Commandments and Promises

I wanted to focus on the many commandments and promises laid out either implicitly or explicitly in this talk. They are summarized below.

Commandments
Priesthood holders are commanded to: carry the gospel to all nations, to exercise the priesthood in whatever place they may be in (especially in the home), to increase their power in the priesthood (through honoring covenants and exercising priesthood in righteousness), to repent so as to have both power and authority of the priesthood restored to us, to increase our confidence in the absolute power of the priesthood, and to watch over homes (as a quorum) without the priesthood.

Promises
All the powers of heaven can be accessed via the priesthood; priesthood holders will in due time collectively influence all of humanity; the weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones; via the priesthood we will win the battle against Satan; priesthood administration blesses the one exercising it (as illustrated in the examples of inexperienced fathers giving blessing to their sons); the priesthood power arms the covenant people with “righteousness and the power of God in great glory”; the Lord is “bound when [we] do what [he says]; fathers have the power of the priesthood directly from the Lord to protect our homes (at times this power will be the only thing standing as a shield between our families and the adversary, but we will receive direction from the Lord by way of the Holy Ghost to know just what to do).

Going over these commandments and promises has reminded me of the high place the priesthood should hold in my home and in my heart. I hope to increase my power in the priesthood so as to be the protection my family needs against the adversary. It can be scary to raise kids in this world with so much wickedness and temptation, but from what I glean from this talk, I and my family will be able to overcome all of this through proper application of the priesthood.

No pressure!

1. The Power of the Priesthood

The Power of the Priesthood (link here)

President Boyd K. Packer
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Brianne's Initial Thoughts:

I found it interesting that the Priesthood is the ultimate power on earth, the power to act in God's name. I also really like the fact that Father's have the right to preside in the home, and that authority supersedes the authority of any higher priesthood authority that may be in their home (i.e. prophet, apostle, etc.). Overall, a very informative talk and a good reminder of the power that could be in our homes if we live faithfully.

What is This?

For 365 days we will study General Conference talks and will discuss what we have learned and how we hope to implement these teachings into our lives. Our model will go as follows:

Day 1: Listen To/Read/Watch talk & record initial impressions.

Day 2: Review talk looking for application, commandments, promises & interconnectedness of principles. Record thoughts.

Day 3: Study scriptural passages referenced in or relating to the talk. Record thoughts.

Day 4: Record testimony of principles taught in talk or anything else learned not previously mentioned. Report on application of principles from any past talk.

{Repeat Day 1 with new talk}

Our Impetus: We wanted to do something as a couple to improve our spirituality. What better way to do this than be inspired by living apostles, prophet and other church leaders.