Jonny's Sacrament Meeting Talk 7/17 given to the branch in Maine

Jonathan Lightheart
Priesthood in my Life

Boyd K. Packer once said, “Some think that unless a power is visible it cannot be real. I think I can convince you otherwise. Do you remember when you foolishly put your finger in that light socket? While you did not see exactly what happened, surely you felt it!

No one has ever seen electricity, not even a scientist with the finest instruments. However, like you they have felt it. And we can see the results of it. We can measure it, control it, and produce light, and heat, and power. No one questions that it is real simply because he cannot see it.

Although you cannot see the power of the priesthood, you can feel it, and you can see the results of it. The priesthood can be a guiding and protecting power in your life. Let me give you an example.

Hello my name is Jonathan Lightheart and today I am going to speak on how I have felt and seen the results of the priesthood in my life. Up to this point in my life I have not been able to use the full power of the priesthood. However, I am extremely grateful for what I have been able to use so far. I really enjoy passing, preparing, and blessing the sacrament most every Sunday. I am glad that I am able to represent our brother Jesus Christ and bless the members of my ward and this branch
My favorite experience however is not the sacrament. Just this last April my family was able to go to the Conference Center and watch conference. In addition to the amazing conference I was able to baptize my little brother Scott. It was a very spiritual experience. We held the baptism in Utah so my grandparents and relatives could come. Both my grandmother and grandfather spoke on the importance of the ordinance and it helped me realize the importance of what I was doing.
Even though I extremely enjoy my experiences with the Aaronic Priesthood, I cannot wait to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. My father has been a good example to me of the powers of the Priesthood. He always keeps the priesthood present in our home. He will often use his priesthood to bless my siblings and I when we face trials. At the beginning of every school year he gives us father’s blessings. He also gives us father’s interviews at the beginning of every month. I really look up to my father and will surely use his example when I hold the Melchizidek Priesthood.

The first thing I will do when I receive this priesthood is go on a mission. In the talk I previously quoted by Boyd K. Packer he shared this story.

After President Wilford Woodruff joined the Church he desired to serve a mission.
“I was but a Teacher,” he wrote, “and it is not a Teacher’s office to go abroad and preach. I dared not tell any of the authorities of the Church that I wanted to preach, lest they might think I was seeking for an office” (Leaves from My Journal, Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1882, p. 8).
He prayed to the Lord, and without disclosing his desire to any others, he was ordained a priest and sent on a mission. They went to the Arkansas Territory.
He and his companion struggled through a hundred miles of alligator-infested swamps, wet, muddy, and tired. Brother Woodruff developed a sharp pain in his knee and could go no further. His companion left him sitting on a log and went home. Brother Woodruff knelt down in the mud and prayed for help. He was healed and continued his mission alone.

Three days later he arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, weary, hungry, and very muddy. He went to the largest inn and asked for something to eat and for a place to sleep, although he had no money to pay for either.

When the innkeeper found he was a preacher, he laughed and decided to have some fun with him. He offered Brother Woodruff a meal if he would preach to his friends.
A large audience of the rich and fashionable people of Memphis gathered and were quite amused by this mud-stained missionary.

None would sing or pray, so Brother Woodruff did both. He knelt before them and begged the Lord to give him His Spirit and to show him the hearts of the people. And the Spirit came! Brother Woodruff preached with great power. He was able to reveal the secret deeds of those who came to ridicule him.

When he was finished, no one laughed at this humble holder of the Priesthood.
When I go on a mission I will certainly draw on this example. I will strive to become a humble holder of the priesthood. As well as this example I will learn from my father, grandfather, even uncle how to use this priesthood. Today my cousin Evan will receive the Aaronic priesthood. He is just beginning this marvelous journey in the priesthood. I hope he too will have a great understanding of the priesthood.

Bear Testimony
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen