Grateful to Be an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood
The most important question in life is: what is happiness? Two things immediately come to mind. What pleases the eye and what pleases the heart. But we would certainly be wrong if we failed to perceive the hands of God in what happened.
Eight days after my baptism, I received the Aaronic Priesthood, and I was very scared. I knew what it meant, and then after four months, on March 7, I received the Melchizedek Priesthood. I was very happy about the outstanding fact that I had already received the higher priesthood four months after my baptism.
I am grateful that after only four months I would receive this precious spiritual authority from God through the bishop, with the approval of the president and the sustaining of the ward members. I was there for the purpose of learning and at the same time developing mental discipline with the help of the leaders, the ministers of the Lord Jesus.
I am happy, and I cannot hide it, because I never thought that in such a short time, that in less than a year, I would grow so quickly as a member of the Church.
To receive these two priesthoods is to recognize the majesty of God and of His beloved Son Jesus Christ. At the same time, it implies diligence in the worthiness of the recipient.
As I received the blessings and the highly spiritual power of the Melchizedek Priesthood, I would have incessantly on my mind: how admirable is the divine plan, somehow subject to man, but certainly absolutely subject to the Lord Jesus Christ, to receive this wonderful ordination in His Church.
I must try to be close to the angels, observed by the seraphim. I must make myself worthy and even more, quite worthy of that trust that the bishop and the Lord have granted me. I need to master my words and thoughts in every moment and circumstance, so that I know how to sustain what is right, inside and outside the chapel. Always be ready to answer in spiritual accountability to the Lord. May my ears know how to be attentive to any invitation from the Holy Spirit.
Brother Arnel Jean Mary is a member of the Gazcue Ward, Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Stake. He received the Melchizedek Priesthood this year, 2021.