1
Nephi 18: 20
Power
of God
What
20 And
there was nothing save it were the power of God, which threatened
them with destruction, could soften their a hearts;
wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in
the
depths
of the sea they repented of the thing which they had done, insomuch
that they loosed me.
Why
Laman
and Lemuel were hardhearted, rebellious, stiffnecked and wicked.
They were intent on following the destroyer.
he
followers of their family had been praying and pleading with the Lord
that Nephi would be loosed from the bands. The storm came as an
answer to accomplish this because the brothers refused to choose to
back down on their violent actions and intent. The brothers would
only repent of their actions through fear of destruction.
The
power of God
President
Brigham Young defined the priesthood as “a perfect system of
government, of laws and ordinances,” that “can deliver the
human family from
all the evils which now afflict its members.” Active in both time
and eternity, the priesthood is “the law … which brings worlds
into existence and peoples them” and “by which we can be prepared
to … go into the presence of our Father and God” (Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997],
125–26).
Moroni 10:7
7
And ye may know that he is, by the power of
the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not
the power of God;
for he worketh by power,
according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and
tomorrow, and forever.
Zeck1:4Z1:4
Zech.
1:4 Be ye not as your fathers,
unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith
the Lordof hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your
evil doings: but they did not
hear,
nor hearken unto
me, saith the Lord.
1
Sam. 6:6
1 Sam.
6:6
6
Wherefore then do ye harden your
hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their
hearts? when he had wrought wonderfully among them, did they not let
the people go, and they departed?
Christ
Luke 22:69
69
Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of
the power ofGod.
Luke 9:43
43
¶And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God.
But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he
said unto his disciples,
Matthew 9:8
8
But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God,
which had given such power unto
men.
22
Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God;
angels and authorities and powers being
made subject unto him.
Conference
4/16 Kent F. Richards
The
Power of Godliness
Our
responsibility is to “receive” that which our Father
offers.4 “For
unto him that receiveth it shall be given more abundantly, even
power”:5 power
to receive all that
He can and will give us—now and eternally;6 power
to become sons and daughters of God,7 to
know “the powers of heaven,”8 to
speak in His name,9 and
to receive “the power of [His] Spirit.”10 These
powers become available personally to each one of us through the
ordinances and the covenants of the temple.
Nephi
saw our day in his great vision: “I, Nephi, beheld the power of
the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of
the Lamb, and upon the covenant
people of
the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they
were armed
with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”11
4/16
Russel M. NelsonThe Price of Priesthood Power
How else can we increase our power in the priesthood? We need to pray from our hearts. Polite recitations of past and upcoming activities, punctuated with some requests for blessings, cannot constitute the kind of communing with God that brings enduring power. Are you willing to pray to know how to pray for more power? The Lord will teach you.
Are
you willing to search the scriptures and feast on the words of
Christ 13—to
study earnestly in
order to have more power? If you want to see your wife’s heart
melt, let her find you on the Internet studying the doctrine of
Christ 14 or
reading your scriptures!
Are
you willing to worship in the temple regularly? The Lord loves to do
His own teaching in His holy house. Imagine how pleased He would be
if you asked Him to teach you about priesthood keys, authority, and
power as you experience the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood
in the holy temple.15 Imagine
the increase in priesthood power that could be yours.
Apply
Power
comes through God. He is always mindful of us and our needs. He
loves us and if we pray in faith and worthiness, He will grant our
righteous desires.
We
can be grateful for the power of God in our lives that rescue us from
destruction. He is there, He hears us and will answer our prayers.
Many times we have to endure the storms of life but with our faith
and trust in Him the storms will end and we will one day be with Him
again. Life is full of opposition and though it is hard to
understand and be patient we will see the light at the end of the
tunnel that will guide us through. The test is how we will act.
Will we act or react? We can ask what the Lord would have us do in
our particular circumstances. Then follow the promptings, the modern
day prophets and the scriptures.
Hymns-
20-God
of Power, God of Right
Alma
26: 35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto
you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as
we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even
unto boasting in my God; for he has all a power, ball wisdom,
and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is
a c merciful Being,
even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his
name.
Children-
89-The
Priesthood Is Restored
No comments:
Post a Comment