Pull out a map and locate the Susquehanna River where it runs through Pennsylvania. Now find the town of Ayacucho in Peru's southern interior.
Geographically, the two points are a half a world away. But spiritually, they could be neighbors. It was 182 years ago this month that the resurrected John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery north of the Susquehanna and conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, or the "Priesthood of Aaron."
John the Baptist — a descendent of the Old Testament's Aaron — identified Joseph and Oliver as his "fellow servants" and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood "which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sin" (Doctrine and Covenants Section 13).
With that historic ordinance, the Lord's priesthood was restored. Almost two centuries later, the tremors of that sacred moment in Pennsylvania could be felt in a second-floor classroom in the Ayacucho Peru Stake center. On a recent Sunday morning, a faithful quorum adviser from the Garcilazo Ward stood in front of several deacons — all clad in white shirts and ties — and taught the young men about the purposes of the Aaronic Priesthood. The adviser reminded the deacons of their duty to God and challenged them to exercise their sacred right to call upon the ministering of angels.
Such episodes of the Aaronic Priesthood in action can be found throughout Peru, in wards and branches in Pennsylvania and, indeed, across the globe. Each week, young men of diverse colors and backgrounds perform the duties of the restored Aaronic Priesthood as they prepare and pass the sacrament, collect fast offerings to help those in need, perform baptismal ordinances and, yes, call upon the ministering of angels to bless others.
Every deacon, teacher and priest in the Church could, like Joseph and Oliver, be counted among John the Baptist's "fellow servants."
Church leaders declare that the significance of May 15, 1829 — the day the priesthood was restored — is as essential today as ever before. Each soul-saving ordinance performed through the authority of God's priesthood is a reminder of that momentous occasion and marks a blessed call to duty.
"I hope with all my heart and soul that every young man who receives the priesthood will honor that priesthood and be true to the trust which is conveyed when it is conferred," said President Thomas S. Monson at the April 2006 general conference. "May each of us who holds the priesthood of God know what he believes. As the Apostle Peter admonished, may we ever be ready 'to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.' There will be occasions in each of our lives when we will be called upon to explain or to defend our beliefs. When the time for performance arrives, the time for preparation is past."
Throughout the world, hundreds of thousands of Aaronic Priesthood holders are finetuning "what he believes" by participating in the recently revised Duty to God program. The program allows young men in all three offices of the Aaronic Priesthood — deacon, teacher and priest — to learn, act and share the essential principles of the gospel. They are becoming priesthood men.
With the support of parents, bishops and advisers, young Aaronic Priesthood holders are utilizing Duty to God as a shield from a troubled world.
"You live in a world where there is terrible evil," said President Gordon B. Hinckley in a 2004 fireside commemorating the 175th anniversary of the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood. "You are constantly confronted by those who use filthy language and indulge in filthy ways.
"Let the world do what it will. But you, my brethren, must never forget that you have something which the world does not."
