Eyring - Learning in the Priesthood - April 2011

President Eyring speaks of examples from his life of how his life has been effected by great men who learned their priesthood responsibilities.  His purpose is to us discover some of those great things so we can become better quorum members and disciples of Jesus Christ.

• While I was still a deacon, my family moved to Utah. There I found three wonderful things in place to speed my growth in the priesthood. The first was a president who knew how to sit in council with the members of his quorum. The second was great faith in Jesus Christ that led to the great love we have heard of—love for each other. And the third was a shared conviction that our overarching priesthood purpose was to labor for the salvation of men.
• My purpose in speaking of these three aids to growing in the priesthood is to urge you to value them and to use them. If you do, your service will be transformed for the better. And if it is magnified, your priesthood service will bless Heavenly Father’s children more than you can now imagine is possible.

A president who knew how to sit in council with the members of his quorum.

• I found the first when I was welcomed into a priests quorum, with the bishop as our president. That may seem a small, unremarkable thing to you, but it gave me a sense of power in the priesthood that  has changed my service in the priesthood ever since. It began by the way he led us. As near as I could tell, he treated the opinions of young priests as if we were the wisest men in the world. He waited until all who would speak had spoken. He listened. And when he decided what should be done, it seemed to me that the Spirit confirmed the decisions to us and to him.

Great faith in Jesus Christ that led to the great love we have heard of—love for each other.

• The second key to increased learning is to have love for each other that comes from great faith. I am not sure which comes first, but both always seem to be there whenever there is great and rapid learning in the priesthood.

He shares that revelation is required for us to have a testimony of the Savior.  That revelation comes through the Holy Ghost and confirms truth to our minds and hearts.

• Revelation is the only way we can come to know that Jesus is the Christ. That great faith is the first rung on the ladder we climb to learn the principles of the gospel.

To have that revelation, love is an essential element.

• Love invites the Holy Ghost to be present to confirm truth. And the joy of learning divine truths creates love in the hearts of people who shared the experience of learning.

He also points out that peacemakers are necessary to find true unity in the a quorum.  This quote inspires me to be a better person and step up to be a peacemaker in my quorum.

• The priesthood holders who learn well together always seem to me to have great peacemakers among them. You see peacemaking in priesthood classes and in councils. It is the gift to help people find common ground when others are seeing differences. It is the peacemaker’s gift to help people see that what someone else said was a contribution rather than a correction.
• With enough of the pure love of Christ and a desire to be peacemakers, unity is possible in priesthood councils and in classes. It takes patience and humility, but I have seen it happen even when issues are difficult and the people in councils or classes come from vastly different backgrounds.

A shared conviction that our overarching priesthood purpose was to labor for the salvation of men.

• The third aid to learning in the priesthood comes with a shared conviction about why the Lord blesses and trusts us to hold and to exercise His priesthood. It is to labor for the salvation of men.
• In the priesthood we share the sacred duty to labor for the souls of men. We must do more than learn that this is our duty. It must go down into our hearts so deeply that neither the many demands on our efforts in the bloom of life nor the trials that come with age can turn us from that purpose.

President Eyring shares that we do not need formal education to be an effective servant of the Lord.  We do not need an education to service in the church.  What we need is a willing heart and to be educated in what he calls His priesthood school

• You may have thought at one time how much better your life would have been if only you had been admitted to study in some fine school. I pray that you will see the greatness of God’s love for you and of the opportunity He has given you to enter His priesthood school.

He concludes with encouragement for all of us.

• If you will be diligent and obedient in the priesthood, treasures of spiritual knowledge will be poured out upon you. You will grow in your power to resist evil and to proclaim the truth that leads to salvation. You will find joy in the happiness of those you lead toward exaltation. Your family will become a place of learning.

I am grateful for President Eyring's willingness to share examples from his life about how an effective quorum should be organized.  I have spent a lot of time thinking about this lately and how we bring a brotherhood to our quorum instead of a feeling of isolation.  I have found that it takes consistent effort to treat others with respect.  That respect turns into caring for one another in the Lord's way.  I am grateful for men who have taught President Eyring how to serve in his priesthood responsibilities and in turn, he can teach me to be a better disciple of Christ.