Gospel Principles Ch13 The Priesthood

8/8/2019 Gospel Principles Ch13 The Priesthood

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The Priesthood

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What Is the Priesthood?

The priesthood is the eternal power and authority o God Throughthe priesthood He created and governs the heavens and the earth

By this power the universe is kept in perect order Through thispower He accomplishes His work and glory, which is “to bring topass the immortality and eternal lie o man” (Moses 1:39)

Our Heavenly Father delegates His priesthood power to worthymale members o the Church The priesthood enables them to actin God’s name or the salvation o the human amily Through itthey can be authorized to preach the gospel, administer the ordi-

nances o salvation, and govern God’s kingdom on earth•ThinkaboutthesignicanceofGodallowingworthymenand

boys to hold His priesthood

Why Do We Need the Priesthood on the Earth?

We must have priesthood authority to act in the name o God whenperorming the sacred ordinances o the gospel, such as baptism,

conrmation, administration o the sacrament, and temple mar-riage I a man does not have the priesthood, even though he maybe sincere, the Lord will not recognize ordinances he perorms (seeMatthew 7:21–23; Articles o Faith 1:5) These important ordinancesmust be perormed on the earth by men holding the priesthood

For teachers: This chapter is organized under fve headings. Each heading is a questionabout the priesthood. You could use these questions as a guide or your lesson. I theclassroom setup allows or small group discussion, consider dividing class membersinto groups o two to our. Assign each group one o the sections o the chapter (in largeclasses, some sections may be assigned to more than one group). Have each group do theollowing: (1) Read and discuss their assigned section. (2) Find scriptures that help answerthe question in the section heading. (3) Share personal experiences that relate to the sec-tion. Then ask class members to share some o these experiences with the entire class.





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Men need the priesthood to preside in The Church o Jesus Christo Latter-day Saints and to direct the work o the Church in all partso the world When Christ lived on the earth, He chose His Apostles

and ordained them so that they could lead His Church He gavethem the power and authority o the priesthood to act in His name(See Mark 3:13–15; John 15:16)

Another reason the priesthood is needed on the earth is so we canunderstand the will o the Lord and carry out His purposes Godreveals His will to His authorized priesthood representative on theearth, the prophet The prophet, who is President o the Church,

serves as the spokesman or God to all members o the Church andall people on the earth

•Whyisitessentialforamantohaveproperauthoritywhenheperformsanordinance?

How Do Men Receive the Priesthood?

The Lord has prepared an orderly way or His priesthood to be

given to His sons on the earth A worthy male member o theChurch receives the priesthood “by the laying on o hands by those

who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in theordinances thereo” (Articles o Faith 1:5)

This is the same way men received the priesthood long ago, evenin the days o Moses: “And no man taketh this honour unto himsel,but he that is called o God, as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4) Aaron

received the priesthood rom Moses, his priesthood leader (seeExodus 28:1) Only those who hold the priesthood can ordain oth-ers, and they can do so only when authorized by those who holdthe keys or that ordination (see chapter 14 in this book)

Men cannot buy and sell the power and authority o the priest-hood Nor can they take this authority upon themselves In the New

Testament we read o a man named Simon who lived when Christ’s Apostles presided over the Church Simon became converted and was baptized into the Church Because he was a skillul magician,the people believed he had the power o God But Simon did nothave the priesthood, and he knew it



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Simon knew that the Apostles and the other priesthood leaderso the Church had the true power o God He saw them use theirpriesthood to do the Lord’s work, and he wanted this power or

himsel He oered to buy the priesthood (See Acts 8:9–19) ButPeter, the chie Apostle, said, “Thy money perish with thee, becausethou hast thought that the git o God may be purchased withmoney” (Acts 8:20)

•Whyisitsignicantthat“nomantakeththishonour[ofthepriest-hood]untohimself”?

How Do Men Properly Use the Priesthood? The priesthood should be used to bless the lives o our HeavenlyFather’s children here on earth Priesthood holders should preside inlove and kindness They should not orce their amilies and othersto obey them The Lord has told us that the power o the priesthoodcannot be controlled except in righteousness (see D&C 121:36)

When we try to use the priesthood to gain wealth or ame or or any

other selsh purpose, “behold, the heavens withdraw themselves;the Spirit o the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen tothe priesthood or the authority o that man” (D&C 121:37)

When a man uses the priesthood “by persuasion, by long-suering,by gentleness and meekness, and by love uneigned” (D&C 121:41),he can do many wonderul things or his amily and others He canbaptize, conrm, and administer the sacrament when authorizedby those who hold the keys or those ordinances He can bless the

sick He can give priesthood blessings to his amily members toencourage and protect them when they have special needs He canalso help other amilies with these ordinances and blessings whenasked to do so

Men use priesthood authority to preside in the Church in such call-ings as branch president, bishop, quorum president, stake presi-dent, and mission president Men and women who hold positions

in the Church as ocers and teachers work under the direction o priesthood leaders and under the guidance o the Holy Ghost



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What Blessings Come When We Use the Priesthood Properly?

The Lord has promised great blessings to righteous priesthoodholders who use the priesthood to bless others:

“Then shall thy condence wax strong in the presence o God; andthe doctrine o the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dewsrom heaven

“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepteran unchanging scepter o righteousness and truth; and thy domin-ion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory

means it shall fow unto thee orever and ever” (D&C 121:45–46)President David O McKay promised every man who uses thepriesthood in righteousness that he “will nd his lie sweetened, hisdiscernment sharpened to decide quickly between right and wrong,his eelings tender and compassionate, yet his spirit strong and

valiant in deense o right; he will nd the priesthood a never ail-ing source o happiness—a well o living water springing up untoeternal lie” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay

[2003], 116)

•Whataresomeoftheblessingsyouhavereceivedthroughthepriesthood?

Additional Scriptures

•D&C84;107(revelationsonpriesthood,includingtheoathandcovenant o the priesthood in D&C 84:33–40)

•D&C20:38–67(dutiesofthepriesthoodexplained)

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Gospel Principles Ch13 The Priesthood