Deity as well as in man. . . and without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation nor existence! (Lectures on Faith, Questions & Answers, Lecture First; also see Hebrews 11:3).

We may be given authority to act in positions in the Church, but without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we really have no power in the priesthood because without faith we can do nothing. (D&C 8:10). 

The Aaronic Priesthood’s Second Key

Returning to the reference of John the Baptist’s ordination of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, we see that he spoke of two Aaronic keys:

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of [1] the ministering of angels, and [2] of the [preparatory] gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. . . (D&C 13).

The Aaronic Priesthood’s second key is the preparatory gospel:

And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel; which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins. . . (D&C 84:26).

The preparatory gospel of repentance and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins is the second Aaronic Priesthood key. Our tendency, after dutifully memorizing the 4th Article of Faith in our Primary days, is to separate repentance and baptism in our minds. A thoughtful reading of all the scriptures on this subject, however, indicates the second principle of the gospel, repentance, is linked inseparably to the first ordinance of the gospel, baptism by immersion. Only repentance and baptism produce the remission of sins. It takes both to prepare a person to be born of the spirit. Hence, the reason both together comprise “the preparatory gospel.” 

Baptism, the next natural step following sincere repentance, is an Aaronic Priesthood ordinance, confirmed by D&C 107:20:

The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments.

Whether we say “the baptism of repentance” (D&C 107:20), or “baptized unto repentance” (Alma 7:14), it is the same. The scriptures confirm that only the effectual combination of both repentance and baptism by immersion comprises the Aaronic Priesthood’s second key known as the preparatory gospel.

The Melchizedek Priesthood’s First Key 

What is the Melchizedek Priesthood’s first key of spiritual power? D&C 84:19 provides our answer:

And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.

How do we learn our first lessons in knowing God? What is the first key that gives a person access to the mysteries of godliness? Nephi answers:

For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. (1 Nephi. 10:19).

The Melchizedek Priesthood’s first key is the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is perfectly consistent with the two Aaronic Priesthood keys we have already examined. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the next ordinance of the gospel following baptism. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the first ordinance of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the scriptures offer numerous examples to support the spirit as the medium whereby men and women begin to know the mysteries our physical eyes cannot see, nor ears hear. As Paul said:

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things [mysteries] of God.

For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, except he has the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (JST 1 Corinthians 2:9-14).

Joseph Smith said:

No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator. (TPJS, 328). We never can comprehend the things of God and of heaven, but by revelation. (TPJS, 292).

The scriptural definition of a “mystery” is something that can only be known by the spirit through revelation:

Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God. (Jacob 4:8).

Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation. . .

Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not.

Ask that you may know the mysteries of God. . . (D&C 8:2-3, 10-11).

If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things -- that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal. (D&C 42:61).

But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion;

Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter;

Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him;

To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves. (D&C 76:116).

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26).

Not surprisingly, then, the scriptures clearly confirm the Holy Ghost, the first Comforter from whom we begin to learn the mysteries of godliness in mortality, is the Melchizedek Priesthood’s first key of spiritual power.

The Melchizedek Priesthood’s Second Key

Just as John the Baptist provided us with both Aaronic Priesthood keys, Joseph Smith gives us both keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood:

And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth [1] the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even [2] the key of the knowledge of God. (D&C 84:19).

One is tempted to interpret the words “even the key of the knowledge of God” as merely referring to the first key of the mysteries of the kingdom, but a careful reading of these words in context reveals this is a separate second key.

And this greater [Melchizedek] priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of [1] the mysteries of the kingdom [by the power of the First Comforter], [2] even the key of the knowledge of God [by the power of the Second Comforter].

Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.

And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;

For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.

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. (D&C 84:19-23).

This second Melchizedek Priesthood key of spiritual power goes far beyond merely beginning to know the mysteries of the kingdom by the power of the Holy Ghost. Joseph learns in this revelation there is a key by which we may see the face of God by being sanctified and entering his rest, “which rest is the fulness of his glory.” This second key has reference to Jesus Christ, who is the Second Comforter. “The rest of God” is a scriptural allusion to those saints who are received into the church of the Firstborn as heirs to the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom. (D&C 76:54, 58). If in mortality these have their “calling and election made sure,” have received “the more sure word of prophecy,” and been “sealed up to eternal life through the oath and covenant of the priesthood,” they receive this priesthood key.

