Power of Covenants

 As you walk the covenant path, from baptism to the temple and throughout life, I promise you power to go against the natural worldly flow—power to learn, power to repent and be sanctified, and power to find hope, comfort, and even joy as you face life’s challenges. I promise you and your family protection against the influence of the adversary, especially when you make the temple a major focus in your life.

As you come to Christ and are connected to Him and our Heavenly Father by covenant, something seemingly unnatural happens. You are transformed and become perfected in Jesus Christ. You become a covenant child of God and an inheritor in His kingdom. I can imagine Him saying to you, “Thou art my dear child in whom I delight. Welcome home.”

Accessing God’s Power through Covenants

April 2023

Relief Society and Elders Quorum

Dale G. Renlund

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/23renlund?lang=eng&verse=#p

It behooves each of us to measure up to the sacred ordination we have received.

 The future is bright for God’s covenant-keeping people. The Lord will increasingly call upon His servants who worthily hold the priesthood to bless, comfort, and strengthen mankind and to help prepare the world and its people for His Second Coming. It behooves each of us to measure up to the sacred ordination we have received. We can do this!

What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget

April 2021

General Conference

Russell M. Nelson

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/36nelson?lang=eng&verse=#p

No, for the truly difficult problems we need what the scriptures call “the powers of heaven,” and to access these powers we must live by what these same scriptures call “principles of righteousness.”

 Such help and hope are dearly needed because in this worldwide congregation today are many who struggle with any number of challenges—physical or emotional, social or financial, or a dozen other kinds of trouble. But many of these we are not strong enough to address in and of ourselves, for the help and peace we need is not the kind “the world giveth.” No, for the truly difficult problems we need what the scriptures call “the powers of heaven,” and to access these powers we must live by what these same scriptures call “principles of righteousness.” Now, understanding that connection between principle and power is the one lesson the human family never seems able to learn, so says the God of heaven and earth!

And what are those principles? Well, they are listed repeatedly in scripture, they are taught again and again in conferences like this, and in our dispensation, the Prophet Joseph Smith was taught them in response to his own version of the cry “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In the cold, uncaring confinement of Liberty Jail, he was taught that the principles of righteousness included such virtues as patience, long-suffering, gentleness, and love unfeigned. Absent those principles, it was certain we would eventually face discord and enmity.

In that regard, may I speak for a moment about the absence in some quarters of these principles of righteousness in our time. As a rule, I am an upbeat, cheerful kind of fellow, and there is so much that is good and beautiful in our world. Certainly we have more material blessings than any generation in history, but in 21st-century culture generally and too often in the Church, we still see lives that are in trouble, with compromises resulting in too many broken covenants and too many broken hearts. Consider the coarse language that parallels sexual transgression, both of which are so omnipresent in movies or on television, or note the sexual harassment and other forms of impropriety in the workplace about which we read so much these days. In matters of covenantal purity, the sacred is too often being made common and the holy is too often being made profane. To any who are tempted to walk or talk or behave in these ways—“as the world giveth,” so to speak—don’t expect it to lead to peaceful experience; I promise you in the name of the Lord that it won’t. “Wickedness never was happiness,” an ancient prophet once said. When the dance is over, the piper must always be paid, and most often it is in a currency of tears and regret.

Not as the World Giveth

April 2021

General Conference

Jeffrey R. Holland

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/23holland?lang=eng&verse=#p

The nearer we live to God, the closer we obey his laws and keep his commandments, the more power we will have

Our responsibilities before the Lord are great. We have no right to break any law that God has given unto us. The more we do so the less power we have before God, before heaven and before the earth, and the nearer we live to God, the closer we obey his laws and keep his commandments, the more power we will have, and the greater will be our desire for the building up of the kingdom of God while we dwell here in the flesh.

Journal of Discourses  Volume 21  Discourse 22, Duties and Responsibilities of the Priesthood and Saints Generally—Zion Shall not Be Overcome—The Wicked Shall Slay the Wicked—The End Near Wilford Woodruff

The Lord has placed the leadership of this work squarely on the shoulders of the elders in Israel.

