Gospel Message Day 324

Priesthood Power – Part 2

Since I’m trying to use my own definition of things, I would define the Priesthood as the power and authority to act in God’s name to do His will in order to serve His children. One cannot use the Priesthood for their own benefit. It can only be used to help others. (This often makes me think of the scene in “Slipper and the Rose” when the fairy godmother explains that she cannot use her power for herself.)

Worthy males (beginning at age 12 for the Aaronic Priesthood and beginning at age 18 for the Melchizedek Priesthood) are ordained to the Priesthood, giving them the authority to use this power of God to help others. Priesthood helps a father to be a father, especially helping him to be the best he can. Because with the Priesthood he is better able to preside and provide. A woman does not need the Priesthood, because it is already a part of her nature to nurture the family. She is also joining forces with Heavenly Father each time she invokes His power as she gives birth to a child of God.

I’m just going to get this out right now, because I’m sure many will wonder: those ridiculous women who keep arguing and fighting and protesting that women should hold the Priesthood do not have a correct testimony of what the Priesthood is and why it is here on Earth. They are being selfish (not to mention stupid). And selfishness cannot be a part of the Priesthood. Not to mention, they don’t need it. Do they not realize how spiritually endowed they already are?!

I am a woman. I am not a repressed one. I simply know who I am and what my plan and purpose are on this Earth. And I will achieve all of it without the Priesthood because that is not the duty or responsibility that has been given me. I have been given plenty of other responsibilities and I certainly don’t want to have the Priesthood added to that! I will gladly leave that responsibility for the brothers as it will enable them to serve better than they could without the Priesthood, and make them even more the kind of stalwart, strong men that I want in my life.

Gospel Message Day 323

Priesthood Power

Oh, what a nice topic. What that has come to mean even more to me in the last decade and a half. But it is getting late and I have an extremely early morning tomorrow. So I'm just going to begin the topic with one of my favorite songs from childhood that mentions Priesthood power. Because of this song, I have always associated the Priesthood with love, strength, trust, and marriage equality.

1. I see my mother kneeling with our family each day.
I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray.
Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears,
And I am thankful love is spoken here.

2. Mine is a home where ev'ry hour is blessed by the strength of priesthood pow'r,
With father and mother leading the way,
Teaching me how to trust and obey;
And the things they teach are crystal clear,
For love is spoken here.

I can often feel the Savior near
When love is spoken here.

Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938

Gospel Message Day 322

Summer of Learning

I read an article today that resonated very well with me. It let me see that they have been lessons I've had to learn again, for they are lessons I need to learn every time I am rejected by a man. I suppose I really liked the way it was put in this article, because I love Les Mis so much. As a teen, I had such sympathies with Eponine, because even then I knew what it was like to be the passed over girl. But that didn't mean I felt that she should have "gotten" Marius. Marius loved somewhere else. (And by the way, neither in the book nor the musical are Marius and Eponine best friends, so I wish people would stop trying to make his not choosing her More "tragic.") I always understood his choosing Cosette, and never begrudged her. I suppose that was a lesson I learned early on. What was the point? But I'd never thought about how some of the things Eponine did were not the way to go about it. So the 6 points the article made were:

1. Don’t play the victim.

2. Your friendship truly isn’t worth it.

3. Forgive in order to forget.

4. Charity is the best medicine.

5. Hope is the key!

6. Let your sadness work for you.

I feel that these points are applicable to any disappointment, sorrow, or trial that we face. Because they make use of the Atonement, help us learn to forgive, teach us to be cheerful, encourage us to serve, and overall lead to us becoming more like our Savior. For if any one knew how to deal with difficulty, disappointment, and sorrow, it was our Redeemer.

Gospel Message Day 321

Parables of the Pottery

With what I experienced last week in my Pottery class, I figured there had to be a Gospel analogy. This was my 3rd time to sit at a pottery wheel, the 2nd time I received some amount of instruction (not much given, mind you). I do know that I love pottery. It is quite soothing to me. I would love to do more of it. I generally go into it with no end result in mind. Just enjoying the feel of the clay and watching what happens from various techniques.

