Couples who bear and share that priesthood

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Afternoon Session of the October 1984 Conference.

I don't know if I love President Nelson's old talks because I love HIM so much now, or if they were always this good! I love recognizing the themes that weave through his words from then to now.

The premise of his talk in this session of Conference was an interesting one:

“Power, if misused, can cut into the very source of that power.”

He elaborates by talking about how positive traits, like the ability to learn and the power to labor, can turn to our detriment if they are not directed toward good. He sounded positively Maxwellian at times:

One can be anxiously engaged in a meaningless cause. Or one can do something wrong a hundred times and call it experience!

 He has a few strong words about abortion and the misuse of love:

The ashes of burned “love” smolder with the smoke of sadness. Yet the embers of evil still burn. But as loud voices argue on, let us remember that those who advocate abortion have already been born! Those who freely deny God with their amoral and agnostic practices will one day find that He may just as freely deny them!

But my favorite part was when he talked about the priesthood power inherent in a strong, covenant marriage:

Rewards result from the righteous use of the spiritual power belonging to the priesthood! And they are so great that they are almost beyond human comprehension. To those couples who bear and share that priesthood worthily and remain faithful to the law of the everlasting covenant of eternal marriage, enduring the congested years and trials of diapers and dishes, crowded kitchen and thin pocketbook, service in the Church, education and the burning of the midnight oil, the Lord makes this promise: “Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; … and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, … [and there] shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” 

He really couldn't be more clear: as couples, we "bear and share" the priesthood of God! I love that way of saying it. The sealer at a wedding I went to recently made a similar point. He challenged us to make a study of the priesthood and how it is exercised by both man and woman in marriage, and President Nelson's words here seem like a good place to start! I also like the vivid picture evoked by "the congested years of diapers and dishes, crowded kitchen and thin pocketbook." President Nelson always seems so calm and peaceful and unruffled now, I sometimes forget that he endured those years—these years, for me—too, and plenty of them! He knows how it feels. "Congested" is a good description of just how…well…crowded life feels sometimes. So many people. So many worries. So many logistics to keep track of, and not enough mental or physical space to feel that you will ever be calm and peaceful and unruffled again!

But to put all this "congestion" context of how we as couples can share the load—through the priesthood POWER we have been endowed with in the temple—seems really meaningful to me. It tells me that it's NOT impossible to navigate the chaos. That, in fact, we can be granted the power of God with which to do it! And it is our faithfulness to our temple covenants (individual and shared) which releases this power upon us. That is very motivating doctrine!