“A friend once asked Elder Neil L. Andersen, then of the Seventy, how it felt to speak in front of 21,000 people at the Conference Center. Elder Andersen replied, “It is not the 21,000 people who make you nervous; it is the 15 Brethren seated behind you.” I chuckled then, but I feel it now. How I love and sustain these 15 men as prophets, seers, and revelators.” 😆
In True to the Faith we read: “An ordinance is a sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. [The] ordinances [that] are essential to our exaltation … are called saving ordinances. They include baptism, confirmation, ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood (for men), the temple endowment, and the marriage sealing.”
Elder David A. Bednar taught, “The ordinances of salvation and exaltation administered in the Lord’s restored Church … constitute authorized channels through which the blessings and powers of heaven can flow into our individual lives.”
I like this very concise description.
John and Bonnie Newman, like many of you, are recipients of the spiritual blessings President Nelson promised. One Sunday, after attending church with their three young children, Bonnie said to John, who was not a member of the Church, “I cannot do this on my own. You need to decide whether you come to my church with us or you choose a church that we can go to together, but the children need to know that their dad loves God too.” The following Sunday and every Sunday after, John not only attended; he also served, playing the piano for many wards, branches, and Primaries over the years. I had the privilege of meeting with John in April 2015, and in that meeting, we discussed that the best way he could manifest his love for Bonnie was to take her to the temple, but that could not happen unless he was baptized.
After attending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 39 years, John was baptized in 2015. A year later, John and Bonnie were sealed in the Memphis Tennessee Temple, 20 years after she had received her own endowment. Their 47-year-old son, Robert, said of his dad, “Dad has really, really blossomed since he received the priesthood.” Bonnie added, “John has always been a happy and cheerful person, but receiving the ordinances and honoring his covenants has enhanced his gentleness.”
President Boyd K. Packer warned, “Good conduct without the ordinances of the gospel will neither redeem nor exalt mankind.” In fact, we not only need the ordinances and covenants to return to our Father, but we also need His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement.
Paul also warned that many would have “a form of godliness, but [deny] the power thereof: from such turn away.” I repeat, from such turn away.
Those who have been taught and ordained who deny the power of the priesthood should be especially concerning.
I invite each of us to ask ourselves, “What ordinances, including the sacrament, do I need to receive, and what covenants do I need to make, keep, and honor?” I promise that participating in ordinances and honoring the associated covenants will bring you marvelous light and protection in this ever-darkening world. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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