Relief Society Lesson - Priesthood Power

The Power of the Priesthood
President Boyd K. Packer
April 2010 General Conference

John the Baptist confers the Aaronic priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829

Peter, James, and John confer the Melchizedek priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

Priesthood is the authority and the power which God has granted to men on earth to act for Him.

When priesthood authority is exercised properly, priesthood bearers do what He would do if He were present.

Authority in the priesthood comes by way of ordination.

Power in the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants. It is increased by exercising and using the priesthood in righteousness.

President Joseph F. Smith made this statement about the priesthood in the home: “In the home the presiding authority is always vested in the father, and in all home affairs and family matters there is no other authority paramount. To illustrate this principle, a single incident will perhaps suffice. It sometimes happens that the elders are called in to administer to the members of a family. Among these elders there may be presidents of stakes, apostles, or even members of the first presidency of the Church. It is not proper under these circumstances for the father to stand back and expect the elders to direct the administration of this important ordinance. The father is there. It is his right and it is his duty to preside. He should select the one who is to administer the oil, and the one who is to be mouth in prayer, and he should not feel that because there are present presiding authorities in the Church that he is therefore divested of his rights to direct the administration of that blessing of the gospel in his home. (If the father be absent, the mother should request the presiding authority present to take charge.) The father presides at the table, at prayer, and gives general directions relating to his family life whoever may be present.”

While parents are equal partners in the home, it is the father’s responsibility to be the patriarch, or head of the house. If the father is not present, the mother presides no matter how old the sons are or what priesthood they may hold. -Family Home Evening Resource book, lesson 20

Healing the Sick
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
April 2010 General Conference

There are five parts to the use of priesthood authority to bless the sick:

(1) The anointing

(2)Sealing of the anointing

(3) Faith

(4) Words of the blessing

(5) The will of the Lord

We must always remember that faith and the healing power of the priesthood cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him whose priesthood it is.