Saturday, October 10, 2009

Boyd K. Packer "You're Good Enough" post #2


More excerpts from
AN EVENING WITH PRESIDENT BOYD K. PACKER
CONVERSATION WITH TEACHERS

President Boyd K. Packer President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Address to CES Religious Educators • February 29, 2008 • Salt Lake Tabernacle



.....On another occasion...a boy had a terminal illness.... We were dedicating the Indian chapel in Brigham City. President David O. McKay was coming to dedicate it, one of the few times up to then that I had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him.....
We were interrupted after the meeting by the mother of this boy. She said, “My son is dying. We have brought him in a station wagon and carried him to the office. President McKay, will you give him a blessing, please?” She was a tearful mother pleading for her son.
Again I was startled. President McKay said, “My dear sister, if I gave all of the blessings I’m called on to give, I wouldn’t have the strength to perform the duties that only I can do. We’ll have President Lillywhite”—the stake president....”stand in for me in giving the blessing.” And that happened.
And I thought, “The President of the Church, how could that happen?”
In due time, I learned. I learned that every man knows good from evil, and all men can hold the priesthood. That one statement in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants that set that in order in the Church is so marvelous and so powerful (see D&C 1:20). .......

....We go to organize a stake that is newly in the Church organization, and there is nobody there who knows much of anything. Maybe it is in the developing world where they have nothing, compared to what we have, in Africa or some of the other countries.
But we go and organize a stake, and we call a man who is very new in the Church.
I remember installing a stake president who had been in the Church only two years. I did not know anything about him, but I knew he was the man the Lord wanted. Sometimes I would wonder why. ......

......The leaders are always there. We do not worry whether we have leadership there. We take what we get. We know that the priesthood is “the priesthood . . . after the holiest order of God” (D&C 84:18) or “the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God” (D&C 107:3). If they know just enough of the basics—if they know about the premortal existence and about the ordinances and about the power of the priesthood—they will find their way. They make a few mistakes but not many.....

.... This man who had only been in the Church about two years, what happened to him? Within a year or two he was as strong and powerful as the stake president who was born in the Church and had seminary and went on a mission.

......With all of the authority and power, the marvelous thing is that you have it too. That is why President McKay did not think it was really necessary for him to give that blessing. You can give it. You have the priesthood. And you can teach the classes, and you are good enough. You will help redeem the world. You are the troops that we call out now against the challenges that are before us.

....... I certify to you that Jesus is the Christ. I know Him. He presides over this Church. He is no stranger to His servants here. I invoke His blessing upon all of you, all of us who are teachers, and do so invoking that ultimate statement of authority, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment