Together in Righteousness

By Ardeth G. Kapp

Young Women General President

Young men and young women have different duties and responsibilities, yet they can be united and blessed by the power of the priesthood

YOUNG WOMEN, as well as young men, have good reason to rejoice in the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood. We rejoice because the priesthood was restored to bless the entire human family. Priesthood power, when exercised righteously, unites men and women, sons and daughters, and families. We have a reason to rejoice together. Togetherness in righteousness is at the very heart of our Father in Heaven’s plan for his sons and his daughters. It is a glorious plan in which we all have a part.

In order to realize the full blessings of our Father’s plan involving the power and authority of the priesthood, each young man and each young woman must prepare to do their part. While your duties and responsibilities, your influence, and natural endowments are different, I believe your preparation to receive the full blessings of the priesthood is more alike than different.

Let’s consider those times when the power and the authority of the priesthood have become very important to you personally.

The Covenant of Baptism

When you were baptized and became a member of the Church, baptism was the first priesthood ordinance in which you made a covenant. It opened the way for you to start on the path to return to your Father in Heaven. You were baptized by the same power and authority that John the Baptist exercised when he baptized Jesus Christ, our Savior, in the River Jordan.

The gift of the Holy Ghost follows baptism and constitutes the next essential ordinance of the gospel. You had hands laid upon your head by one having the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and by that power you were blessed to “receive the Holy Ghost.” The Holy Ghost can be a companion to you throughout your life. The Holy Ghost is given to guide you, teach you, comfort you, inspire you, and bear witness to you of the reality of the Savior and the truths of the restored gospel.

The Power of the Holy Ghost

Let me remind you of other experiences many of you have had or will have with the blessings and power of the priesthood and with the gift of the Holy Ghost. Many of you have been or will be called and set apart (by one having authority of the holy priesthood) to serve as quorum or class officers. When you are set apart and hands are laid on your head, you receive the power and authority to act in the office to which you are called.

Let me tell you about a young Laurel president who explained it this way: “I was called to be a class president of seventeen girls, and the bishop said I was responsible for them. I was scared of such responsibility. Then he told me to decide on my counselors and reminded me of the need to pray and ask the Lord. I wondered how it worked—how would I know who the Lord wanted?

“I wrote seventeen names on a piece of paper. Then I prayed about those names … I kept thinking and praying and [crossing off names] until the third day. With only two names remaining, I had a strong feeling that I knew who Heavenly Father wanted. That’s how it works.”

It is appropriate for her and for you to recognize and witness the power of the Holy Ghost as you seek inspiration concerning the calls you have received from your Heavenly Father through your bishop.

The power of the priesthood and the importance of its restoration and blessings came to have special meaning in my life when I was fifteen years old. I had developed a serious ear infection, and I was rushed to the hospital. The infection required major surgery. Following the operation, I overheard one of the doctors say that the damage to my ear had been so severe that I would permanently lose my hearing and my sense of balance.

Special Priesthood Blessings

My father and another Melchizedek Priesthood holder, having the power and authority to act in the name of God, administered to me, using the oil that had been consecrated by the priesthood for anointing the sick.

My mother was influenced by the Holy Ghost to place my name on the prayer roll of the temple where those in attendance would join their faith in prayer for me. It was the first time I knew that people could have their name placed on the prayer roll in the temple. In time, through faith and the power of the priesthood, my healing was complete.

As a member of the Church have you felt the power of the priesthood in the administrations and blessings you may have received? Have you received a father’s blessing? Have you asked your father to give you a blessing at special times of need—like the beginning of a new school year, or during times of discouragement, or when you are carrying a heavy responsibility, or when you are struggling for understanding? These are times when you can receive that strength which you need. And in the absence of your father, you can ask your home teachers, or the bishop, or a special friend who has been ordained to act in God’s name. I know that these blessings can be a great comfort to you. They have been for me, and they can be for you.

Many of you are at an age when you are thinking about and making important decisions, sometimes difficult decisions, that will affect the rest of your life. As a member of the Church you have the privilege to receive another unique priesthood blessing, a patriarchal blessing. This blessing is given you, upon your request and worthiness, by a patriarch ordained of God to this special calling.

