The Lord is offering to teach me 15 different ways. Everywhere I turn lately there is something that the Spirit is pointing out to me for further consideration.
Laura asked me to pray about whether I should be the one leading the discussion we need to have with Enoch. I’m sure that the answer is “yes” and I feel I have been pointed toward what I need to study to prepare myself.
While studying three footnotes of one of President Nelson’s talk I started gleaning a lot of information about how I need to improve my access to actual priesthood power.
I urgently plead with each one of us to live up to our privileges as bearers of the priesthood. In a coming day, only those men who have taken their priesthood seriously, by diligently seeking to be taught by the Lord Himself, will be able to bless, guide, protect, strengthen, and heal others. 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
Russell M. Nelson
The Price of Priesthood Power
(April 2016)
How else can we increase our power in the priesthood? We need to pray from our hearts. Polite recitations of past and upcoming activities, punctuated with some requests for blessings, cannot constitute the kind of communing with God that brings enduring power. Are you willing to pray to know how to pray for more power? The Lord will teach you.
Are you willing to search the scriptures and feast on the words of Christ—to study earnestly in order to have more power? If you want to see your wife’s heart melt, let her find you on the Internet studying the doctrine of Christ or reading your scriptures!
Are you willing to worship in the temple regularly? The Lord loves to do His own teaching in His holy house. Imagine how pleased He would be if you asked Him to teach you about priesthood keys, authority, and power as you experience the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood in the holy temple. Imagine the increase in priesthood power that could be yours.
It’s funny reading this now because I have started praying more effectively, studying with greater earnestness (I was doing fairly well at this before) AND going to the temple more regularly.
In these latter days, we know there will be earthquakes in diverse places. Perhaps one of those diverse places will be in our own homes, where emotional, financial, or spiritual “earthquakes” may occur. Priesthood power can calm the seas and heal fractures in the earth. Priesthood power can also calm the minds and heal fractures in the hearts of those we love.
This was given in April 2016 and I reviewed it in the summer of 2016. Little did I know that I would have a massive emotional and spiritual earthquake in my home in January of 2017.
Notes from today
Home-centered, church supported. I thought of an analogous pairing: scripture (or doctrine) centered, lesson manual supported.
I should start recording each day how I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life that day. There may be some days where I don’t see it at first but I should be focused on looking for His hand.
I’m listening to a discussion of things the young women are doing and I’m having some ideas
Two threads on some shared messaging platform (text group/chat; Facebook group; whatever but it should allow people to join our leave as they choose and when they are on they can see an archive at least of the recent history on the group): one thread should be ongoing of “how I’ve seen the hand of the Lord in my life today” and one that is a current focus/challenge based on the most recent lesson—something to keep them engaged on the current topic for weeks instead of minutes.
Can we implement this as elders? Could we do it as a Sunday school organization?
A teacher council for parents centered around implementing Come Follow Me at home
A teacher council for parents is the epitome of church support for home centered teaching
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