Area Presidency Message
By Divine Design
The Family Proclamation teaches us that, “The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.”1 In fact, the family is the most important organization on earth and in heaven according to God’s plan.
In this inspired proclamation we learn that “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness. . . . Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”2
Key words include presiding in “love and righteousness” and serving as “equal partners”. If, as parents, we neglect these sacred duties or fail to carry them out as the Lord intends then we receive this warning, “Individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”3
Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we learn how to work together in our homes. We learn to overcome traditions of male domination and abuse of children. The warning is clear. The Savior taught that unless we become as little children, we cannot enter His kingdom.4 It would be better for a millstone to be hung around one’s neck and drowned rather than to risk the abuse of a child of God.5
As brethren in the Church, we must learn what it means to preside in the home. As holders of the priesthood, we must understand what the priesthood is and how it operates. President Joseph F. Smith (1838-1918) described the priesthood as “the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family.”6
President M. Russell Ballard taught, “In our Heavenly Father’s great priesthood-endowed plan, men have the unique responsibility to administer the priesthood, but they are not the priesthood. Men and women have different but equally valued roles. Just as a woman cannot conceive a child without a man, so a man cannot fully exercise the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman.”7
Men hold the priesthood but are not the priesthood. The priesthood belongs to God. If it is not exercised in righteousness, the potential power associated with the priesthood will be lost. “The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.”8
To access heaven’s power the priesthood must be employed as God intended, “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;
“By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.9
To fully understand how the priesthood functions, we must understand a woman’s role relative to its power and authority. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972), then President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said this: “While the sisters have not been given the Priesthood, it has not been conferred upon them, that does not mean that the Lord has not given unto them authority. . . . A person may have authority given to him… to do certain things in the Church that are binding and absolutely necessary for our salvation, such as the work that our sisters do in the House of the Lord. They have authority given unto them to do some great and wonderful things, sacred unto the Lord, and binding just as thoroughly as are the blessings that are given by the men who hold the Priesthood.”10
President Dallin H. Oaks said, “We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, but what other authority can it be? When a woman—young or old—is set apart to preach the gospel as a full-time missionary, she is given priesthood authority to perform a priesthood function…Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing his or her assigned duties.”11
To realize the full potential of the gospel at home and church, President Russell M. Nelson counseled, “My dear sisters, whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions, your insights, and your inspiration. We need you to speak up and speak out in ward and stake councils. We need each married sister to speak as ‘a contributing and full partner’ as you unite with your husband in governing your family. Married or single, you sisters possess distinctive capabilities and special intuition you have received as gifts from God. We brethren cannot duplicate your unique influence.”12
President Ballard stated, “any priesthood leader who does not involve his sister leaders with full respect and inclusion is not honoring and magnifying the keys he has been given. His power and influence will be diminished until he learns the ways of the Lord.”13
When we understand the sacred relationship between men and women in the Church and between husband and wife in the home, then we can better understand God’s divine design. We can see more clearly His plan to enable men and women to work as one even as the Father and the Son work together as one. We can see how husband and wife, united as equal partners, both having access to God’s power and authority, can raise up their children in righteousness to create eternal families and to establish Zion on earth. All in preparation for the Lord’s return.