Priesthood Power

Today marked the first day of school for four of my five children.  Four kids in four different schools. Clear back when Ashley started Kindergarten in 1996, we have started the school year off with Tony giving her a father's blessing.  Every year since then, it is a family tradition to start the school year  this way.  So much so, that Ashley even got a ride up from Logan on Saturday so she could start off her last year of college right. (She also came up for my Dad's b-day who turned 82 on Saturday!)  I have had lots of opportunities to ponder on and be grateful for the priesthood and it's power in my life.  In June we covered this topic in Young Women's, and we have had several experiences over the summer that have reaffirmed and strengthened my testimony.  I know that miracles, guidance, direction and real power come into my life daily because of the priesthood.  Just this summer, I have seen people be healed from injuries and ailments, and I heard blessings pronounced that were exactly what someone needed to hear even though they had never shared their concerns.  Some may call this crazy or just a coincidence, but I have seen it, and experienced it too many times to doubt it's reality.

I have been greatly blessed by ordinances that come through the priesthood; the greatest one is being able to be sealed to my husband and family for eternity.  Eternity seems hard to comprehend sometimes in the day to day craziness, but I want all these crazies around me forever!  I am blessed every week by it's power as I attend church and partake of the sacrament.  I have watched my son, who is a normal teenager, be changed by the opportunity to represent the Savior.  I have watched young men in high school, lay aside the silly activities that usually accompany the end of high school, and choose to prepare instead to serve missions and be worthy to act in the Lord's name.

I have often been troubled by the debate about women and the priesthood, and in the past I haven't had a lot of compassion.  I realize now however, that we all have different things we struggle with, and just because it isn't a issue for me doesn't mean that it isn't a problem for someone else.  That being said, this is how I see it...The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, knows that we all need each other.  Just like we are all given different gifts so we have the opportunity to share and strengthen each other, men and women have different responsibilities so that we can bless and help each other.  Elder Ballard in April conference said, "In our Heavenly Father’s great priesthood-endowed plan, men have the unique responsibility to administer the priesthood, but they are not the priesthood. Men and women have different but equally valued roles. Just as a woman cannot conceive a child without a man, so a man cannot fully exercise the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman. In other words, in the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the priesthood power are shared by husband and wife. And as husband and wife, a man and a woman should strive to follow our Heavenly Father."  The way I see it, it is a beautiful plan that provides order and sharing of responsibilities, a plan that I will be forever grateful for.