Rasband - Behold! A Royal Army - April 2018

Elder Rasband is assigned to speak about the announced changes to the Melchizedek Priesthood organization in wards.  He starts by saying that the changes are the will of the Lord and are made after seeking the will of the Lord on this matter.

• As stated by President Nelson, this is a matter that has been prayerfully discussed and considered by the senior Brethren of the Church for a long time. The desire was to seek the Lord’s will and strengthen the quorums of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

He speaks about seeing many different organizations in the church as he has visited many parts of the world.  All these different organizations are brought together to bless the children of God.

• Everywhere we have gone, we have witnessed the hand of the Lord going before His servants, preparing the people and the way ahead so that all His children might be blessed according to their every need.

The changes are made to bring harmony and unity to the priesthood quorums.  This unity will allow the bishop to focus on his main calling of looking after the young men and women of his ward.

• These adjustments will help elders quorums and Relief Societies harmonize their work. They will also simplify the quorum’s coordination with the bishopric and ward council. And they allow the bishop to delegate more responsibilities to the elders quorum and Relief Society presidents so that the bishop and his counselors can focus on their primary duties—particularly presiding over the young women and the young men who bear the Aaronic Priesthood.

He speaks directly to the High Priests of the church.

• Now, a few words to you brethren who are high priests—know that we love you! Our Father in Heaven loves you! You are a great part of the royal army of the priesthood, and we cannot move this work forward without your goodness, service, experience, and righteousness.
• What a joy it will be for all Melchizedek Priesthood holders to have the blessing of teaching, learning, and serving shoulder to shoulder with all the members in their ward.

He encourages us to seek the confirmation of the Spirit that these changes are the Lord's will for His church.  He encourages us to accept these changes and be part of what the vision is.

• Wherever you are and whatever your circumstances may be, we invite you prayerfully, faithfully, and joyfully to accept new opportunities to lead or to be led and to serve unitedly as a body of priesthood brethren.

He concludes with encouragement to live righteously and to improve our lives so the blessings of the Lord can be upon us.

• I remind you: priesthood authority comes by way of setting apart and ordination, but real priesthood power, the power to act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, can come only through righteous living.
• Let us each use this opportunity to reflect and improve our lives to better align with His will so that we may deserve the many blessings He has promised to the true and faithful.

Elder Rasband seeks to clarify the wonderful blessings that are going to come about by having one united quorum in each ward.  It is exciting to see the changes that are being made to bring about a higher level of work for the Lord.  At several points in the talk he refers to the ministering efforts that are needed and that these changes will help us connect more with each other and unite us in our efforts to reach out to others.  I am grateful for these changes as I have been able to council with man with more experience and understanding than I have and I have been able to encourage more activity with those that might have been less involved.