The key in the organization of the Lord is priesthood.
The priesthood will lose great power if the sisters are ignored.
Fathers preside in the home whenever they are present even when someone else such as a civic or church leader is present. When the father is not present the mother should request the presiding authority to take charge in place of the father.
When someone wants a blessing the father should always be sought first when he is available. I need to talk to Ted Hallisey about this.
Because we have the priesthood with is we have no fear of the future.
Gideon was chosen to lead the armies of Israel, thousands strong. But of them all, he chose only 300 men. . . Gideon had an interesting way of selecting his recruits. When the men drank water at a stream . . . a few scooped up water in their hands and drank, remaining completely alert. They were the ones chosen. . . . Gideon’s small force succeeded because, as the record states, “they stood every man in his place.” This reminds me of President Uchtdorf’s admonishion to “stand close together and lift where you stand.”
The Book of Mormon makes it clear that we never will dominate by numbers. But we have the power of the priesthood. . . . We can and in due time certainly will influence all of humanity. It will be known who we are and why we are. It might seem hopeless; it is monumentally difficult; but it is not only possible but certain that we will win the battle against Satan.
Unless we enlist the attention of the mothers and daughters and sisters – who have influence on their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers – we cannot progress. The priesthood will lose great power if the sisters are neglected.
Distributing the authority of the priesthood has raced, I think, ahead of distributing the power of the priesthood.
The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families as it should be.
President Joseph F. Smith made this statement about the priesthood in the home: “In the home the presiding authority is always vested in the father, and in all home affairs and family matters there is no other authority paramount. . . . The father presides at the table, at prayer, and gives general directions relating to his family life whoever may be present.”
- I was standing next to President Harold B. Lee when a fine young Latter-day Saint told President Lee that he was on leave to visit his home and then had orders to Vietnam. He asked President Lee to give him a blessing. Much to my surprise, President Lee said, “Your father should give you the blessing.”
- Another time I was in a distant city. After a conference we were ordaining and setting apart leaders. As we concluded, the stake president asked, “Can we ordain a young man to be an elder who is leaving for the mission field?” The answer, of course, was yes. As the young man came forward, he motioned for three brethren to follow and stand in for his ordination. I noticed on the back row a carbon copy of this boy, and I asked, “Is that your father?” The young man said, “Yes.” I said, “Your father will ordain you.” And he protested, “But I’ve already asked another brother to ordain me.” And I said, “Young man, your father will ordain you, and you’ll live to thank the Lord for this day.”
While the priesthood is presently all over the world, we call on every elder and high priest, every holder of the priesthood to stand, like Gideon’s small but powerful force of 300, in his own place. We now must awaken in every elder and high priest, in every quorum and group, and in the father of every home the power of the priesthood of the Almighty.
Tearfully he pleaded, “Mama, you’ve got to live. Mama, you can’t die.” He said, “Mama, you can’t go. I won’t let you go.”
The little mother looked up at her son and in her broken Danish accent said, “But ver is yo powah?” – where is your power?
That the work of the Lord will prevail is not a question. That we must marshal all of our efforts and unify ourselves are givens.
The authority of the priesthood is with us. After all that we have correlated and organized, it is now our responsibility to activate the power of the priesthood in the Church. Authority in the priesthood comes by way of ordination; power in the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants. It is increased by exercising and using the priesthood in righteousness.
Every law and principle and power, every belief, every ordinance and ordination, every covenant, every sermon and every sacrament, every counsel and correction, the sealings, the calls, the releases, the service – all these have as their ultimate purpose the perfection of the individual and the family.
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