Husband and wife have an equal responsibility to love and care for each other and their children, according to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” It states, “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.”
Honoring the priesthood
Liel Maala, a BYU–Hawaii Religion instructor, said there are great blessings that come from having the priesthood in the home. “I think is very important to understand is that being ordained to the priesthood is also a commission to become the Savior's representative in your marriage and your family.”
Maala continued, “If my family is to be saved, it will be through my leadership as the presiding priesthood authority in the home, leading them to Jesus Christ who is the source of that salvation and exaltation. So, essentially, we as fathers stand as ‘Saviors on Mount Zion’ for our families.
He added the greatest gift that comes from priesthood leadership is being able to lead a family, in partnership with my wife, “towards eternal life and exaltation through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Mahonri Eteru, a freshman from Australia with an undeclared major, said when he thinks about honoring the priesthood, he sees the image of Heavenly Father. “He’s a very loving person. Because He loves us, He gave us the priesthood and wants us to be the best that we can be. He wants us to follow His example... and become like Him.
“Showing that same kind of love to other people by honoring my priesthood through service and ministering has helped me become a better person,” he continued. “And when I go through trials, I know it’s because Heavenly Father is trying to teach me and prepare me for what’s ahead.”
The power and protection of the priesthood
Eteru said he grew up with a single mother the first few years of his life so he has been able to see firsthand the difference having a priesthood holder in the home can make. “When I didn’t have a father there, we would go to my uncle’s, but later, when I did have my dad, it was different. It was easier. We had a representative of Jesus Christ in the house. It’s a powerful thing.
“The priesthood gives us access to power that cannot be obtained in any other way. Obviously, there are things like prayer and scripture study can help you out... but when you have a priesthood holder in the home, you have God’s power readily accessible at any time.”
Setting a Christ-like example
Doctrine and Covenants 121 says, “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.”
Maala shared he hopes the way he lives, especially how he treats his wife and others, will allow his sons to come to know more about the Savior. “Although I am far from perfect, I am striving to develop those Christ-like attributes that are promised to those who seek them.
“I know it is a lofty ideal, but it is not impossible because we have the Father’s love, the Savior’s grace, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost.”
Adam Jonsson, a senior from Sweden majoring in business management and finance, said his dad is an example to him. “He’s the most loving man I know. He is extremely caring of others. If there’s a project that needs to be done, he would be committed to it… He’s very service-oriented. I’ve never heard him talk ill about others.
“I think that’s the core of the gospel, to understand the priesthood is to have a love for the children of God. That’s definitely something I’ve learned from my dad. I try to live up to it. He has big shoes for me to fill and a very big heart. He does good for others simply because it’s the right thing to do.”
Maala shared an experience he had with his father when he was very young. “My dad was serving as the president of a small branch in my hometown in the Philippines. Most of the members in our tiny branch were very poor. In fact, nobody owned a car.
“One Christmas Eve, my dad took me on his motorcycle to visit some members. I still remember a big basket strapped at the very end of the motorcycle with 10 or so plastic bags, each containing about two kilos of both rice and meat.”
Maala said his father told him they were bringing the food to the poorest families in their branch so they would have something to eat for dinner that Christmas Eve. “I will never forget the smiles… [and] the tears on the faces of those we visited. Most of them would have gone to bed hungry that night was it not for… a priesthood holder being moved with compassion in carrying out his duties as the branch president.
“To this day I still remember the feeling of joy that was seared into my young mind after we visited those families on Christmas Eve. I’m glad I got to witness that tender experience. It created a deep impression in my mind on what the priesthood is all about. It’s about doing what the Savior himself would do if he were here today.”
Temple sealings and being equally yoked in marriage
Maala said he sees priesthood power and authority as a partnership with not only God but his wife, who he has been sealed to in the temple. “As I continue to mature and improve in my discipleship and in my understanding of the priesthood, I have come to realize that what the Apostle Paul said is really true: ‘Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord’ (1 Cor. 11:11).
“I see it as a partnership, being a priest and priestess and a king and queen in the Kingdom of God. I like to see it as a principle that's ‘compound in one,’ the man and the woman jointly leading and jointly presiding in the family.”
Jonsson said, “Holding the priesthood is one thing, but to honor it is another. If you’re not honoring it, it’s not really making a difference in your life… Striving to stay worthy and being responsible with the power God has given you definitely helps prepare you for marriage.”
Eteru, when asked why he thinks it is important for a priesthood holder to surround himself with righteous women, said, “Men wouldn’t be the men they are without the great women in their lives.”
He said having priesthood keys doesn’t automatically mean a man has all the power. “I think my mum contributes a lot to the power that my dad can use. Without her helping him refine his understanding of the priesthood and how to use it properly, I don’t think he would be the priesthood holder he is today. The power wouldn’t be as great if she wasn’t there to help him become better.”
Jonsson said the support of his wife encourages him to live up to the expectations that have been placed upon him as a priesthood holder and son of God. “Kathleen reminds me of my responsibilities. She’s my rock. She has so much faith and encourages us to pray together. It helps a lot to have someone by my side who has the same values as I do.”
His wife, Kathleen, a senior from Idaho majoring in clinical psychology, was quick to add, “It’s absolutely a partnership. I think we overlook that sometimes. In marriage, we are one, even when it comes to the priesthood.”
Maala said, “My wife supports me in my priesthood functions not just by taking care of the house and the kids while I am in meetings, but more importantly, she gives valuable insights and counsel as she proactively shares her inspired ideas and perspectives. Faithful women are naturally more inclined and in tune to spiritual things, thus they are great contributors of inspired ideas.”
Eteru agreed, saying, “Women in their own right have access to powers in heaven. I think they’re very special to God. He’s willing to give them what they need when they need it. Womanhood… especially motherhood and the priesthood, when they go hand-in-hand. They make the perfect combination.”
Providing for the family spiritually
In his talk published in the May 1999 edition of the Ensign, Elder D. Lee Tobler says there are families in every ward and branch without the priesthood. He says in these families there are husbands and fathers waiting for a supportive invitation to prepare to bear the Melchizedek Priesthood.
He shared, “These are men who, through our teaching and nurturing, can be made capable to bear that priesthood. They can be fathers of revelation and guidance to their families. They can be fathers who give blessings to their own children, who baptize them and confirm them.
“Husband and wife will go to the temple, and they will take their children to the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity. They will ordain their sons to the priesthood, and they will bless their sons and daughters in sickness and in health.”
Tobler continues, “Most of them are already good providers to their families in a temporal sense. They must now learn how to provide for their families in an eternal spiritual sense.”
Kathleen Jonsson said her father is a convert. “Growing up, my dad wasn’t in the Church, but he took the lessons when I was little. You could tell the gospel made a difference in his life, and receiving the priesthood gave him the love he needed for God and our family to see that he was taking care of us in the way God wanted him to.
“He recognized that he’d been given this power to bless our family and the lives of other people. He’s not perfect. You should hear his dad jokes! But he definitely strives. That’s the beauty of being blessed with the priesthood. It enables anyone to become better.
“My father was a great man before becoming a member, but I’m glad he joined the Church and was able to receive those blessings for himself and for us.”
Tobler concluded, “Families, where the priesthood is honored and exercised, will be able to endure the… [pressures of the world] and become eternal families. And in the process, individual members of families will have been perfected and prepared for the rewards of the faithful.
Writer: Emi Wainwright