The Priesthood and the Home

I think perhaps the greatest contribution that I could hope to make to this conference would be in the brevity of my remarks, and I hope that I may be able, in a few minutes, to make a few suggestions which may be of some worth. ¶

The Priesthood and the Home Outstanding Essentials

If I were asked what thing I regard as being most essential to the progress of the Church and the well-being of its members, I think that I would answer by mentioning two things: First, the Priesthood, and then the home. I have long felt that these two great institutions lie at the very basis of our work and its advancement. ¶

The Priesthood an Agency of Service to Mankind

We have during the past three months been holding Priesthood conventions in connection with the quarterly conferences of the Church. I have been delighted to see the emphasis placed upon this work, and I am hopeful that it may result in a higher and keener appreciation for the great power which comes from God and which is so liberally bestowed upon the men and the boys of our Church. I have construed that power and interpreted it largely in terms of service. I don't believe that the Priesthood has been bestowed upon men merely for their own aggrandizement. I look upon this power as an agency for service to mankind. I have characterized it as the perfect plan of service. I believe that it will not greatly profit any man to hold the power of the Priesthood unless he uses that power for the benefit of his fellows. Indeed, I have come to think that the holding of the power may conduce to his condemnation rather than his exaltation, if he is indifferent to it and fails to utilize it for the advancement of God's work. So I think that no more worthy enterprise can be fostered and carried forward by our presiding officers in the Church than to give to our boys and men, and indeed to the whole membership of the Church, a better comprehension, a higher regard, for the holy power which God in his goodness has given to us. ¶

Priesthood to Be Used in the Administration of Home

This power is to be used, not alone in presiding over the organizations of the Church, and not alone in the administration of the sacred ordinances of the gospel; it is to be used in the administration of our homes. Every man who bears it ought by possession of the power to be a better husband and father. By virtue of the power he is entitled to be regarded with respect and deference, and I most heartily commend the teaching of our children to respect and regard the power of the Priesthood, presiding over the home, as a basis for the inculcation of the great virtue of reverence which was stressed in this building last evening. There ought to be a difference between homes presided over by the power of the Priesthood and those homes which are not. Men who bear the Priesthood ought to be better neighbors; they ought to be better citizens, indeed in every way they ought to be superior men. If there is no distinction between the men who have received this holy power and those who have not, then I think we may well look to ourselves to find our deficiencies. The very holding of this power charges every man who is blessed with it to live more nearly a godlike life, for he holds a portion of Godhood itself. I commend to my brethren and sisters the emphasis of this power with the young boys who have recently received it. It should be taught to them that because these powers are widely distributed they are not cheap. ¶

No Organization a Substitute for Home

I said the second great institution I would stress is that of the home. I am well aware that this institution receives very considerable attention at our hands, and that few meetings pass in which it does not have mention. My suggestion is that we so concentrate our study, our attention and our effort upon this institution that we make it more effective than it has been in giving the virtues of true righteousness and purity of life to our children. I am very sympathetic with the attention and emphasis placed upon our auxiliary associations, but I am thoroughly persuaded that not any one of these organizations, or all put together, can be substituted for our homes in the culture of manhood and womanhood. The homes are the very nurseries from which spring the most worthy products of the Church, the State and the Nation. They need more direct attention, and parents, by virtue of their very parenthood, are charged with a responsibility second to no other responsibility ever coming to them in their lives, the responsibility to return in purity the lives entrusted to their care. God grant that we may so safeguard this sacred and immortal institution, that it may achieve its great mission in the lives of men and of women, and God grant that, with the Priesthood, these two fundamental institutions may bring into the lives of Latter-day Saints a great appreciation for the blessings of the gospel and a determination and resolution to keep the commandments which he has given to his children, I ask humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