The second Melchizedek Priesthood key is the “Second Comforter,” the final and grand spiritual key of power in the priesthood on the earth.

In his inspired doctrinal commentary on John 14, Joseph Smith said:

There are two Comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost. . .

After a person has faith in Christ, [the first Aaronic key], repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins [the second Aaronic key] and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, [the first Melchizedek key], then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter [the second Melchizedek key], which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John in the 14th chapter.

. . . Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man [or woman] obtains this last Comforter, he [she] will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him [her], or appear unto him [her] from time to time, and even He will reveal the Father unto him [her], and they will take up their abode with him [her], and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him [her] face to face. . . (TPJS, 149-151).

All of us have been called and elected. We are all called to God’s kingdom and the invitation excludes none of God’s children. We are all elected to become the children of Abraham through the covenant he made with God. President Ezra Taft Benson spoke of the calling and election of women in these words:

Before the world was created, in heavenly councils the pattern and role of women were prescribed. You were elected by God to be wives and mothers in Zion. Exaltation in the celestial kingdom is predicated upon faithfulness to that calling. (Ensign, November 1981, 105).

By priesthood ordinance a man and woman may have their calling and election made sure. This is the “more sure word of prophecy” referred to in D&C 131:5:

The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s [woman’s] knowing that he [she] is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. It is impossible for man [woman] to be saved in ignorance.

In his equally inspired commentary on 2 Peter 1 Joseph said:

The principle of knowledge is the principle of salvation. This principle can be comprehended by the faithful and diligent; and every one that does not obtain knowledge sufficient to be saved will be damned. The principle of salvation is given us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. (TPJS, 297).

The knowledge spoken of in these passages is not merely knowing Christ because we have obtained his presence and his company. It means knowing what Christ knows -- that we are sealed up to eternal life because Christ communicates that knowledge to us personally, face to face.

Joseph Smith also said:

There are three grand secrets lying in this chapter, [II Peter i.] which no man can dig out, unless by the light of revelation, and which unlocks the whole chapter as the things that are written are only hints of things which existed in the prophet's mind, which are not written concerning eternal glory. I am going to take up this subject by virtue of the knowledge of God in me, which I have received from heaven. (TPJS, 304).

Notwithstanding the apostle [Peter] exhorts them to add to their faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, etc., yet he exhorts them to make their calling and election sure. And though they had heard an audible voice from heaven bearing testimony that Jesus was the Son of God, yet he says we have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light shining in a dark place. Now, wherein could they have a more sure word of prophecy than to hear the voice of God saying, This is my beloved Son.

Now for the secret and grand key. Though they might hear the voice of God and know that Jesus was the Son of God, this would be no evidence that their election and calling was made sure, that they had part with Christ, and were joint heirs with Him. They then would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God. Then, having this promise sealed unto them, it was an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. Though the thunders might roll and lightnings flash, and earthquakes bellow, and war gather thick around, yet this hope and knowledge [through this Second Comforter] would support the soul in every hour of trial, trouble and tribulation. Then [this] knowledge through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ [the Second Comforter telling us we are sealed] is the grand key that unlocks the glories and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. (TPJS, 298).

Many who discover this doctrine for the first time are troubled by it because it is seldom taught publicly in the Church. However, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, spoke of it constantly and wrote of it repeatedly. (For example, see fourth verses of Hymns, nos. 21; 134). He gives this added insight:

To have one’s calling and election made sure is to be sealed up unto eternal life; it is to have the unconditional guarantee of exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world; it is to receive the assurance of Godhood; it is, in effect, to have the day of judgment advanced, so that an inheritance of all the glory and honor of the Father’s kingdom is assured prior to the day when the faithful actually enter into the divine presence to sit with Christ in his throne, even as he is “set down” with his “Father in his throne.” (Revelation 3:21). (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:330-31).