 In the last year, the Lord has placed the leadership of this work squarely on the shoulders of the elders in Israel....When we live our covenants, they influence everything we say and do. We live a covenant life full of simple, everyday acts of faith that focus us on Jesus Christ: prayer from the heart in His name, feasting on His word, turning to Him to repent of our sins, keeping His commandments, partaking of the sacrament and keeping His Sabbath holy, worshipping in His holy temple as often as we can, and exercising His holy priesthood to serve God’s children.... You too can look unto Jesus Christ and live your covenants every day. I promise you that if you do, you will be trusted servants of the Lord now and, in a coming day, mighty elders in Israel.....When divine light and power flow into our lives, three miraculous things happen:

First, we can see! Through revelation we begin to see as Jesus saw the woman: beyond the surface into the heart. As we see as Jesus sees, He blesses us to love those we serve with His love. With His help, those we serve will see the Savior and feel His love.

Second, we have priesthood power! We have the authority and the power to act in the name of Jesus Christ “to bless, guide, protect, strengthen, and heal others” and bring miracles to those we love and keep our marriages and families safe.

Third, Jesus Christ goes with us! Where we go, He goes. When we teach, He teaches. When we comfort, He comforts. When we bless, He blesses.

Look unto Jesus Christ

April 2019

2010–2019

Kim B. Clark

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/33clark?lang=eng&verse=#p

I remind you: priesthood authority comes by way of setting apart and ordination, but real priesthood power, the power to act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, can come only through righteous living.

I remind you: priesthood authority comes by way of setting apart and ordination, but real priesthood power, the power to act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, can come only through righteous living.

Behold! A Royal Army, April 2018 General Conference, Ronald A. Rasband

To preach the gospel is a priesthood duty. And the power associated with this duty is not just for prophets or even just for missionaries. It is for you!

Let’s begin with one aspect of the ministering of angels. Before God’s children can have faith in Jesus Christ, they need to know of Him and be taught His gospel. As the Apostle Paul said:

“How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? …

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

From the beginning of time, God has “sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest … the coming of Christ.” Angels are heavenly beings bearing God’s message. In both Hebrew and Greek, the root word of angel is “messenger.”

In much the same way that angels are authorized messengers sent by God to declare His word and thereby build faith, we who hold the Aaronic Priesthood have been ordained to “teach, and invite all to come unto Christ.” To preach the gospel is a priesthood duty. And the power associated with this duty is not just for prophets or even just for missionaries. It is for you!

So how do we get this power? How does a 12-year-old deacon—or any of us—bring faith in Christ to the hearts of God’s children? We start by treasuring up His word so its power is within us. He has promised that if we do, we will have “the power of God unto the convincing of men.”....

Young men, you are authorized messengers. Through your words and actions, you can bring faith in Christ to the hearts of God’s children. As President Russell M. Nelson said, “To them you will be as a ministering angel.”....Increased faith in Christ always leads to a desire to change or repent. So it is logical that the key of the ministering of angels would be accompanied by the key of the preparatory gospel, “the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins.”

What Every Aaronic Priesthood Holder Needs to Understand, April 2018 General Conference, Douglas D. Holmes

If we think we can even flirt with pornography or violations of chastity or dishonesty in any form and not have it negatively affect us and our families, we are deceived.

 I may not have the ability of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland when he spoke in a priesthood session a few years ago to “get in your face … , nose to nose, with just enough fire … to singe your eyebrows” (“We Are All Enlisted,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 45); but, dear brethren, we need to wake up to how commonly accepted practices in the world choke our power in the priesthood. If we think we can even flirt with pornography or violations of chastity or dishonesty in any form and not have it negatively affect us and our families, we are deceived. Moroni stated, “See that ye do all things in worthiness” (Mormon 9:29). The Lord powerfully directed, “And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life” (D&C 84:43). If there are any unresolved sins preventing our worthiness, we need to change.

WHAT MANNER OF MEN? By Elder Donald L. Hallstrom - April 2014 GENERAL CONFERENCE  

Faith and priesthood go hand in hand. Faith is power and power is priesthood.

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.
Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign April 2017, The Power of God

The Price to Develop Priesthood Power

What is the price to develop such priesthood power? The Savior’s senior Apostle, Peter—that same Peter who with James and John conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery8—declared qualities we should seek to “be partakers of the divine nature.”9

He named faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity, and diligence.10 And don’t forget humility!11 So I ask, how would our family members, friends, and coworkers say you and I are doing in developing these and other spiritual gifts?12 The more those attributes are developed, the greater will be our priesthood power.

