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baptismal covenant but all covenantsentered into with the Lord.7

These priesthood ordinances andcovenants provide access to the ful-ness of the blessings promised to usby God, which are made possible bythe Saviors Atonement. They arm sonsand daughters of God with power,Gods power,8and provide us with theopportunity to receive eternal lifetoreturn to Gods presence and live withHim in His eternal family.

I recently went with priesthoodleaders to visit the homes of four

women in Honduras. These sisters andtheir families were in need of priest-hood keys and authority, priesthoodordinances and covenants, and priest-hood power and blessings.

We visited a dear sister who ismarried and has two beautiful chil-dren. She is faithful and active in theChurch, and she is teaching her chil-dren to choose the right. Her husbandsupports her Church activity, but he is

not a member. Their family is strong,but to enjoy greater strength, theyneed additional priesthood blessings.

They need the father to receive theordinances of baptism and the gift ofthe Holy Ghost and to have the priest-hood conferred upon him. They needthe priesthood power that can comethrough the endowment and sealing.

Our next visit was at the home oftwo single sisters, women of greatfaith. One sister has a son prepar-

ing for a mission. The other sisteris receiving treatment for cancer. Intimes of discouragement and despair,they remember the Saviors Atonementand are filled with faith and hope.

They both need the additional bless-ings and power available throughtemple ordinances. We encouragedthem to join the future missionary intheir home in preparing to receivethose ordinances.

counseling their children and thoseover whom they are called uponto preside. The Holy Ghost is notrestricted to men, nor to apostles orprophets; it belongs to every faithfulman and woman, and to every child

who is old enough to receive the gos-

pel of Christ.3We need to receive the temple

endowment. Elder M. Russell Ballardsaid: When men and women go tothe temple, they are both endowed

with the same power, which bydefinition is priesthood power. . . .

The endowment is literally a gift ofpower.4

We need the sealing ordinance,which leads to eternal life, thegreatest of all the gifts of God.5This

priesthood ordinance is received onlyby a man and a woman together. ElderRussell M. Nelson taught, Priesthoodauthority has been restored so thatfamilies can be sealed eternally.6

We need the opportunity to renewour covenants each week as wepartake of the sacrament. Latter-dayprophets and apostles have taughtthat when we worthily partake of thesacrament, we can renew not only our

By Carole M. StephensFirst Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency

In The Family: A Proclamation tothe World, the First Presidency andthe Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

state: All human beingsmale andfemaleare created in the image ofGod. Each is a beloved spirit son ordaughter of heavenly parents, and,

as such, each has a divine natureand destiny.1To achieve this divinedestiny, each son and daughter ofGod needs priesthood ordinancesand covenants.

We need baptism. When we areimmersed in the waters of baptism, wecovenant to take Christs name uponus, always remember Him, keep Hiscommandments, and serve Him tothe end, that we may always have HisSpirit to be with us.2

We need the gift of the Holy Ghost.Through that ordinance, we can haveaccess to the constant companion-ship of the Spirit. President Wilford

Woodruff taught: Every man orwoman that has ever entered into thechurch of God and been baptized forthe remission of sins has a right torevelation, a right to the Spirit of God,to assist them in their labors, in theiradministrations to their children, in

Do We Know What

We Have?Priesthood ordinances and covenants provide access to the

fulness of the blessings promised to us by God, which are madepossible by the Saviors Atonement.

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Our last visit was at the home ofa sister whose husband recently diedin a tragic accident. A recent convert

to the Church, she had not under-stood that she could receive her ownendowment and be sealed to her hus-band. When we taught her that theseblessings could be available to her andher deceased husband, she was filled

with hope. Knowing that throughtemple ordinances and covenants herfamily can be sealed together, she hasfaith and determination to face thetrials ahead.

This widows son is preparing toreceive the Aaronic Priesthood. Hisordination will be a great blessing to

her and her family. They will have apriesthood holder in their home.When I met these faithful women

in Honduras, I could see that theywere striving to keep their familiesactive in the gospel. They expressedgratitude for covenant-keeping wardmembers who tenderly watch overthem and help support their tem-poral and spiritual needs. However,each of these sisters had needs

that had not been fully met.In each of the three homes we

visited, a wise priesthood leaderasked each sister if she had receiveda priesthood blessing. Each time theanswer was no. Each sister asked forand received a priesthood blessingthat day. Each wept as she expressedgratitude for the comfort, direction,encouragement, and inspirationthat came from her Heavenly Fatherthrough a worthy priesthood holder.

These sisters inspired me. Theyshowed reverence for God and Hispower and authority. I was also grate-ful for the priesthood leaders who vis-ited these homes with me. When weleft each home, we counseled togetherabout how to help these familiesreceive the ordinances they neededto progress on the covenant path andstrengthen their homes.

