The Priesthood of Aaron

(find the talk here)

I am a woman, and so I will not hold the Priesthood of Aaron (or the Melchizedek Priesthood) but as a woman, I am charged with a great responsibility to prepare my sons to receive the Priesthood of Aaron, and then the Melchizedek Priesthood, and to prepare my daughters to honor the Priesthood and prepare to receive the blessings of those same Priesthoods.

In his talk, Elder L. Tom Perry gave this charge to parents:

Parents of these magnificent young men and women, we charge you with the sacred responsibility of teaching your children the doctrines of the holy priesthood. Your children must learn at an early age of the blessing of having the Lord’s eternal priesthood and what they must do individually to qualify for these blessings.

Whenever I hear or read talks that teach about preparing for the Priesthood, I am reminded of my responsibility to teach my children. I learned at a very young age the importance of the Priesthood. My father was an example of a worthy Priesthood holder, and my mother was always supportive of the Priesthood in our home. I had two older brothers who I watched receive both the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood, as well as advance in most offices of the Priesthood.

This legacy of Priesthood preparation is one that I am anxious to pass on to my children. We are teaching them about the Priesthood when we give and receive Priesthood blessings, when we learn about prophets, and when we learn about the offices of the Priesthood.

Elder Perry listed four lessons that youth should learn to prepare them for the Priesthood. They were “to keep [their bodies] healthy and clean, develop [their minds] and become wise, be strong and resist temptation in a world filled with it, and trust in the Lord, especially when [they] need His protection.”

Elder Perry taught his grandson these lessons through the scripture studies and taught him that the scripture stories will always be exciting and will never get old. Thankfully, my husband has this same attitude, and enjoys telling our children stories of men and women from the scriptures who have great courage and are valiant in their faith. To my husband, the stories of the scriptures are exciting and relevant. Hopefully he can help our children develop the same love of the scriptures, so that they can learn together of the importance of the Priesthood.

How do you teach your children about the importance of the Priesthood? Do you teach your children through example? How do you teach your children to stay clean and prepare for the blessings of the Priesthood?