I have been very blessed to have always had the priesthood in my home. When I was growing up, Dad was always able to give me blessings when I needed one - if I was sick, if I was nervous about an upcoming event, anything that I needed comfort for, he would give me a blessing. I remember every year, the night before school started, we would all gather in the living room and dad would give us our "back to school" blessings. Now that I'm married, my husband does the same with my kids. There is just such a feeling of comfort and security knowing that the power of the priesthood is available whenever we may need it.
I learned today that everyone that has the power and authority of the priesthood was called and ordained in the pre-existence.
And this is the manner after which they were ordained - being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; (Alma 13:3)
This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things-(Alma 13:7)
However, not everyone that was foreordained to the priesthood will receive it in this life. Because we all have our free agency, and have had it since our premortal existence, there will be some who do not live in such a way as to be worthy to hold the priesthood.
And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hears and blindness of their minds, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren.
Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; (Alma 13:4-5)
How grateful I am that my dad and my husband have chosen to accept the Spirit of God and to honor their priesthood. There are countless ways that my life has been blessed because of their righteousness. I was given a name and a blessing as an infant by my father, I was baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost through my father. All of my children have been blessed and baptized by their father. Because these two men made the decision to live in such a way a to be worthy to hold the priesthood, they have blessed an innumerable amount of lives - not only their immediate families, but the generations that will come after them. I cannot adequately express my gratitude and love for their willingness to freely share this gift. I love them both so much!
Who is that old bald guy?
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