Priesthood Power
In the church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints when a young man turns 12 years old he has the opportunity, if worthy & desired, to be ordained to the office of a Deacon in the Aaronic Preisthood. This allows him to begin, in small ways, to be a representative of Christ as he fulfills duties in the church that allow him to serve others and help them to come unto Christ. The most obvious service they preform is to pass the Sacrament to the congregation during Sacrament meeting.
As John was approaching his 12th birthday Paul & I chatted often about what to do...do we let him be ordained to the Priesthood? Does he even want the Priesthood? Does he have the ability to comprehend what being ordained to the office of a Deacon in the Priesthood really means?
The conclusion that we came to was, yes, let him be ordained to the Priesthood... at some point. We did not feel any pressing need that just because he turned 12 he be ordained.
As his 12th birthday was approaching the Bishop of our ward wanted to meet with us to discuss John and what we wanted to do with regards to him being ordained to the Priesthood. We counseled, we shared and as a group of three decided that if John had a desire & was worthy to receive the Aaronic Priesthood there was no reason why he couldn't or shouldn't. And that eventually, with help from one of the other boys, he could even pass the Sacrament.
So after an interview with the Bishop he was ordained to the office of a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood about a month after his 12th birthday. Those kind Young Men leaders, did not waste any time in providing him with the opportunity to pass the Sacrament. After a couple of weeks of teaching and showing him the logistics of passing the Sacrament, he was given the opportunity.
I was nervous for him...could he sit still up in the front of the chapel with the other boys? Would he leave his tie alone? Would he be able to carry the trays without spilling? Would he have a meltdown right there in front of everyone in the chapel while the Sacrament was being passed? What would others think?
To my delight & relief, my nervousness & worries were for naught. With the help of Evan Esplin, he was able to successfully pass the Sacrament!! Evan walked beside him, kindly gesturing to him when to give the tray to a row and when to pick up the tray at the end of the row. It was one of the sweetest most Christlike things I have ever witnessed!
Apparently I was not the only one in the congregation that noticed this Christlike act. Many people commented to me after at how touching it was to see John be able to pass the Sacrament due to the help of Evan!
The "Priesthood" is Christ's power here on the earth given to us, to bless our lives and provide us with the saving ordinances necessary to return to live with Heavenly Father. The power of the Priesthood is available to all God's children as they make covenants and live righteously and with each covenant made that power increases.
I don't think I fully understood just how this worked until John was ordained a Deacon and began honoring that priesthood office (which comes with a covenant of sorts) by passing the Sacrament. Let me attempt to explain...John's 5th grade year in school was a rough one. The choice we made for his class assignment was not a good one. He was exposed to foul language, disrespectful behavior & out right naughtiness. Think putting a small child in front of an R rated movie for 6+ hours a day. Without having the cognitive discernment of a typical child, he did not fully understand that what he was seeing, hearing, and experiencing was inappropriate. Thus he was learning that if you get upset you say those words, and if you don't want to do your school work, you act that way. My innocent little boy was being corrupted and we had a nightmare on our hands at home because those learned behaviors had trickling their way into how he acted at home too.
Around this time, on one particularly difficult day I stood there through tears in my eyes and looked at John while the spirit said to me, Protect Him! Keep Him Safe!
We trudged through the school year, struggling, scratching our heads and pleading with the Lord as to what to do? How to help John learn & understand what was appropriate? To my surprise I began to notice a change within a few weeks after John received the Priesthood. He seemed to be making strides in improving in his behavior and coping skills. It took several more weeks before I made the correlation that as he helped each week to pass the Sacrament he was getting the strength to ward off the evil influences that he was surrounded by. The best way I can explain what I was witnessing was that each week when he used the Priesthood Authority he had been given to bless the lives of others, it was as if a piece of the Armor of God was being put on him, and that as each week passed that Armor was made stronger and stronger.
I had no idea I would learn so much about Christlike ministering or the power of the Priesthood when we decided that John could and should be ordained a Deacon...but my heart is forever changed because we did!
As John was approaching his 12th birthday Paul & I chatted often about what to do...do we let him be ordained to the Priesthood? Does he even want the Priesthood? Does he have the ability to comprehend what being ordained to the office of a Deacon in the Priesthood really means?
The conclusion that we came to was, yes, let him be ordained to the Priesthood... at some point. We did not feel any pressing need that just because he turned 12 he be ordained.
As his 12th birthday was approaching the Bishop of our ward wanted to meet with us to discuss John and what we wanted to do with regards to him being ordained to the Priesthood. We counseled, we shared and as a group of three decided that if John had a desire & was worthy to receive the Aaronic Priesthood there was no reason why he couldn't or shouldn't. And that eventually, with help from one of the other boys, he could even pass the Sacrament.
So after an interview with the Bishop he was ordained to the office of a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood about a month after his 12th birthday. Those kind Young Men leaders, did not waste any time in providing him with the opportunity to pass the Sacrament. After a couple of weeks of teaching and showing him the logistics of passing the Sacrament, he was given the opportunity.
I was nervous for him...could he sit still up in the front of the chapel with the other boys? Would he leave his tie alone? Would he be able to carry the trays without spilling? Would he have a meltdown right there in front of everyone in the chapel while the Sacrament was being passed? What would others think?
To my delight & relief, my nervousness & worries were for naught. With the help of Evan Esplin, he was able to successfully pass the Sacrament!! Evan walked beside him, kindly gesturing to him when to give the tray to a row and when to pick up the tray at the end of the row. It was one of the sweetest most Christlike things I have ever witnessed!
Apparently I was not the only one in the congregation that noticed this Christlike act. Many people commented to me after at how touching it was to see John be able to pass the Sacrament due to the help of Evan!
The "Priesthood" is Christ's power here on the earth given to us, to bless our lives and provide us with the saving ordinances necessary to return to live with Heavenly Father. The power of the Priesthood is available to all God's children as they make covenants and live righteously and with each covenant made that power increases.
I don't think I fully understood just how this worked until John was ordained a Deacon and began honoring that priesthood office (which comes with a covenant of sorts) by passing the Sacrament. Let me attempt to explain...John's 5th grade year in school was a rough one. The choice we made for his class assignment was not a good one. He was exposed to foul language, disrespectful behavior & out right naughtiness. Think putting a small child in front of an R rated movie for 6+ hours a day. Without having the cognitive discernment of a typical child, he did not fully understand that what he was seeing, hearing, and experiencing was inappropriate. Thus he was learning that if you get upset you say those words, and if you don't want to do your school work, you act that way. My innocent little boy was being corrupted and we had a nightmare on our hands at home because those learned behaviors had trickling their way into how he acted at home too.
Around this time, on one particularly difficult day I stood there through tears in my eyes and looked at John while the spirit said to me, Protect Him! Keep Him Safe!
We trudged through the school year, struggling, scratching our heads and pleading with the Lord as to what to do? How to help John learn & understand what was appropriate? To my surprise I began to notice a change within a few weeks after John received the Priesthood. He seemed to be making strides in improving in his behavior and coping skills. It took several more weeks before I made the correlation that as he helped each week to pass the Sacrament he was getting the strength to ward off the evil influences that he was surrounded by. The best way I can explain what I was witnessing was that each week when he used the Priesthood Authority he had been given to bless the lives of others, it was as if a piece of the Armor of God was being put on him, and that as each week passed that Armor was made stronger and stronger.
I had no idea I would learn so much about Christlike ministering or the power of the Priesthood when we decided that John could and should be ordained a Deacon...but my heart is forever changed because we did!
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