When we take upon ourselves all the ordinances of salvation including the blessings of the temple endowment and eternal marriage covenants then live our lives in harmony with the gospel, we may press forward with faith and mature patience waiting upon the Lord for the day when our lives will be crowned with celestial glory. In terms of our eternal opportunities it does not really matter if our calling and election is made sure here or hereafter. “But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether in life or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life.” (D&C 50:5). Once again, Elder McConkie:

If we die in the faith, that is the same thing as saying that our calling and election has been made sure and that we will go on to eternal reward hereafter. As far as faithful members of the Church are concerned, they have charted a course leading to eternal life. This life is the time that is appointed as a probationary estate for men to prepare to meet God, and as far as faithful people are concerned, if they are in the line of their duty, if they are doing what they ought to do, although they may not have been perfect in this sphere, their probation is ended. Now there will be some probation for some other people hereafter. But for the faithful saints of God, now is the time and the day, and their probation is ended with their death. (Funeral Service for Elder S. Dilworth Young, July 13, 1981, typescript, 5).

Summarizing, then, the four keys of the priesthood, “the spiritual keys of power,” are: Faith (in the Lord Jesus Christ); the preparatory gospel (repentance and baptism); the First Comforter (the Holy Ghost, key to the mysteries of godliness); and the Second Comforter (Jesus Christ, key to the knowledge of God). Notice how specifically the scriptures describe these keys that have been exercised by the inhabitants of the highest celestial realm:

And again we bear record -- for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just --

They are they who received the testimony of Jesus and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given.

That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;

And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.

They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. (D&C 76:50-54).

When used in the administrative domains of authority in the kingdom, the keys of the priesthood are for the exclusive use of the presiding priesthood as they govern in their various positions. However, each person in the Church (male and female) accesses these priesthood keys of spiritual power in their individual lives for the purpose of growing in the gifts and powers of the spirit. In this sense the keys are inclusive regardless of position.

One common element that pertains to these keys, either administratively or individually, is they are all administered to the members of the Church by the priesthood. To preserve the order in his kingdom God does not authorize the dissemination of these keys except through the priesthood. 

The priesthood holds the exclusive right to administer these keys to mankind. All four keys are obtained only from the priesthood. Every worthy man and woman of record in the Church may enjoy the blessings of these priesthood keys. 

Studying the talks of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, including President Boyd K. Packer, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder M. Russell Ballard, and Sister Elaine S. Dalton's talk, who was just released as the General Young Women's President yesterday, will reveal how consistent all these principles are. Undoubtedly, we'll hear more in today's sessions.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks summarizes this topic in this presentation in one of the videos of the recent Worldwide Leadership Training program. Says he, "Priesthood authority in the Church is a matter of calling, but priesthood power is a matter of choice in the home."

Priesthood Blessings - Asking and Giving

Many years ago our son Rich was serving as a missionary in Canada. The question arose about when it was appropriate to give a priesthood blessing. Should we extend blessings only when the recipient asked for it as a demonstration of their faith? What about those who feel it would be inappropriate to impose upon other priesthood bearers because their request might be viewed as a sign of weakness that they weren't able to muster enough faith to be healed on their own?

For those who are unfamiliar with this practice in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is the privilege of those who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood to lay their hands on the sick after anointing them with consecrated oil and to pronounce a blessing as directed by the Holy Spirit. In the act of blessing there are often words of comfort expressed, as well as specific promises of healing when prompted to offer them.

These and other questions are addressed in my answer to his letter and then my subsequent commentary afterward.

January 18, 2001
Elder Richard Goates
4-957 7th St. E.
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan S6V 6T3
CANADA

Dear Rich:

That rarest of rare occurrences:  A personal letter to you!  [During those years we often had two missionaries out at the same time and they sometimes got the same letter].  Don’t panic, just some extra time to address a couple of thoughts that I’ve had concerning your recent journal pages.
 
First, it’s a joy to hear of your recent baptisms.  I always knew the harvest would come.  That’s just the way things tend to work out – after the sowing, nurturing and tending to the budding plants, then the harvest!  You have done everything and more that I could have hoped would happen when you planted your feet on the ground in Saskatchewan and went to work.  What a great legacy you have left to other missionaries who will come behind you!  Your labors and your efforts have been rewarded, when others around you have tended to falter!  There is no greater joy, trust me, than to come to the declining days of your mission and realize, looking back, that there isn’t a thing you would have changed (well, maybe only a few).  You are awesome, and the Lord has crowned your labors with success because of your faithfulness.

Having said that, there are still more days ahead for you.  The end is not yet!  Keep pushing, keep leading, keep encouraging and keep blessing. 