There exists today a great need formen and women to cultivate respectfor each other as sons and daughters

of God and reverence for our Fatherin Heaven and His priesthoodHispower and authority.

He has a plan for us, and when weexercise our faith and trust in His plan,our reverence for Him and for Hispriesthood power and authority willbe strengthened.

In the worldwide leadership train-ing Strengthening the Family and theChurch through the Priesthood,we

were taught that sisters who dont

have priesthood holders in theirhomes need never feel alone. Theyare blessed and strengthened throughthe ordinances they have received andthe covenants they keep. They shouldnot hesitate to reach out when helpis needed. Elder M. Russell Ballardtaught that every woman in theChurch needs to know that she has abishop, an elders quorum president,a home teacher, and other worthy

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priesthood holders whom she can relyon to come into her home and assisther and, as Sister Rosemary M. Wixomadded, to give a blessing.9

Elder Ballard also taught: OurFather in Heaven is generous with Hispower. All men and all women haveaccess to this power for help in ourown lives. All who have made sacred

covenants with the Lord and whohonor those covenants are eligibleto receive personal revelation, to beblessed by the ministering of angels,[and] to commune with God.10

We all need each other. Sons ofGod need daughters of God, anddaughters of God need sons of God.

We have different gifts and differentstrengths. First Corinthians chapter12 emphasizes the need for sons anddaughters of God, each one of us, to

fulfill our individual roles and respon-sibilities according to the Lords plan,that all may benefit.11

Sons of God, do you know whoyou are? Do you know what youhave? Are you worthy to exercisethe priesthood and receive thepower and blessings of the priest-hood? Do you embrace your rolesand responsibilities to strengthenhomes as fathers, grandfathers, sons,

brothers, and uncles? Do you showrespect for women, womanhood, andmotherhood?

Daughters of God, do we knowwho we are? Do we know what wehave? Are we worthy to receive thepower and blessings of the priest-hood? Do we receive the gifts given tous with gratitude, grace, and dignity?

Do we embrace our roles and respon-sibilities to strengthen homes as moth-ers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters,and aunts? Do we show respect formen, manhood, and fatherhood?

As covenant sons and daughters,do we have faith in our HeavenlyFather and His eternal plan for us? Do

we have faith in Jesus Christ and HisAtonement? Do we believe that wehave a divine nature and destiny? Andin our efforts to achieve this destiny

and receive all that the Father has,12

do we understand the importance ofreceiving priesthood ordinances andmaking, keeping, and renewing ourcovenants with the Lord?

We are beloved spirit sons anddaughters of heavenly parents, witha divine nature and destiny. OurSavior, Jesus Christ, loved us enoughto give His life for us. His Atonementprovides the way for us to progress

on the path to our heavenly home,through sacred priesthood ordinancesand covenants.

These priesthood ordinancesand covenants were restored to theearth through the Prophet JosephSmith, and today President Thomas S.Monson holds all the keys of thepriesthood on the earth.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught:In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is found the priesthoodauthority to administer the ordinancesby which we can enter into bindingcovenants with our Heavenly Fatherin the name of His Holy Son. . . . God

will keep His promises to you as youhonor your covenants with Him.13

Of these things I testify in the nameof Jesus Christ, amen. NOTES

1. The Family: A Proclamation to the World,EnsignorLiahona,Nov. 2010, 129.

2. See Moroni 4:3; 6:3. 3. Teachings of Presidents of the Church:

Wilford Woodruff(2004), 49. 4. M. Russell Ballard, Let Us Think Straight

(Brigham Young University EducationWeek devotional, Aug. 20, 2013); speeches.byu.edu.

5. Doctrine and Covenants 14:7; see alsoDoctrine and Covenants 131:14.

6. Russell M. Nelson, Nurturing Marriage,EnsignorLiahona,May 2006, 37; or inDaughters in My Kingdom: The Historyand Work of Relief Society (2011), 134.

7. Delbert L. Stapley, in Conference Report,Oct. 1965, 14; quoted in L. Tom Perry,As Now We Take the Sacrament,EnsignorLiahona,May 2006, 41; see alsoTeachings of Gordon B. Hinckley(1997),561; The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball,ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 220.

8. See Doctrine and Covenants 109:22. 9. See M. Russell Ballard and Rosemary M.

Wixom, Blessings of the Priesthood inEvery Home, in Strengthening the Familyand the Church through the Priesthood(worldwide leadership training, 2013);lds.org/broadcasts.

10. M. Russell Ballard, Let Us Think Straight;speeches.byu.edu.

11. See also Doctrine and Covenants 46:9, 12.12. See Doctrine and Covenants 84:38.13. D. Todd Christofferson, The Power

of Covenants,EnsignorLiahona,May 2009, 22.