The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 84, often times referred to the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. All Melchizedek are, or should be, familiar with this section. This section is the source material for the prospective elders course taught in the church and it maps out what every man promises by taking on them the responsibility of the Melchizedek Priesthood.

The first thing that is promised is that you first obtain the Priesthood and that you magnify your calling as a Priesthood holder. The good thing about magnifying your priesthood is that it is really easy to do. All you have to do is to use it appropriately and use it to bless the lives of others. The priesthood is no good to the holder of it unless it is used to bless the lives of others. Otherwise it is just a gift that will never get used because it cannot bless the life of the holder save through using it to bless others. The promise for doing this is that the Spirit will sanctify the holder of the Priesthood.

The rest of what is promised is pretty straight forward. We promise to receive the Lord, which is done by receiving His servants. I interpret this as supporting and uplifting our local leaders. Although you could also say that those who serve the Lord appropriately are referred to as the servants of the Lord. Anyone who uses the Priesthood to appropriately to bless the lives of others, to help others perform sacred ordinances and make covenants, are His servants. Again it comes back to using the Priesthood to appropriately serve others and bless the lives of those around you.

That is what is promised by the person who is ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. The Lord tell us in this section that if we do not live up to this covenant then there will be no forgiveness in this life or the life to come. The kicker really is in the next verse where the Lord says that also if we choose not to take upon us the Priesthood out of fear that we will not be able to live up to this covenant that it will be not much better.

I have often wondered why only men are given the Priesthood and why women are not. I have come up with a few reasons which are all my own. The main one I have come up with and that I like the most, is that women don't need it. As I mentioned above, the Lord has given mankind the Priesthood so that the holder of the Priesthood will use it to bless the lives of others. Women don't need a reason, or the Priesthood, to serve those around them, they do it naturally. Women are also the primary care giver for children and the family, which helps them to serve more naturally. But men on the other hand, need the Priesthood so that they will feel the urge and at times, be compelled to serve. Again that is just my own thoughts and I do not know the real reason other than that is the way God has decreed it.

It is really neat thought to be able to bless the lives of others through the use of the Priesthood. I love being able to stand in as a proxy for the Savior and perform the ordinances that He would were He here. It is a unique blessing indeed. Especially when you get to use it to bless the lives of your own family. There's no feeling quite like it. If you hold the Priesthood, I invite you to really think and ponder about just what it is that the Priesthood means to you and what its purpose in your life is. When you received it, you promised to use it to bless the lives of others. Even if you do not realize it, that is what you did. As you strive to magnify that calling, remember that everytime you use the Priesthood you state that it is in the name of Jesus Christ, that you are doing what He would do and that you are standing in His place. It's a sobering thought. Until tomorrow.