I am grateful to be part of an effort with you to build faith in the power of the priesthood to strengthen families across the earth. The priesthood is an expression of God's love. It is a gift of authority to His righteous sons, given to strengthen them and, through their service, all of His children. The gift of authority becomes a gift of power as the priesthood is exercised in accordance with God's will. He is infinitely wise, kind, and patient. He has not only foreseen the challenges and service opportunities we will face, He has prepared the way for us to face them as He would. This training is designed to help us learn, through the power of the Holy Ghost, how Heavenly Father would have us minister, particularly in families. He has given us great examples of the way He ministers. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the greatest of these exemplars. He showed unmatched respect for His mother. He ministered powerfully among the many women, children, and men who were spiritually drawn to Him. He taught through simple, powerful stories that were easily understood by those with ears to hear. He knew the hearts of those He taught, allowing Him to perfect His message. His challenge to repent and follow Him left the hearer with no doubt of His high expectation, but also His confidence that meeting it was possible for us, with His priesthood to help us. Joseph Smith ministered in the same way. He had glorious insights into the eternities, yet he trusted others in the exercise of their priesthood power. He knew that the Church and its members would be strengthened as they made even faltering efforts to serve and lead. Joseph Smith lived the principle the Lord taught him in Liberty Jail: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned." My mother and father were, for my brothers and me, great examples of righteous leadership. They saw potential in me that I did not. They wanted me to love the things they loved, especially the gospel of Jesus Christ. They never missed an opportunity to teach me, but they patiently and lovingly let me choose my own way and move at my own pace. You may have felt the power of such leadership. Wherever you live and whatever your experiences in families, you know that a family is strong when it is bound together in unselfish love. And you know how precious and fragile that bond is in this challenging world where we are here to be tried and schooled by our loving Heavenly Father. A loving family is a priceless gift of God. He wants us to live in such families with Him for all eternity. That blessing is possible for each of us. That is eternal life, the greatest of all the gifts of God. God grants that gift only as we qualify, and He does it through changes in our hearts. The priesthood of God has the power to change hearts and knit us in eternal families. The change begins with faith. You felt cleansed and more purified as you believed the words spoken at your baptism, "Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ."

You were never quite the same again. It may have been a small change at first, but your faith in the priesthood ordinance of baptism changed you. You begin to feel more accountable to keep the Savior's commandments and to love others as He loves, and so love in your family was strengthened. You later heard the words spoken over your head by a priesthood holder, "Receive the Holy Ghost." Your faith in that command strengthened your family. For instance, when you prayed not to harbor bad feelings about someone in your family, you found it easier to forgive and even to forget. More than that, the Lord let you recognize goodness in someone you thought was your enemy. Faith in the power of the priesthood lets us feel the love of God and love for His children, and that strengthens families in this life and will bind them forever. The Spirit has guided the training that you received today. It will build faith in the keys of the priesthood held and exercised by the living prophet of God and by your bishop. The priesthood also gives families hope in the face of evil and death. As we honor the priesthood in our lives and in our service, our families will be fortified against the adversary and will be knit together in love and sacred covenants. The Savior can then lead us as individuals and families. The Atonement will change our natures and allow us to receive an answer to our prayers and, in time, to be filled with charity, the pure love of Christ. Through priesthood ordinances, the power of God will become manifest to us. The sealing ordinances in temples will bring hope and determination into our hearts. Those great gifts will not be easy to receive nor to retain. There is opposition in all things, and particularly in honoring the priesthood and binding families in love. But the power that is with us is infinitely greater than the forces that attack true happiness. Our safety and our success require only that we align our intents and our hearts with God's wishes and so with His power. This training is a guide and an encouragement to make that alignment and to take others with us. When those we love choose not to go with us, it can seem almost too hard to bear. In fact, in my experience, it is in times of testing that faith in God is strengthened. And as a husband and father, I relied more heavily on the priesthood when my wife and children were suffering or in peril. The manifestation of God's power at these times has given me and my family hope in His promises of eternal life. Such times of family trial also have the potential to increase in us charity, the greatest of all godly attributes. The priesthood gives us full access to the Savior's Atonement. When you feel discouragement or even despair, remember the Savior and His promises through the priesthood. Take heart, and take as your example these words of a faithful servant: "And again, I remember that thou hast said that thou hast loved the world, even unto the laying down of thy life for the world, that thou mightest take it again to prepare a place for the children of men. And now I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity. Wherefore, except men shall have charity, they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father." The ultimate expression of the love of Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son is to provide the one way, through a priesthood sealing, to have a family for all eternity. We extend that love to others by teaching and by our examples. And the family is an ideal setting in which to do that. Never waste an opportunity to teach and exemplify the love of God extended through the priesthood. That has been the Lord's direction through the ages to all people. For example, remember this counsel recorded in Deuteronomy, the sixth chapter, the fifth through the seventh verses. It has been a daily guide and a defense for our family. "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." I pray that we will feel and teach diligently in our families the love of God as expressed in the priesthood ordinances and services that are so generously offered to us. Our children will learn it best by the way we speak of the living prophet and of our bishop. They will learn as well from the way we listen to our home teachers. And they will remember the sound in our voices as we pray for a missionary they know and love. I bear you my witness that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live. They love you and your family. They are perfectly aware of you, your needs, your wants, and your potential. The blessings of the priesthood and its keys are available to you and to every member of your family everywhere in the world. You can be sure that even in the dark times our families can be strong and at peace. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.