A Steady Flow of Power

As Elder Bednar discussed the need for Power in the Priesthood this past conference he reiterated principles given earlier by his mentor Elder Packer in a previous conference. My attention was riveted as he discussed once again the difference between authority and power in the priesthood and how we can have one without the other but become a well without water.

My mind was taken to a conversation I had with a good friend, a year earlier on the same topic. He shared an analogy that seemed very fitting to this principle.

A young man moved into a new house with an unfinished yard of weeds and dirt clods. With both willingness and great expectations he immediately set to work digging trenches and laying pipe, installing a sprinkler system intended to water his dry parcel of ground and bring life to a barren plot of soil. Upon completing his well-designed system he tapped into the city’s main water supply and installed a valve to turn the water on and off. He then went to work burying the pipes in the ground including the on/off valve. Content with his efforts he moved on to other projects only to find that his yard remained parched and barren for many seasons. Years later a friend asked him why he had never done anything with his yard. In bitterness he blamed the city for withholding their water and never blessing his yard with the much needed water. He showed his friend how diligent he had been in laying the sprinkler system. His friend asked about his connection to the city’s water system to which he promptly dug up the valve for his friend to inspect. Kindly his friend bent down and turned the valve to ON and life giving water began to course the veins of his long-dormant system.

In similar respects many have been blessed with the authority (piping) to access and use God’s power (living water) to bless their families and others under their stewardship. Sadly, having obtained authority they bury that authority and the valve to access power deep in their hearts through unwillingness to serve or unworthiness. Some grow bitter, others disinterested never seeing the beautiful fruits that come from a consistent stream of priesthood power.

Willingness and Worthiness are the keys to accessing this power. Elder Bednar said, “Ordinary men are given the authority of the priesthood. Worthiness and willingness—not experience, expertise, or education—are the qualifications for priesthood ordination.” And then he shared the lamentations of many sisters who wrote him saying in essence, “Please help my husband understand his responsibility as a priesthood leader in our home. I am happy to take the lead in scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening, and I will continue to do so. But I wish my husband would be an equal partner and provide the strong priesthood leadership only he can give. Please help my husband learn how to become a patriarch and a priesthood leader in our home who presides and protects.” (Bednar, The Powers of Heaven, April 2012 General Conference)

To my brothers in the priesthood. Let us not settle for simply having obtained the authority to act in the name of God, let us be willing and worthy to have the Power of Godliness flow through our lives by actively seeking to do God’s will and becoming a true patriarch in our homes.

Thanks to Clint Nef for the analogy he shared.

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Several years ago I was introduced to an idea through a statement made by a man named John Thompson. This idea serves as a wonderful correlating testimony between the New Testament, the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament regarding the Tree of Life. Let me mention first several connected pieces of the puzzle:

• Nephi saw two fountains in his vision, each on opposite ends of the path. He learned that one of these fountains brought forth living water¹, while the other brought forth filthy water². One brought life, the other brought death and fed the muddy river which represented the depths of hell. He referred to the fountain of living water and tree of life as being synonymous of one another.
• Nephi also described the strait and narrow path³ that his father saw which led between them and the rod of iron which represented the word of God.⁴
•  The word of God (i.e. truth) is also represented several times in scripture as a sword. ⁵
• In the Garden of Eden account God placed Cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way of the Tree of Life.⁶ Note that there was a sword (truth) and way (path) and a tree which gave life. It is important also to note that there was a tree in this garden opposite to that of the Tree of Life, which brought death.⁷ One brought life, the other brought death and fed our carnal, devilish and sensual appetites.
• The Last gem was the statement made by the Savior to Thomas, “I am the Way, The Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”⁸

When we step back from all three to draw the correlation, something wonderful happens… we realize that Jesus is the path toward exaltation. We realize that he is also the Word of God as testified by John.⁹ He is also the Love of God sent to mankind that whosoever should believe in him might have LIFE.¹⁰ He is the path, the rod, and the Tree or fountain which gives life. He is the way, the truth and the life.

The repercussions of this comparison are wonderful when we evaluate what took place in the Garden of Eden. While Adam and Eve DID partake of REAL fruit from a REAL tree, there was a spiritual parallel that took place that relates to every member of God’s family. Drawing upon these comparisons I feel I can safely say that the Tree of Life represented the Truths God taught to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, centering on all of the Doctrines of Christ and his role in the eternities. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil then represented the philosophies of Satan intended to blind us to the consequences of our actions, or teach us to believe and accept that there were no consequences. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of his tree a physical change took place in them making them mortal. But, more importantly, when they gave their allegiance to the philosophies of Satan they found they could no longer stay in God’s presence and were cast out (Just as those who embraced his philosophies in the premortal realm were eventually cast out of his presence). God then placed Cherubim (Angels) and a flaming sword (sanctifying truth) to guard the path that led back to the Doctrines of Christ (Tree of Life). As long as they were unrepentant they had NO ACCESS to it. BUT, they quickly recognized Lucifer for who he was, and repented of their allegiance to his philosophies. It is interesting to note that as soon as they were penitent, God began to send ANGELS bringing TRUTH to minister unto them and teach them line upon line the Doctrines of Christ. ¹¹ That which was previously a GUARD against the Tree of Life, was now serving as a GUIDE to the Source of Life. Repentance and Faith in Christ was the key that changed everything. In the premortal realm, Michael knew the philosophies of Lucifer well and cast him out, but in a veiled state he partook of them. I believe it was at this point that God knew this mortal part of our progression was ready to begin, for if Adam would partake of Satan’s philosophies, then everybody else would as well. Thereafter the test would not be so much who did the best job of avoiding sin, but rather, when recognized who REPENTED of their sin and turned back to God. Repentance and the Healing Power of the Atonement become absolutely CENTRAL to the Garden of Eden experience,¹² and now in a more Cosmic Sense, we are all experiencing our own Garden of Eden. Will we do as our father and mother of old did and turn back toward God, Follow the Way, Hold to the Rod, and Partake of the Love of God? Here is where our agency means everything.

SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES

1.      1 Nephi 11:25 - I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

2.       1 Nephi 12:16 - the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.

3.       1 Nephi 8:20 - And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world.

4.       1 Nephi 15:23-24 - And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree? And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

5.       Ephesians 6:17 - And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God | Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  | DC 6:2 - Behold, I am God; give heed unto my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my words.  | Helaman 3:29 - Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—

6.       Genesis 3:24 - So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

7.       Genesis 2:9, 16 - And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. | 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

8.       John 14:6 - Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

9.       John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

10.   John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

11.   Moses 5:58 - And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.

12.   Moses 5:4-15 -  4 And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.  5 And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.  6 And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me. 7 And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.  8 Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. 9 And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will. 10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. 11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.  12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. 13 And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish. 14 And the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghost everywhere and commanded them that they should repent; 15 And as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore they must be fulfilled.