There was a reference in your journal pages to an elder who you didn’t know for sure that you should offer a blessing to, since you were waiting for him to ask.  This is a classic Mormon myth – that those seeking a blessing must first ask for it as a pre-requisite demonstration of their faith. 

Well, poppycock!  You offer to lift, to bless, to sanctify and to edify whenever you can.  Never hesitate to offer a blessing from the Lord’s hands if you are impressed to do it.  Sometimes people feel it in their hearts, but have to be invited to receive the blessing.  Sometimes it’s just shyness, or uncertainty, or whatever – a host of reasons – but you be swift to offer if you think it will help. 

One time in the bishop’s office, after meeting a new couple for the first time, the Spirit whispered and prompted me to ask, “So, Sister ____________ how’s your faith?”  I don’t know to this day where that comment came from – I don’t think I had ever asked that question before, especially to a stranger I had only met moments before for the very first time.  Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to cry.  She said, “Well, I don’t think it’s very good.”  Then she proceeded with that gentle invitation to pour out a story about her medical condition that seemingly had no answer.  She had struggled with it for years, and there seemed to be no explanation why she was suffering so much. 

Long story short, we set a date where we could meet in her home later in the week to give her a blessing.  Her husband and I blessed her at the appointed hour after fasting and prayer for a day before we actually laid hands on her head.  She was healed.  As I blessed her I had words given to me.  She told me later that it was as though the Savior himself were pronouncing the blessing.  And that’s what the priesthood is all about – doing for others what the Savior himself would do if he were here in our shoes.  She said there was a tangible warm feeling that flowed through her that night from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes.  She knew she was healed that night, though the actual cessation of her symptoms did not occur until some weeks later.

And that’s just one example.  When Grandpa Brent was approaching his knee replacement surgery date a few weeks back, my sister Jane had filled me with all kinds of doubts and fears about it.  Early one morning – the clock said 5:22 a.m. – I was awakened with specific words in my mind about him.  I was told in certain detail about the surgery, its outcome, and his miraculous recovery from it despite the improbability of it given all Jane’s concerns.  The next time I saw Grandpa, I told him, “When the surgery gets closer, I have a blessing for you.”  Then I told him how it had come.  When we laid our hands on his head that night before the operation, I merely spoke the words as they had been given to me early that morning.  It was fulfilled even beyond my expectations, Dad’s, and even the doctor said, “This might just be the greatest surgical result I have ever seen with this operation.” 

I can’t explain it in rational terms.  Suppose he had died on the operating table?  It doesn’t make sense, except that those who are not appointed unto death are healed (see D&C 42:48).  That’s the Lord’s promise to the saints. 

Elders who, in administering to the sick, manifest such faith that it ignites faith in the individual who is ill “or otherwise afflicted,” have greater success than others who administer without sufficient faith.  Too often, we just go through the motions in administering blessings.  But the actual healing power of God enters the sick only when faith in Christ is present.  The recipient must exercise faith and also the giver.  We say of those who have great success in administration of the sick that they have the "gift of healing."  All the gifts of the Spirit, as enumerated in the scriptures (see D&C 46; Moroni 10; 1 Corinthians 12), rest on faith in Christ, and faith always precedes the miracle, not the other way around.  God rarely heals people so that others may believe – the faith always comes first.

After making clear in Section 42 of the Doctrine and Covenants that many who are administered to will not have faith enough to be healed, and urging the saints to use other healing methods on them as well as to administer to them, the Savior refers to a second group, those who have sufficient faith to be healed.  These will be healed "unless appointed unto death."

We must not misinterpret this passage, but it must be read in the light of the accompanying verses.  All who die are not appointed unto death.  Sometimes their death is due to lack of faith or our ignorance of how healing happens.  Sometimes their lives are cut short because of their own carelessness or the misused agency of others.  What is the significance of the passage "appointed unto death," then?  If all men were appointed unto death at a fixed time, our free agency would be lost. 

Such a doctrine is fatalism.  If fatalism were true, nothing we could do would either shorten or prolong our lives.  Births and deaths would become simply events that were predetermined before we were born.  Martin Luther and Calvin taught such doctrines and declared that the end of men was predestined from the beginning.  Joseph Smith denounced that idea, and always sought to increase the health of his people and to lengthen human life.

