Power to Do All Things

As a resurrected being, John the Baptist came to Joseph and Oliver on May 15, 1829 to confer upon them the Aaronic Priesthood. In the words he spoke we learn of the great blessings associated with this priesthood: “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness” (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1). Thus the Aaronic Priesthood is associated with the ministering of angels, helping people repent, receiving the remission of sins through baptism, and preparing the Saints for the Second Coming of the Savior. In addition, those young men who serve in the Aaronic Priesthood stand in the place of the Savior as they prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament to the members of the ward. In most references to the sacrament being partaken of in the scriptures, it was Jesus Himself blessing and passing it to the people He was with. What an incredible honor for young men today who hold the Aaronic Priesthood to be able to do this work that He would do if He were among us. In addition, the Aaronic Priesthood is a powerful preparation to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.

This priesthood was named after the prophet Melchizedek, and in the Old Testament we have this brief mention of him: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all” (Genesis 14:18-20). Thus we know that Melchizedek was a high priest of God, but we have little other information about him. I love what the Joseph Smith Translation reveals, “Now Melchizedek was a man of faith, who wrought righteousness; and when a child he feared God, and stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire. And thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with Enoch, It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God” (JST Genesis 14:26-28). This language is similar to what Paul wrote about prophets who “through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:33-34). Melchizedek and other prophets have performed mighty works through their faith and the power of the priesthood, even to the point that they could stop lions. This passage in the JST, though, makes it clear that these kinds of miracles can be had by all: “Every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; To put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world” (JST Genesis 14:30-31). What incredible power! This is the privilege of those men who are ordained to the priesthood and those women who receive the blessings of the priesthood through the temple, as long as they have the kind of faith that these ancient prophets had.

As we serve in the kingdom of God, in whatever capacity, we should not lose sight of how great things we can accomplish through faith in Him. The Savior put it very simply with these words: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moroni 7:33). As we think about the miracles wrought by Melchizedek and the prophets of old we should remember that we can do whatever is expedient in Him as we exercise our faith.