REMARKS FOR ROMANIAN MISSION LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE June 18, 1994 Buna ziua, Fratele _i Sori. Scuza_i-mi, dar nu pot vorbesc limba romane_ti. Trebuie vorbesc en Ingles. I have been asked to say a few words about priesthood authority and the right to personal revelation and inspiration. Everyone on this earth is a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father. And anyone who approaches Him in worthiness and out of a sense of need is promised guidance through the Spirit of Christ, which D&C 84:46 tells us "Giveth light to every man that cometh into the world . . . . And . . . enlighteneth every man through the world that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit." I'm sure we have all had such experiences, even before coming into the Church -- or know good non-Member friends who have received such help and comfort in moments of need. Indeed, we are told that at times the Holy Ghost himself, the Third Member of the Godhead, will come to non-members to confirm a testimony of the Gospel. Many of you perhaps received such a witness of the truth as you met with the missionaries and felt the truth of the Restoration burning within your bosom. But with regard to such visits from the Holy Ghost, we're cautioned that He will not long remain with the non-member investigator who does not hearken unto His voice of assurance. If we do not respond, we are soon left alone. Only to those who accept baptism and are born "of the water and of the spirit" is confirmed the promise of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. But here we must pause for words of special caution from the Lord. If those who have received this great gift of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost allow themselves to fall into sin, without early repentance, "The Spirit of the Lord is grieved [and] the Heavens withdraw themselves (D&C 121:37). Indeed, we're cautioned that such, who have received the testimony of the Holy Ghost and then turn altogether from the Truth, are worse off than if they'd never been enlightened. D&C 75:34-35 says "[for these] . . . there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come -- having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to open shame. . . . Yea, verily [these are] the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord." So there appear to be gradations in man's access to the Lord. Everyone, even pagans who are doing their best to live according to the light they have, are entitled to a whisper from the Spirit in a moment or peril, or even more explicit inspiration when seeking guidance about some of the moral or great personal problems of life. Indeed, we LDS are taught that some of the "noble and great ones" spoken of in scripture volunteered, or were called, to serve as "behind the lines warriors", bringing such light and inspiration as the people of a given culture are prepared to receive at a moment in the evolution of their culture. Among such may well have been Lao Tze, Guatama, Zoroaster, and perhaps even Confucius, Plato, and Mohammed -- each of whom told his followers that he'd been in communication with an angel or other higher power. Then there are investigators exposed to the Fullness of the Gospel, who, seeking confirmation in accordance with Moroni 10:4 , "have the truth of it manifested to them by the power of the Holy Ghost." More advanced still are worthy, baptized members of the Church who have the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, to be their constant companion "teach[ing] you all things, and bring[ing] all things to your remembrance. (John 14:26) . Aaronic Priesthood holders are promised the power and authority of the visitation of angels (D&C 107:19 ). President Wilford Woodruff tells how when he was a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood, on his first mission, he was visited several times by angels who gave him direction and help in his work. But the most spiritually blessed and highly endowed of all men on earth with regard to spiritual guidance are those who hold the Melchizedec priesthood., so called after one of its great holders in order to avoid the too-frequent mention of the name of god out of respect and reverence, but who's full and majestic title is The Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God (D&C 107:3). Holders of the Melchizedec Priesthood have quote: "The privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to have the heavens opened unto them, to combine with the general assembly of the church of the Firstborn, and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant." (D&C 107:19). Indeed, the President of the Church, beyond his calling as Prophet, Seer, Revelator, and President of the Church, is simultaneously President of the High Priesthood. The Melchizedec Priesthood gives one the power and authority not only to call upon God for inspiration, as can all other children of God in varying degrees, as described above. The holder of this high and holy calling can, when performing in righteousness, actually act in God's name, and have Him recognize the act as His own: The Lord says in D&C 1:38 "Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same". It is the power through which the Heavens and Earth were organized. It is by this power that the Apostles (both ancient and modern) have had authority to raise the dead, heal the sick, and cast out devils. (D&C 24:13 cautions however, "require not miracles, except I shall command you, except casting out devils, healing the sick . . . and against deadly poisons) Greater miracles have taken place when the Lord has specifically instructed his servants of the Melchisedec Priesthood to do so, including recorded instances of the raising of the dead, the reattachment of severed limbs, and the defeat of great armies sent against the church, both in modern times. My own great-grandfather reattached the thumb of a son cut off in a logging accident, blessed the boy through the power of the priesthood, and the thumb was ever afterwards as good as if the accident had never happened. Sir Richard Burton, a noted British military officer and world-renowned explorer who visited Brigham Young in Salt Lake City just twelve years after the Saints arrived in their place of refuge, and the year after Brigham and another great grandfather (and a few hundred other members of the Territorial Militia) had held Colonel Albert Sydney Johnston on the plains of Wyoming all winter long, until he was ready to sign a truce with the church, wrote in his book City of the Saints, that Brigham had clearly outmaneuvered the army of the United States and negotiated a settlement so in his favor that he might have been one of the Princes of Europe negotiating with another Head of State. Brethren, may we strive to understand this great priesthood authority we have been trusted with. May we live to honor it. And may we worthily exercise it, not only in its visible external leadership dimension; but in our quiet and privately exercised authority to act in the name of deity to create and nurture new life, to judge righteously among our brethren when given the keys and tasked with the heavy responsibility to do so; but to discern the will of the Lord in all things we are called upon to do in our capacities as Husbands and Fathers in Zion and Leaders in Israel is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen