Preface- My Search for Power

I totally underestimated the complexity and hardships of life.

It didn’t seem that hard on the day that I wore the most beautiful, ruffled, white dress and was married in the Logan Temple to a happy, impressive guy. Nor did I see it coming with the one-by-one addition of six little boys with their adorable blonde heads and delightful imaginations.

True to God’s promises that this life would be a test, there have been very tangled, perplexing, and challenging chapters in my story. My “picture perfect” has included times of tricky business. Times represented well by this journal entry, “How thin does one have to become to have the press taken off? I am a mess.” In my mind, I can see a specific afternoon where I was standing alone in an empty hallway, shaking my head and wondering, “How is it possible for me to make these big, smart decisions in what looks like an impossible, helpless situation? I cannot even see one step in front of me.” On that day, and on others, I have come face to face with my insufficiency. 

Like Joseph Smith, I have been heavily aware that I lack wisdom. (1) I’ve been cognizant of the fact that for all my effort, I cannot do on my own what is required. I have known that I needed more capability, more power from Someone who was infinitely smarter, who had a broader perspective, more resources, and who was boundlessly more powerful than myself. I, every day, need access to God the Father’s power.            

It’s often true that when you come face to face with your vulnerabilities and when you are taken to your extremity, you feel an urgency to seek. During those times I have felt a great need to understand my relationship and access to God’s power for the challenges and growth opportunities of my life. I have been absolutely, positively sure that I could not wait for an eternal reward before being able to tap into power beyond my own. After all, I have a big, hard job to do for Heavenly Father here and now, and I have longed to understand how He can help me. 

Feeling this need, I knew I had to get to work on finding these answers. For a long time, I had been trying to slot everything that I knew about God's power into the Melchizedek Priesthood. I recognized the blessings that flowed from ordinances, and I had felt guidance and strength when serving in church callings. But when it came to spiritual power that would enable me to be effective in the tricky personal responsibilities of my own daily life, I couldn’t find myself in what I understood of that doctrine. I could not credit my own, personal, spiritual sourcing and needs to any study that I did about me and my relationship to the Melchizedek Priesthood. 

I worked to find answers to these questions:

·         What does “power” mean in a spiritual sense?

·         What is God the Father’s power, and is it accessible to me?

·         What roles do Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost play in making God’s power available?

·         What is Melchizedek Priesthood power and authority, and how is it sourced?

·         Where do men and women get their power and authority? Is it the same, or is it different by gender?           

With a plunge into gospel learning and over time, I felt like I was at a feast at the grandest table. Gratefully I learned so much about what God’s power is, where it is sourced, how it is shared with humankind, and how power manifests itself in the children of God. And since then, I have wanted to stand on a mountain and shout that there is universal access to God’s astounding, boundless strength and faculty through the precious gift of the Holy Ghost.           

And that is the way that this book begins-- with a look into the distinct and separate roles of The Godhead. It is about taking men and women back to the true wellspring of brilliance and omnipotence which is the God of this Universe, our Heavenly Father. It is about our astounding access through the Holy Ghost to be more than we are: to be magnified. 

This correct emphasis allowed Melchizedek Priesthood to take its rightful place as a portion of God the Father’s power that is specialized for Jesus’ delegated work of saving mankind through ordinances.           

Chapters One, Two, Three and Four of this book are where I found myself. Truly. Even though the words may seem familiar and oft-spoken, the ideas were new, fresh and empowering to me. Let this book challenge what you think you know about God’s power, too. As you read it, let the scripture and the teachings of prophets roll right over you differently until you are immersed in this doctrinal loveliness.           

Chapters Five through Thirteen are about application. They teach where power-filled individuals can serve and what we can do as with access to God’s power in our varied roles and responsibilities.           

This book is a cheering zone for men and women, mothers and fathers, marriages and families, and Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood quorums. It champions ALL of the children of our Heavenly Father because every single soul can be magnified by God’s power beyond their natural abilities. This augmentation is available so that we can get busy doing the saving work of our Heavenly Father in our personal lives and ministries, through the family, in the church, and for the world.            

The study and wrestle of this book has been life-changing for me. Now I understand where I’m sourced and what’s possible with God. I feel empowered. I know more about my relationship to the Godhead and understand more about my access to Them. And that brings this girl JOY! 

--Valerie