A Delegated Portion of Eternal Authority

Here is one more stream of thought from the October 2008 General Conference. Elder Richard G. Scott asked priesthood holders to consider the following questions:

Are your private, personal thoughts conducive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or would they benefit from a thorough housecleaning?

Do you nourish your mind with elevating material, or have you succumbed to the enticement of pornographic literature or Web sites?

Do you scrupulously avoid the use of stimulants and substances that conflict with the intent of the Word of Wisdom, or have you made some personally rationalized exceptions?

Are you most careful to control what enters your mind through your eyes and ears to ensure that it is wholesome and elevating?

If you are divorced, do you provide for the real financial need of the children you have fathered, not just the minimum legal requirement?

If you are married, are you faithful to your wife mentally as well as physically?

Are you loyal to your marriage covenants by never engaging in conversation with another woman that you wouldn’t want your wife to overhear?

Are you kind and supportive of your own wife and children?

Do you assist your wife by doing some of the household chores?

Do you lead out in family activities such as scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening, or does your wife fill in the gap your lack of attention leaves in the home?

Do you tell her you love her?

He also taught the following about the priesthood in the same talk, “The priesthood is the authority to act in the name of God. That authority is essential to the fulfillment of His work on earth. The priesthood we hold is a delegated portion of the eternal authority of God. As we are true and faithful, our ordination to the priesthood will be eternal.

However, the conferring of authority alone does not of itself bestow the power of the office. The extent to which we can exercise the power of the priesthood depends upon personal worthiness, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and obedience to His commandments. When supported by a secure foundation of gospel knowledge, our capacity to worthily use the priesthood is greatly enhanced."