The Power and Blessings of the Priesthood

It is a high privilege to greet you, my brethren of the Priesthood of our Lord. It is a very humbling thought to realize that I stand in the presence of this great congregation in the Tabernacle, and that my words are heard by the vast numbers gathered in the meeting places mentioned by President McKay. The power and the influence and the potentialities of this vast group of men overwhelm me. I think of what they have accomplished, and what they are still to accomplish in the advancement of our Father's Kingdom in this world. ¶

I rejoice tonight in the brotherhood of the Holy Priesthood, in the regard and the love which we hold for each other, in our common purpose, and our mutual understanding. I love my brethren. I think I understand them. I never feel strange in their presence. We speak the same language. We are dominated by the same spirit, and I am sure that there is a bond uniting the brethren of the priesthood that transcends any earthly ties among men, and if the peoples of this world could only understand the bond that binds us together, they would begin to comprehend what is meant by the brotherhood of man. ¶

So I rejoice, my brethren, in association with you. I am grateful to be united with you in giving our service to this greatest of all the causes in this world. I am grateful, as are you, for this remarkable power that God has given to us, this authentic endowment of his own divine authority to administer the ordinances of the Holy Gospel, to bless our fellowmen, and to bless our families and ourselves. ¶

I look upon the priesthood as an investiture of power and wisdom which can come in equal measure from no other source of which I am aware. A man of the priesthood, as I understand it, is entitled to the inspiration of God in presiding over his family. If he is called to office, he is entitled to inspiration to guide him in the administration of his office. If he is called to go out into the mission field,—we have received notable examples of such calls tonight, he is entitled to receive the great inspiration that the Lord gives to men in the performance of their duty. If he is called on to bless the sick, he has the divine power to bestow the blessings that come of the Lord. If he is called on to ordain his fellowmen, he has the authentic authority to give to them the Holy Priesthood and the offices therein. All of these blessings, which almost defy in their magnitude our finite conception, belong to and are a part of the Holy Priesthood which we bear. We are entitled to exercise them, these high privileges, and bestow these blessings, if we live to be worthy of the spirit and power of the priesthood, keeping all the commandments, as President Clark has so well said,—not a few, but all the commandments,—in order that we may be true vessels of the Lord into which his Holy Spirit may be poured, and out of which that Spirit may come to those to whom we minister. ¶

I pray, my brethren, that we may appreciate this wonderful gift that has come to us, and show by our lives that we are grateful to our Lord for it. I look upon the priesthood as an instrumentality of service. I am sure that it was not bestowed upon any of us merely for his own aggrandizement, but it was given to men to use for the blessing of themselves, their families, and their fellowmen, and the more it is used the more potent it becomes within the servant of the Lord who ministers under the power of the Holy Priesthood. ¶

We are told very definitely in that great section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which I often characterize as the Constitution of the priesthood, that one cannot minister in any degree of unrighteousness, for if he do so, amen to the priesthood of that man. His effort, his labors, his ministry will not be efficacious. He must have the background of righteousness to make him able, capable, of administering the powers of the Holy Priesthood. ¶

I cannot forbear to read to you those well-known verses of the conclusion of the 121st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants which express in such beautiful language, I sometimes think the most beautiful to be found in all literature, the spirit of the priesthood as it has come to us with the fulness of the everlasting Gospel. ¶

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. ¶

"The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever." (D. & C. 121:45-46.) ¶

Where could we expect to secure a more encouraging and hopeful promise than in those words of latter-day scripture? I pray that we may live to be the beneficiaries of that incomparable pronouncement. ¶

Now, my brethren, if I have any duty to counsel, I would like to say just a word, looking toward the future that may await us, a word that has oft been repeated in assemblies of this kind. I am sure that it is wise to look to the future. I am sure that in our affairs we would do well to provide for such safeguards in our finances, in our business expansions, as to meet a day that may not be quite so propitious as recent times have been. I hope that my brethren will not have to pass through some of the experiences I have seen passed through before, and I believe that with caution and wisdom they can avoid some of those tragedies that have come in times past. ¶

I have always believed, my brethren, that gambling is not legitimate business. I have always believed that legitimate business contemplates a fair exchange of services for services or property, or property for property, in which exchange both parties benefit. I have always believed that any attempts to get something for nothing, to take undue chances, is not only attended with demoralization of business integrity, but often with great tragedy. In my experience of half a century I have seen many of those tragedies. And so, out of my regard for you I warn you against unwise expansion, and incurrence of debt, but to keep as well as you may within safe grounds, that the circumstances of the future may not rise to plague you and embarrass you, and I believe that the Lord would have you do this because I believe he wants you free—free from the bondage of onerous and embarrassing debts, free from obligations to creditors that might impair your service in his great Cause. ¶

I believe he wants you free to perform his work, to respond to the calls that he makes of you, and I have seen altogether too many in a position of finding it difficult to respond to such calls when they are under the bondage of debt. ¶

The Lord bless you that wisdom may come with your priesthood,—a superior wisdom,—and a discernment which the Spirit of the Lord gives to you. May all be well with you. You have done a great work for the Church, and I know you stand ready to continue that great service, and I know that no greater happiness can come into your lives than the satisfaction which follows from sincere, devoted, helpful service in the Cause of our Lord. ¶

May that unity which President Clark pleads for prevail among us, that the bonds of brotherhood may be strengthened even as the years go by. The Lord bless us that that brotherhood may be brought to the support of our beloved President who represents all of us in his great administration of this work and its extension throughout this world, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