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 Christ13—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 Christ14 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.15 Imagine the increase in priesthood power that could be yours.

Are you willing to follow President Thomas S. Monson’s example of serving others? For decades he has taken the long way home, following promptings of the Spirit to arrive on someone’s doorstep and then hear words such as, “How did you know it was the anniversary of our daughter’s death?” or “How did you know it was my birthday?” And if you truly want more priesthood power, you will cherish and care for your wife, embracing both her and her counsel.

Now, if all of this sounds excessive, please consider how different our relationships with our wife, children, and associates at work would be if we were as concerned about gaining priesthood power as we are in progressing at work or increasing the balance in our bank account. If we will humbly present ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to teach us, He will show us how to increase our access to His power.

In these latter days, we know there will be earthquakes in diverse places.16 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.

Are we willing to pray, fast, study, seek, worship, and serve as men of God so we can have that kind of priesthood power? 

Russell M. Nelson, The Price of Priesthood Power, April 2016 General Conference

In a Coming Day Only Those Men Who Have Taken Their Priesthood Seriously, will be able to bless, guide and protect, strengthen and heal others.

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 General Conference

Erosion of Priesthood Power

 I fear that there are too many men who have been given the authority of the priesthood but who lack priesthood power because the flow of power has been blocked by sins such as laziness, dishonesty, pride, immorality, or preoccupation with things of the world.

I fear that there are too many priesthood bearers who have done little or nothing to develop their ability to access the powers of heaven. I worry about all who are impure in their thoughts, feelings, or actions or who demean their wives or children, thereby cutting off priesthood power.

I fear that too many have sadly surrendered their agency to the adversary and are saying by their conduct, “I care more about satisfying my own desires than I do about bearing the Savior’s power to bless others.”

I fear, brethren, that some among us may one day wake up and realize what power in the priesthood really is and face the deep regret that they spent far more time seeking power over others or power at work than learning to exercise fully the power of God.4 President George Albert Smith taught that “we are not here to while away the hours of this life and then pass to a sphere of exaltation; but we are here to qualify ourselves day by day for the positions that our Father expects us to fill hereafter.”5

Why would any man waste his days and settle for Esau’s mess of pottage6 when he has been entrusted with the possibility of receiving all of the blessings of Abraham?7

Russell M. Nelson, The Price of Priesthood Power, April 2016 General Conference

Such A Man Should Not Be Honored In His Priesthood

President Kimball also declared, “We have heard of men who have said to their wives, ‘I hold the priesthood and you’ve got to do what I say.’” He decisively rejected that abuse of priesthood authority in a marriage, declaring that such a man “should not be honored in his priesthood” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 316).

Dallin H. Oakcs, October 2005 General Conferece, Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church

How to Get the Lord's Blessings in Family Leadership

If men desire the Lord’s blessings in their family leadership, they must exercise their priesthood authority according to the Lord’sprinciples for its use:

“No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pureknowledge” (D&C 121:41–42).

When priesthood authority is exercised in that way in the patriarchal family, we achieve the “full partnership” President Kimball taught. Asdeclared in the family proclamation:

“Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, [and] compassion”(Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).


Dallin H. Oakcs, October 2005 General Conferece, Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church

To Break This Covenant One Needs Only to Do Nothing

Melchizedek Priesthood holders and those who have received their temple endowments have made further and specific pledges to do, to work righteousness. The Lord has expressed the mutual pledges between our Heavenly Father and the priesthood holders as an “oath and covenant.” [D&C 84:39.] … One breaks the priesthood covenant by transgressing commandments—but also by leaving undone his duties. Accordingly, to break this covenant one needs only to do nothing. 

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 124–34

Priesthood Power Requires Diligence

As we do our best to fulfill our priesthood responsibilities, we can be blessed with priesthood power. The power of the priesthood is God’s power operating through men and boys like us and requires personal righteousness, faithfulness, obedience, and diligence. A boy or a man may receive priesthood authority by the laying on of hands but will have no priesthood power if he is disobedient, unworthy, or unwilling to serve.
April 2012 General Conference -  The Powers Of Heaven   -  Elder David A. Bednar