There is no greater compliment than to know the Lord trusts men to be worthy priesthood holders and great husbands and fathers, Elder Richard J. Maynes, General Authority Seventy, said in his priesthood session address.
“One thing is for certain: Earning the Lord’s trust is a blessing that comes through great effort on our part,” he said Sept. 30. “Earning the Lord’s trust comes as a result of being true to the covenants we have made in the waters of baptism and in the holy temple. When we keep our promises to the Lord, His trust in us grows.”
The principle that one merits more or less of God’s trust with each decision one makes is perhaps most manifest in a man’s divinely appointed responsibilities as husbands and fathers, Elder Maynes said.
He cited three such responsibilities from the document “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”: Fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness; fathers are responsible to provide the necessities of life; and fathers are responsible to protect their families.
The responsibilities must be accomplished in the Lord’s way to earn His trust, Elder Maynes said, adding that the Lord’s way is to fulfill them with one’s wife as an equal partner.
Placing trust in God is the first step in earning His trust, he said.
Quoting responses from his two married daughters, Elder Maynes summarized them, saying each considered the blessing of peace in the home to be a direct consequence of having a husband she could trust.
He shared an experience he had working for his father in a family business. In that experience, his father declined to take a bribe and counseled him to never compromise integrity. “Don’t ever do it, not even once.”
“I share this experience to illustrate the lasting influence we have as fathers,” he said. “You can imagine the trust I had in my father due to the integrity of his heart. He lived these same principles in his private life with my mother, his children and all with whom he associated.”
He concluded, “As we understand and apply this sacred principle of trust built on integrity, we will be true to our sacred covenants.”