A patriarchal blessing can serve as a guide to you with promises which depend upon your faithfulness in keeping the commandments. I have read and reread my patriarchal blessing hundreds of times. It has been an anchor, a comfort, and a guide to me, especially when problems or challenges have weighed heavily on my mind.

Sacred Ordinances

Another of the great priesthood ordinances designed to bless us was instituted by the Savior when the final hours of his earthly ministry were approaching. During the last supper together, “While Jesus sat at the table with the Apostles, he took some bread, and when he had blessed it, he broke it in pieces and passed it to them saying, ‘Take, eat; this is [in remembrance of] my body [which I give a ransom for you.]’ He then took a cup and gave thanks and passed it to them saying, ‘Drink ye all of it. For this is [in remembrance of] my blood of the new testament, which is shed [for as many as shall believe on my name,] for the remission of [their] sins’.” (Matt. 26:26–28 with additions and corrections made by Joseph Smith in brackets.)

Each Sunday the Aaronic Priesthood young men prepare and administer the sacred ordinance of the sacrament. While it is the duty of the Aaronic Priesthood holders to prepare and pass these sacred emblems, every worthy member is privileged to partake and to receive the blessings promised in this priesthood ordinance.

By the authority of the priesthood, both young men and young women are set apart to be messengers of truth and teach the gospel when they receive a call from a prophet of the Lord to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In the house of the Lord, the temple, all things are done by the power and the authority of the priesthood. In the temple, men and women are endowed and make sacred priesthood covenants which are accompanied by promises and blessings. One day every righteous young man and young woman will have the privilege and opportunity, if not in this life, in the eternities, for a celestial marriage and an eternal family. The highest blessings of the priesthood are conferred only upon a man and a woman together in the temple. This priesthood ordinance is necessary for exaltation in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. As the Apostle Paul said, “Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:11). They are truly partners in priesthood blessings.

And so we come together and rejoice together as we recount the blessings we each receive as a result of the priesthood. It is a power which blesses us daily and prepares us for eternity.

The Calling of Young Women

We are well acquainted with the duties and responsibilities of Aaronic Priesthood young men. But what of young women? What is their calling? A prophet has said, “To be a righteous [young] woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling.” (President Spencer W. Kimball, “Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Women’s Fireside, September 16, 1978.)

Your age is not a limitation. You have a significant calling. Each young woman, magnifying her calling to become a righteous woman will help turn back the powers of the adversary, deter the spread of pornography, and guard against immorality. Your righteous influence can affect many things—the degree of love and harmony in your home, the number of young people proclaiming the gospel, the behavior of a friend, the atmosphere in your classroom.

How do you prepare, as President Kimball once said, to be ten times more influential than you might be in more peaceful times? Your preparation comes as you learn who you are and what you are to do. The Young Women Values will guide you in this preparation. To the question “Who am I?” the values of faith, divine nature, and individual worth teach you that you are a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves you. You have inherited divine qualities. You are of infinite worth with your own divine mission.

To the question “What am I to do?” the values of knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, and integrity will help guide you. As you continually seek opportunities for learning and growth, you will increase your knowledge and testimony of the gospel. You will be strengthened in your desire always to choose good over evil and to accept responsibility for your choices. You will learn to nurture others and play a major part in building the kingdom of God through your righteous service beginning within your own family. And finally, you will develop the moral courage to make your actions always consistent with your knowledge of right and wrong, allowing you to stand as a witness for Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9).

Live the Young Women Values

Study the Young Women Values with their scripture references. They will help prepare you to exert a righteous influence. Study the gospel principles they express and apply them. Use the values as a guide to live by each day. As you do this, the Lord will strengthen you, and his Spirit will bring a marvelous awakening within you. You will begin to understand what it means to become a “light in the Lord” and to “walk as children of light” (see Eph. 5:8–9).

My dear young sisters, you are lights in a world of increasing darkness. But as the adversary is doing all in his power to eliminate light, the Savior’s words lovingly implore, “Hold up your light” (3 Ne. 18:24).

As you follow the Savior’s example, as you learn to live the principles of the gospel with each choice you make to stand for truth and righteousness, you will grow to become light- and life-giving to those around you—righteous young women, daughters of God.

Photos by Michael McConkie