The Priesthood Connects Us to the Love of Christ

In the plan of eternal happiness, love is the foundation of all the Father’s actions to bless His children. It was necessary to come to this earth to demonstrate obedience through love and center our lives on Jesus Christ. We will make mistakes and errors, and justice demands that the cost of our sins be paid. That is where our Savior and His atoning sacrifice come in, which is universal and infinite. We can access His redeeming power and forgiveness through repentance and keeping our covenants.

It is necessary to have His priesthood in order to make and renew our covenants with God. Essential priesthood keys authorize us to perform ordinances and make covenants. These covenants that bind us to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ allow us access to the blessings of Their sanctifying power.

As we perform priesthood ordinances and keep our covenants with God, we can have greater access to His love and mercy. Those ordinances include baptism, confirmation, priesthood ordination, the endowment, and sealing our families in holy temples.

I can still remember how I awaited my own baptism and the joy I experienced being able to be baptized and confirmed. The Lord’s desire for us to experience a life of joy here on earth, with the promise of eternal life with God, took on a special meaning for me.

There are also priesthood blessings that give us comfort, peace, and guidance, such as blessings of health, strength, and patriarchal blessings. All these exist to give us joy. Likewise, each week’s sacrament provides us with the power and strength we need for daily living.

As missionaries, when we taught and helped people make their covenants, we could feel the joy of the Spirit in their lives as they participated in gospel ordinances. The power of the priesthood is essential to receiving help from heaven and the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement. This power is essential for returning to our Heavenly Father. We return to Him by following His covenant path.

Undeniably, the Lord Jesus Christ and His priesthood are expressions of the Father’s love, who desires us to experience true, elevated, and lasting joy in this life. Through prophets and leaders who possess this authority, power, and keys, the Father has given clear instructions to lead us through the most fertile and comforting landscapes, easing our pain. We must never forget that the never-ending source of joy is Jesus Christ. Our obedience to Him allows us to remain in Christ and enjoy the ministration of His Spirit, which fills us with peace, light, and kindness.

“And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it” (Mosiah 2:41).

One way to show our desire to stay on the path and close to the Savior is by doing His will; in doing so, we are blessed by His mercy. The Lord Jesus Christ and His power exist so that all of God’s children who are obedient to the laws and ordinances of the gospel can receive the blessings that our Heavenly Father has prepared for His children.

When we hear Christ’s doctrine, we want to change and begin a new life in Him. At that moment, the power of the priesthood becomes indispensable, allowing us to perform ordinances and make covenants that help us receive the blessings of the kingdom.

I share my testimony that Jesus Christ fulfilled His mission. He drank from the bitter cup, died, and was resurrected. He overcame death and sin and showed the way to eternal life with our Heavenly Father. It is through the power of the priesthood that we can access that blessing, and His Spirit always testifies of His work and His love.