About 5 minutes into my playing with the clay, I achieved a really good product for me and my lack of skill. It was a kind of vase that had a bottom rim (is that what you call it?) and a curved body with a rim on the top. It was quite beautiful. It had one obvious flaw in the top rim. Not awful. It would have been fine that way. A definite sign I'd made it. But still showing off a big accomplishment for me. Part of me wanted to see if I could fix the imperfection, even if I didn't really know how to. But deep down I knew I should just leave it be.

Well, I didn't leave it be. And I not only ended up ruining my beautiful vase, but eventually had messed up the clay so much that I couldn't get anything to come out. (The teacher offered to make me something, so I know it wasn't useless, it was just useless in my hands.) The whole thing was actually a little heart-breaking, because I would have liked something to show for the work I did. Especially as the last time I'd done pottery there (6 years previous), my creation was taken by another family member because I couldn't convey it home. It was never fired, and soon crumbled and cracked before I could take care of it. So now I have nothing to show for 2 different times of attempts. :-(

Now, what is the analogy? I take a few small things from it.

*Once in an Institute class, a student said, "If you don't know how it broke, don't try to fix it." Since I didn't know how I had created the flaw in my pot, of course I had no idea how to fix it. That and lack of skill and experience. Frequently in life we'll reach a point where our knowledge is not enough to know how to fix something, or to know what choice to make or what direction to go. We need the help of someone who does know. And the Savior will always know.

*Sometimes we keep making mistakes or wrongs till we get to a point where we feel we are useless. We have no ability to shape ourselves into anything useful or beautiful. But the Lord can always make something of us no matter how bruised, battered, worn, or used we have been.

*Our bodies have been created by a master builder. We are beautiful pieces of art, but none of us is perfect. We all have a flaw here or there. And yet our value is not diminished. The Lord was pleased with how we were created, and didn't feel He needed to do anything to "fix" us. Because we were just as we should be. So we too should be contented in how we were made. Of course, that doesn't mean that we don't make any improvements on ourselves. A pottery piece could be fired--made stronger and sturdier. The piece could then be painted--give color and variety. It can be used for the purpose it was created and made more useful and valuable because of this.

Gospel Message Day 320

Trust in the Lord

It's late. I'm exhausted. All I can say about today: One lesson to always remember in life, the Lord always has a plan for us, and often it is not what we planned. Though I'm disappointed in my plan not being lived out to what I had hoped for, right now, I feel peace with what I believe the Lord has in mind for me. Now is the biggest part--trusting Him and His plan.

Gospel Message Day 319

Whole Again

I had hoped to do a family musical number in my Sacrament meeting today. But family members all ended up leaving before the meeting would take place. So a couple of weeks ago I knew I would have to do a solo. This was the weekend of Aunt Rhonda's viewing; I would be singing at her funeral the following day. She was much on my thoughts at the time, as well as eternity, eternal life, eternal families, and the Atonement. And this song, as the Spirit often does, was put into my head. For the message was perfect in reminding, teaching, and testifying.

Gospel Message Day 318

Renewal

Some times we need a time away from everything. We need time and means to let ourselves renew mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. And we shouldn't let that need lead us to feel guilty for satisfying it. As long as we don't feed it constantly that it grows to something unreasonable. Today was just such a day for me. I did manage 5 loads of laundry. But other than that, I laid around all day to recuperate from a lot of draining things. Great things, but draining nonetheless. We were talking about this in the last week. That even spiritual things can be draining. Consider how Lehi was after his dream, or Joseph Smith after The First Vision. Such great spiritual experiences took them out physically and they needed a rest. Renewal is a crucial part of life. Which is one reason we have the Sabbath Day--1 day in the week to let ourselves renew from the week.