Nelson -Ministering with the Power and Authority of God - April 2018

President Nelson addresses the men of the church during the Priesthood session of conference.  After announcing in this session that the Elders Quorum will be reorganized and several talks about our priesthood duties, President Nelson talks about our need to minister to others in our church responsibilities.  He begins by talking about the blessing is it to have the priesthood of God today on the earth.

• It is a remarkable blessing to serve in the Lord’s true and living Church with His authority and power. The restoration of the priesthood of God, including the keys of the priesthood, opens to worthy Latter-day Saints the greatest of all spiritual blessings.
  

He spends a few minutes talking about how we need to understand the power of the priesthood that we hold.  He tells us that far to many of us are not fully grasping the power of the priesthood and are missing out of the opportunities to bless God's children because of selfishness.

• Too many of our brothers and sisters do not fully understand the concept of priesthood power and authority. They act as though they would rather satisfy their own selfish desires and appetites than use the power of God to bless His children.
  
• I fear that too many of our brothers and sisters do not grasp the privileges that could be theirs. Some of our brethren, for example, act like they do not understand what the priesthood is and what it enables them to do.
  
• Brethren, we hold the holy priesthood of God! We have His authority to bless His people. Just think of the remarkable assurance the Lord gave us when He said, “Whomsoever you bless I will bless.” It is our privilege to act in the name of Jesus Christ to bless God’s children according to His will for them. Stake presidents and bishops, please ensure that every member of the quorums within your stewardship understands how to give a priesthood blessing—including the personal worthiness and spiritual preparation required to call fully upon the power of God.
  

He shares several examples from his life about people that have been blessed by the power of the priesthood.  We have an obligation to be better priesthood bearers and live lives more worthy of the Holy Ghost.

• We can help all to see with the eye of faith that obedience and righteousness will draw them closer to Jesus Christ, allow them to enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost, and experience joy in life!

He discusses that we have great work to do.  Not only are we needed to bless the children of God, but we are needed to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ.  This is our work, to partner with God to bless His children.  We all need to rise up to this sacred responsibility.

• Brethren, there are doors we can open, priesthood blessings we can give, hearts we can heal, burdens we can lift, testimonies we can strengthen, lives we can save, and joy we can bring into the homes of the Latter-day Saints—all because we hold the priesthood of God. We are the men who have been “called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of [our] exceeding faith,” to do this work.

At the end of his message, we invited all men from each priesthood quorum to rise and stand as he announced their priesthood quorum.  What a powerful observation as you watch each group rise.  He then invited all men to sing "Rise Up O Men of God" to conclude the meeting.  Truly this message was the summary of what President Nelson was trying to teach.  We need to rise up to our priesthood responsibilities.  We need to hold ourselves more accountable to living the gospel.  We need to learn our duties and act in the offices we have been appointed.  We need to better men so we can assist God in blessing His children.  I feel inspired to try harder after reading this talk and feel I will refer back to it many times in the future to assess if I am on the track I should be on.