Having said that, we know from our own experiences in our family that sometimes life is shortened (as in the case of Adrienne, whose death was inexplicable by our finite reasoning), and in those cases it is appropriate to say that she was “appointed unto death,” simply because there is no other explanation available.  The Lord is so generous, and he is so anxious to bless, to comfort and to heal. 

Never hesitate, Rich, when you feel the impression to bless others – God would do it if he were in your shoes.  Once I even asked a husband who was a non-member to lay his hands on top of mine as I administered to his wife over some infertility concerns that they had.  He had the faith to do it.  But he didn’t even know the question.  That was all that was necessary.  The last time I talked to her she had four children!  He already knows that for the most part our faith as his children is weak.  If they respond, “Yes,” to your invitation for a blessing, that’s all the faith that’s needed – for heaven’s sake, it doesn’t matter who initiates the request.  It’s just a bogus Mormon myth without merit.

So, that’s it, that’s all I had on my heart for you today.  Based on your journal entries it sounds like you might be headed to Winnipeg?  Whatever path your remaining days may take, rest assured of my love for you.  I thrill with every letter, every new adventure.

I love you,

Dad

* * *

As to the second question about not wanting to "bother" others with our need to request a priesthood blessing, this often occurs in righteous, humble men who may be leaders in the Church, but are filled with an insidious and subtle form of pride. They won't ask for help from others until they reach the utmost boundaries of their extremity because they think asking for the Lord's help would be showing a sign of weakness to those whom they lead. I've seen this phenomenon not once but many times in fine men and women whose lives demonstrate nothing but the highest degree of integrity and altruistic desires to bless and serve others.

It's sad to see this in otherwise intelligent and strong-willed men. It's like trying to cure oneself of cancer with homeopathic remedies (nothing wrong with that), but before they seek out skilled physicians for a scientific diagnosis, people who may possess the healing cures they so desperately need. So it is with accessing the atonement in our lives. We often think we must somehow "prove" ourselves worthy before we approach the throne of grace. How backward is that? I've never yet seen a man, woman or child blessed who figuratively laid their own hands on themselves. We serve one another and there is no other way.

The healing powers of the atonement of Jesus Christ extend into every conceivable facet of our lives. If we are sinners (and we all are), we may seek forgiveness because of the atonement's healing balm. If we have been sinned against (and we all have), we may extend forgiveness to others because we ourselves have felt the healing we have received from the atonement's power. If we are sick, no matter who we are and regardless of which position we hold or don't hold in the outward Church, we can submit our iron-clad will, humble ourselves sufficiently and seek to be healed no matter what label our ailment may have.

Perhaps we hold back not from asking only for reasons that we don't want to disturb others by having to ask them to administer to us, but also because secretly we may not believe we have sufficient faith to be healed. Whatever the reasons may be, what is needed is enough humility and meekness to submit our will to His. When we need help it is always and forever instantly available. And sometimes the need for repeated blessings at frequent intervals for the same ailment is just the opposite of what may appear to be weakness of faith. It may, instead, be an expression of deep and abiding faith in whatever outcome the Lord has in store for us.

We had a woman in our ward who bore a simple testimony when her husband returned to the Church after years of inactivity. She simply said, "I put his name on the temple prayer rolls of five temples every week." Some miracles take time.

All of the thoughts - I would say ANY thought - that keep us from accessing healing powers are satanic thoughts by their very nature, and are designed to block us from the power of the atonement through our Lord Jesus Christ's suffering for us. He has already felt our pain no matter what its source or the form it takes. Our pain could be psychological, mental, physical or spiritual. He knows our doubts and fears because He was besieged with those same doubts and fears in much larger doses at the hands of Satan. He bowed under the weight of all of it in Gethsemane, which included the weight of all our sins, all our pain, all our doubts and fears, and all our uncertainty and lack of faith. He is able to save us from all of it. That is the reason the atonement is so frequently referred to as "infinite and eternal" in the scriptures. No one in the human family of God, dead, living or unborn, is excluded from its far-reaching benefits.

All that is required from each of us is the humility and meekness to access its power through our humility and faith. Asking for THAT kind of help was NEVER a sign of weakness. What is subsequently required after receiving the blessings is listening carefully to the voice of the Lord as He answers in His timing of what is best for our eternal welfare.