Preparing the Way

What a historic day in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as we sustained a new prophet in a solemn assembly, witnessed the call of two new apostles, and learned of a major restructure in the priesthood quorums of the ward!  I add my witness that President Russell M. Nelson has been called of God and I was very grateful to be able to participate in the solemn assembly and raise my hand to sustain him with my family, even if I wasn’t there in person.  One of the verses that was repeated in today’s testimonies was this verse from the Lord’s preface to the Doctrine and Covenants: “But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world” (D&C 1:20).  This is one of the great purposes of the Restoration—to spread the gospel across the world so that all of God’s children can speak in His name.  President Nelson’s powerful conclusion to his talk in priesthood was that our greatest responsibility is to help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Savior.  These events of today show that the work continues to move forward in that goal, and the Lord is indeed “hasten[ing] [his] work in its time” (D&C 88:73). 

               I’m excited for the change in Melchizedek priesthood quorums announced today, and I do believe it will enable us to serve in a more powerful and unified way.  I’m reminded of this teaching from President Packer: “We have done very well at distributing the authority of the priesthood. We have priesthood authority planted nearly everywhere. We have quorums of elders and high priests worldwide. But 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.”  I believe that this change will indeed help us to have more power in the Priesthood as we have just one quorum in the ward that all men participate in and serve together in.  The priesthood is still the same priesthood of course, and now this change will help us to focus more on the most important duties that priesthood holders have including serving and teaching God’s children.  The responsibilities of priesthood holders have not changed, and Alma’s teaching about the grand purpose of the Priesthood is still applicable today: “And thus being called by this holy calling, and ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to teach his commandments unto the children of men, that they also might enter into his rest” (Alma 13:6).   Our grand purpose is to teach the gospel to the children of men that we might indeed be prepared for the return of the Savior to the earth.  Through the Priesthood, according to the covenant the Lord made with Abraham thousands of years ago, “shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal” (Abraham 2:11).  To bless all of God’s children with the gospel is what all of us as disciples must strive for as we are indeed “preparing the way before [His] face for the time of [His] coming” (D&C 39:20).