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I feel very humbled to speak on a subject that I believe we are just beginning to fully understand as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And that is the power of the priesthood.
For much of my life, when I thought of “the priesthood,” my mind immediately went to priesthood offices: deacons, elders, bishops, high priests. I thought of ordinances like baptism or blessings of healing. All of that is true and important. But in recent years, I’ve come to understand something much deeper; something that prophets and apostles have been teaching us all along: the priesthood is not only offices and callings. It is the eternal power and authority of God, available to all of God’s children who make and keep sacred covenants.
Priesthood Authority vs. Priesthood Power
President Russell M. Nelson has taught that priesthood authority and priesthood power are distinct concepts.
Priesthood authority is the right to act in God’s name. Men receive priesthood authority when they are ordained to priesthood offices, but women also act with priesthood authority when they are set apart in callings. For example, when a Relief Society president counsels, teaches, and blesses the sisters in her ward, she is exercising priesthood authority.
Priesthood power is a little different. Priesthood power comes through personal righteousness and covenant keeping. It is available to every faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. President Nelson said: “Every woman and every man who makes covenants with God and keeps those covenants, and who participates worthily in priesthood ordinances, has direct access to the power of God.”
That means women are not waiting on the sidelines. We are not “borrowing” priesthood power through men. We have access to it ourselves, through our covenants, through the temple, and through our daily discipleship.
My Story
As I started understanding this truth, I asked myself: What would it actually look like for a Latter-day Saint woman to access and use priesthood power in her everyday life?
I didn’t fully understand the answer, until I had an experience that changed everything.
Years ago, I was praying for one of my children. They were going through something heavy. Something I couldn’t fix. I had been pouring out my heart to Heavenly Father, begging Him to bless them, to comfort them, to intervene where I could not.
That’s when something unexpected happened. Something that was the beginning of me truly understanding what it means when prophets and apostles teach that women can access priesthood power.
In the middle of my prayer, I had a distinct impression: You don’t have to ask Me to bless them. You have the power to bless them.
It was quiet, but unmistakable. The thought didn’t come from me. It was the Spirit teaching me, right in the middle of my prayer, that I didn’t need to only plead. I could act. I didn’t need a formal blessing or priesthood office. I didn’t need to lay my hands on their head.
I could use priesthood power to bless them. Right then.
And so I did.
With reverence, with clarity, and with full faith that it was God’s will, I used my covenant power as a mother, a disciple, and a daughter of God to bless my child.
No fanfare. No formality. But absolutely real.
That was the moment it all clicked. That was when I began to understand what accessing priesthood power actually means for women in the Church.
Scriptural Examples
Once I began to see it, I realized the scriptures are filled with examples of covenant women and men using priesthood power outside of formal settings.
- Think of the brother of Jared, who was not ordained to any priesthood office we know of, but who exercised great faith and was shown the finger of the Lord.
- Think of Esther, who risked her life to save her people and was empowered by God to act with courage and influence.
- Think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who declared, “My soul doth magnify the Lord” and who was chosen for her faith and spiritual strength.
- And now think of the woman with an issue of blood. She had no priesthood office, no calling, no position of leadership. In fact, she was a social outcast. Yet through faith in Christ, she reached out to touch the hem of His garment. And I want to share something that Boyd Matheson – a journalist & radio host, current mission president of the Indiana, Indianapolis mission, and one of my favorite teachers – taught about this story: The woman who had been sick and suffering reaches out and touches a thread from the hem of the Savior’s garment. Jesus tells her, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” So, when you find yourself feeling that you are hanging on by a thread, hold on. A thread is all the Savior needs and as long as you hold onto your end of the thread, He will forever hold onto His end, and that thread will bind you to Him like a mighty cord.
That is priesthood power—power flowing directly from Christ to a covenant disciple who reached out in faith.
So, what does this mean for us in our everyday lives? How do we, as covenant women and men, access priesthood power?
President Nelson gave us the key: “Your personal spiritual endeavor will bring you joy as you gain, understand, and use the power with which you have been endowed. Part of this endeavor will require you to put aside many things of this world. Sometimes we speak almost casually about walking away from the world with its contention, pervasive temptations, and false philosophies. But truly doing so requires you to examine your life meticulously and regularly. As you do so, the Holy Ghost will prompt you about what is no longer needful, what is no longer worthy of your time and energy.”
That means priesthood power is not passive. It’s not something we wait to be given. It’s something we actively seek, through:
- Keeping our covenants—every time we partake of the sacrament, we renew our access to God’s power.
- Worshipping in the temple—where priesthood ordinances connect us directly to God’s power.
- Personal righteousness—through prayer, fasting, scripture study, and obedience, we qualify for God’s power in our lives.
- Acting in faith—when we feel prompted to bless, to teach, to comfort, to testify, we can do so with priesthood power.
It’s also important to see how priesthood authority and priesthood power work together.
- When a bishop presides, he is using priesthood authority. And if he is worthy and faithful, he also channels priesthood power.
- When a mother teaches her children the gospel, she may not be ordained to a priesthood office, but she acts with priesthood authority in her calling as a nurturer, and when she keeps her covenants, she is filled with priesthood power.
- When a young woman is set apart as a class president, she is given priesthood authority. And as she prays for her class and serves them with love, she is filled with priesthood power.
Priesthood authority and priesthood power are meant to work together – authority giving us the right to act, and power giving us the divine capacity to act.
So let me ask you: What would it look like for you to access priesthood power in your daily life this week?
- What would it look like in your scripture study?
- What would it look like in your parenting or ministering?
- What would it look like in your private prayers?
I believe that if we begin asking those questions, the Spirit will teach us, as He taught me, that God is ready to fill us with His power, often in ways we have not yet recognized.
Brothers and sisters, the priesthood is not limited. It is not scarce. It is not reserved for a select few. It is the power of God, given to help His children accomplish His work on the earth.
I testify that as we all keep our covenants and act in faith, we have direct access to this divine power. It can strengthen us in trials, magnify our efforts to serve, and enable us to bless our families and others in ways we cannot do on our own.
I know that Jesus Christ is the source of this power. His atoning sacrifice makes it possible for us to be filled with His strength. I am grateful for living prophets who are teaching us more clearly than ever how to understand and access this gift.
May we all seek priesthood power in our daily lives, not only in ordinances and callings, but in every moment we choose to follow Jesus Christ.
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One Response
Hello! Grateful that you are willing to share the things that you have learned and your experiences with it.
When you said that you realized as a mother, that you had the authority & capacity to bless your daughter with priesthood power, what did that look like? Was that just meaning that in your prayers to God, you blessed her with certain things? Or that you felt lead by the spirit to do or say certain things that would be helpful for her? Just trying to more fully understand what you meant by exercising priesthood power in that scenario. Thank you so much.