Selfless service and the importance of acting in accordance with the will of God when functioning in the priesthood were among the themes of the May 5 fireside commemorating the restoration of the priesthood.
Originating from the Tabernacle on Temple Square, the fireside was transmitted via satellite to more than 3,000 meetinghouses in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and thePlease see additional priesthood-related stories on pages 8-10.
Dominican Republic. The fireside was conducted by President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency. It featured addresses by President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor in the First Presidency; Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Council of the Twelve; Elder Marion D. Hanks of the Presidency of the Seventy; and Elder Jack H Goaslind of the Seventy and Young Men general president. Speakers also included a missionary serving in Utah from Dresden, Germany; and a deacon, teacher and priest who shared their testimonies via videotape from their homelands of Ireland, the Philippines and Brazil.
A priesthood choir from the Orem Utah Southwest Region provided music.
Below are highlights of fireside addresses:
President Monson discussed the blessings of selfless priesthood service.
"Miracles," President Monson said, "are everywhere to be found when priesthood callings are magnified. When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes."
He related the touching story of visiting some 12 years ago the German city of Dresden, then situated "behind an iron curtain and far from freedom's friendly face."
President Monson visited, with a handful of Church members, a small cemetery on a dark, wet night.
"We had come to visit the grave of a missionary who many years before had died while in the service of the Lord," related President Monson. "A hushed silence shrouded the scene as we gathered about the grave. With a flashlight illuminating the headstone, I read the inscription:
Joseph A. Ott
Born: 12 December 1870 - Virgin, Utah
Died: 10 January 1896 - Dresden, Germany
"Then the light revealed that this grave was unlike any other in the cemetery. The headstone had been polished, weeds such as those which covered other graves had been carefully removed, and in their place was an immaculately edged bit of lawn and some beautiful flowers that told of tender and loving care. I asked, `Who has made this grave so attractive?' My query was met by silence.
"At length a 12-year-old deacon acknowledged that he had wanted to render this unheralded kindness and, without prompting from parents or leaders, had done so. He said that he just wanted to do something for a missionary who gave his life while in the service of the Lord.
"He said, `I'll never be able to serve a mission as did my father. I feel close to missionary work when I tend this grave where the body of a missionary rests.'
"I wept out of respect for his faith. I sorrowed at his inability to fulfill his greatest desire - to serve as a missionary. But God did hear his prayer. He noted his faith. He honored one who magnified the calling of a deacon."
In the 12 years since then, President Monson said that many significant changes have taken place in that part of Germany: "A temple of God graces the land. Chapels accommodate wards and stakes, and the full program of the Church blesses the lives of our members." He then said that two years ago the first missionaries crossed the borders into what was then the German Democratic Republic.
President Monson then surprised the congregation by announcing that the young deacon of 12 years ago
was in the Tabernacle audience.
Tobias Burkhardt is a full-time missionary in Utah.
"Elder Tobias Burkhardt is here tonight. I felt you would like to hear from him his own testimony before he returns home, his missionary service honorably completed in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.
"Elder Burkhardt - then a deacon, now an elder - will bear his testimony to us":
A feeling of electricity charged the Tabernacle as Elder Burkhardt approached the podium and shared his feelings about the gospel.
He told of hand washing tiny glass sacrament cups each week as a deacon in Germany. "When we were called on to pass the sacrament, we felt that the outcome of the whole sacrament meeting depended on our service."
Then he concluded: "I love being a missionary. I know God lives. I know Jesus is the Christ. The Book of Mormon testifies of Him and His love for all mankind. . . .
"I am especially grateful for my parents who have helped me all the way - from being the deacon of yesterday to being an elder today. You young men of the Aaronic Priesthood, please, listen to the counsel of your parents and leaders. If you do that, our Heavenly Father will bless you abundantly."
Elder Oaks said that magnifying callings in the priesthood is accomplished in many ways.
"There is great power in the priesthood," declared Elder Oaks. "It is something more - something a great deal more than we usually suppose."
"Perhaps I can illustrate that point by reminding us what the priesthood is not," he said, adding that several important and sacred privileges are enjoyed generally by Church members without regard to whether they hold the priesthood.
Testifying of Jesus Christ, praying in His name and teaching His gospel do not require that one hold the priesthood, Elder Oaks pointed out.
"For what sacred functions must one hold the priesthood? We find our answer in the fact that priesthood is the power and authority of God delegated to man on earth to act in all things pertaining to the salvation of the sons and daughters of God. . . . Just as priesthood is the power of God, priesthood authority is the power to act for God, such as in the ordinances of His kingdom."
Thus, priests and deacons act for God when they administer and pass the sacrament, he said. Elders act for God when they "go as emissaries of the Good Shepherd, empowered to act for Him in inviting a cherished son or daughter back to the fold and in giving the wanderer a blessing to help Him with the strength and determination to return," he added.
"When we use priesthood authority, we must strive with all the power we possess to say and do only that which God would have us say or do as His representative, acting for Him in that circumstance," Elder Oaks declared.
Elder Hanks drew a lesson about dependability and integrity in priesthood service from the last two verses of Psalm 78, where it is stated that David, who had been tending sheep, was called by God to minister to the people of Israel.
"So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. (Psalm 78:72, emphasis added.)"
Commenting on the scripture, Elder Hanks exclaimed, "Integrity and skillfulness; the combination that can work mighty miracles!"
Like the apostle Peter, priesthood holders are bidden by Christ to "let down the nets" and be "fishers of men" in His service, Elder Hanks said. (See Luke 5:1-11.)
"No matter that we are tired or that we have not heretofore been particularly successful. We can do so with every confidence that faithful response to His commandments will bring the promised blessings."
Elder Goaslind introduced the three young men who spoke on videotape: Derek Ryan, a deacon in the Waterford Branch in the Ireland Dublin Mission; Erickson Ballados, teacher in the Makati 2nd Ward, Makati Philippines Stake; and Daniel Borba, a priest in the Ila Mariana Ward, Sao Paulo Brazil Ipiranga Stake.
Elder Goaslind, speaking specifically to Aaronic Priesthood holders in attendance, called the three young men "exemplary because they are just like many of you - young men who desire to serve the Lord. They live ordinary lives, but have the opportunity to perform extraordinary service to others because they have accepted the responsibility of bearing the priesthood of God.
"They, like you, have their share of triumphs and trials; they are facing the problems and challenges that life brings, and they are making choices every day about what is right and what is wrong."
