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Continue ShoppingHow To Share The Gospel With the Aaronic Priesthood | Alma 17-22 | Come Follow Me
President Thomas S. Monson said, “I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him” (“On the Lord’s Errand: The Life of Thomas S. Monson,” video, ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Sometimes the Aaronic Priesthood gets overlooked in importance because it is called the lesser priesthood, or preparatory priesthood. However, the Aaronic Priesthood and it's holders have a huge responsibility and opportunity to serve and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the book Upon You My Fellow Servants, author Nathan Nelson showcases how Aaronic Priesthood holders can truly uplift and share the gospel.
In the April 2017 priesthood session of general conference, Bishop Gerald Caussé called attention to the inseparable relationship of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods and the exemplary relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ:
Even though they are vested with different missions and authority, the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood are inseparable partners in the work of salvation. They go hand in hand and have great need of each other.
The perfect model of the close relationship that exists between the two priesthoods is found in the interaction between Jesus and John the Baptist. Can one possibly imagine John the Baptist without Jesus? What would the Savior’s mission have been like without the preparatory work performed by John?
As the president of the Aaronic Priesthood, your bishop has a unique role to orchestrate the administration of Aaronic Priesthood keys in the ward to ensure that no Aaronic Priesthood holder is left behind. This includes leveraging the divinely appointed power and authority found within each quorum to, as eloquently stated by Bishop Caussé, “participate in the great work of saving souls—both the souls of those young men who hold it and the souls of those they serve.”
A bishop is most effective in administering this priesthood power when he knows and understands the responsibilities and capabilities of each priesthood holder and the office to which they are appointed—including his own Aaronic Priesthood office and his duty to watch over the poor.duty to watch over the poor.
Among a bishop’s many responsibilities is his Aaronic Priesthood role to be a caretaker of the poor and the needy and to be the keeper of the Lord’s storehouse. The bishop watches over the temporal welfare of the members of the Church. Moreover, an attentive bishop can find ways to draw on the power bestowed within his Aaronic Priesthood deacons, teachers, and priest quorums to effect his duty to administer in temporal things and in so doing help his Aaronic Priesthood holders to prepare for their future roles as missionaries, husbands, fathers, and true disciples of Jesus Christ.
Doctrine and Covenants 107 further expounds on this sacred trust to administer in temporal things which we often see manifest in the way a bishop cares for the poor: “The office of a bishop is in administering all temporal things; Nevertheless, a high priest, that is, after the order of Melchizedek may be set apart unto the ministering of temporal things, having a knowledge of them by the Spirit of truth” (D&C 107:69, 71).
In considering this sacred trust, we see how the Lord has entrusted His bishops to know and understand the needs of the members of his ward. The Lord does not leave the bishop to minister alone in his appointed office. Notice the key qualifier noted in the scripture that enables the bishop to minister in temporal things—“having a knowledge of them by the Spirit of truth.”
In this verse there is a subtle yet powerful acknowledgment of the underlying priesthood keys offered to all bishops to bless those over whom they have stewardship. Reflect for a moment again on the keys to the ministering of angels that form the foundation for all Aaronic Priesthood service.
We can return to the wonderful words of Nephi regarding that power by which the angels speak. That special knowledge that a bishop draws upon in his ministry may often come from the very tongues of angels who speak to him by the power of the Holy Ghost—giving him that knowledge by the Spirit of Truth. From there he may use that knowledge and the power of discernment to help him determine both the true needs of the individuals.
The following was an excerpt from the book "Upon You My Fellow Servants" currently on sale at cedarfort.com!
