With Great Power...

Now that I've given my lesson, I should blog about more General Conference talks. In Elder Oaks' talk, The Powers of the Priesthood, he seemed to carry a common theme throughout much of his talk: "The Melchizedek Priesthood is not a status or a label." The Priesthood isn't something a person holds in order to benefit or elevate themselves. The Priesthood isn't a badge of honor used to show off how righteous or worthy a person is. Rather, it is a tool for helping others. And with this tool comes a responsibility to help others. Historically, many men have used various forms of power to get others to serve them, but the best men have used what power they have to improve the lives of others, as holders of the Priesthood should. Priesthood holders have not just the ability but the responsibility to bless others. To do anything else with the Priesthood is practically priestcraft. Priesthood callings and offices and the Priesthood itself are not given to men so that others will serve them. Quite the opposite, men are given those things in order to give them the power and the opportunities to serve.