What do you know about the Priesthood? Ready? GO!

My dear, dear students-that-I-learned-a-lot-more-from-you-than-you-did-from-me,

If any of you were not at church on Sunday, you may not have heard that you have a new teacher. I know you will all love him, and many of you already do know him well: Brother Troxel. I, on the other hand, hate him for taking my calling to be your teacher. (Kidding!!!) Hate is a strong word. ;)

Anyway, I'm sad to say this is my last blog post for you guys. Our lesson on Sunday was about the Priesthood, DUH, and we just used the scriptures and the True to the Faith manual to find additional things to add to our knowledge base. Brother Troxel was also very helpful in adding some insight about different topics, so thanks!

This is what we wrote on the board:

Aaronic Priesthood:

• Preparatory priesthood (comes before Melchizedek)
• Named after the brother of Moses
• The office of Bishop is an Aaronic Priesthood office
• Priests in the Aaronic Priesthood can bless the sacrament, baptize, and ordain others to offices within the Aaronic Priesthood

Melchizedek Priesthood:

• Authority to confirm members after baptism, and confer the gift of the Holy Ghost
• Officiate in temple ordinances
• Give priesthood blessings

The Priesthood in General:

• Officiate in ordinances
• The power of God, which was used to create the earth
• Purpose is to serve and help others, bring others to salvation
• Rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven
• May only be used in righteousness
• Only given to worthy individuals
• Once you have the priesthood, you retain your authority, but the power of the priesthood is conditional upon obedience/righteousness
• Priesthood keys are used to exercise authority over the church.
• Jesus Christ holds all the priesthood keys
• He gives the Prophet, or President of the Church all of the keys to govern the Church on the earth
• Apostles also hold all the keys, but only exercise or use the keys necessary to perform their duties
• All other priesthood leaders are given the keys that pertain to their offices/callings while they are in those positions
• When a priesthood leader is released, his keys are relinquished

Whew! That was a lot of stuff. The rest of June will continue to be on the theme of priesthood, which is great, because there is much more to learn.

And finally, our LAST...

Challenge: (from Peter) Find a scripture about the priesthood and/or priesthood keys to share with the class on Sunday. Be prepared to say why you chose that scripture.

I hope you all still will say "hi" to me in the hallways at church! I love you all and can't wait to see what amazing and interesting things you do in your lives. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Remember that I have a testimony of Him and of the restored gospel. Stay close to the Lord and be obedient and you can't go wrong. I want you all to be happy with the kind of happiness that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can provide, so don't forget the importance of your testimonies and SHARING them! ;)

Love,

Sister Lewis

Priesthood Holders and Women Work Together

Oh, toodles! (That's from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)

I was out of town for a few weeks and Brother Krebs and Nicole helped me out by leading the class while I was away. One of the weeks that Brother Krebs taught, he asked each person in the class to share their favorite scripture, and explain why they liked it. Here is the list of scriptures that were shared:

Connor - 1 Nephi 3:7
Jeremy - 1 Nephi 22:26
Derek - D&C 24:8
Kerri - Moroni 10:5
Madison - Moroni 10:4
Peter - Alma 26:22
Andrew - Hebrews 12:2
Taylor (visitor) - Helaman 5:30
Nick - James 1:5
Kyler - 1 Nephi 3:7
Rachel - D&C 58:42
Nicole - 2 Nephi 31:12
Kayla - 3 Nephi 13:26-28
Whitney - Mosiah 18:9

I just want you all to know that I used your favorite scripture list to have a little scripture study of my own and I loved your choices!

Last Sunday, we talked about how the priesthood holders (men in the Church) and women work together to build the kingdom of God. The following is a list of some of the main points that were shared. The youth read portions of recent Conference talks to find some of these answers.

• From The Family: A Proclamation... "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children." Fathers preside over the family in love and righteousness, provide the necessities of life, and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these responsibilities, fathers and mothers are "obligated to help one another as equal partners."
• Ministering: to love and care for others, to do what the Savior would do if He were here. There was a story of a group of football players who were Aaronic Priesthood holders that ministered to a young woman in their school who was being bullied. The boys walked her to and from classes, invited her onto the field after their games, and went the extra mile to love and care for her as the Savior would. After seeing their example, other kids in the school began treating their peers with more respect and kindness. 
• Missionary work can be and is performed by both men and women in the Church. 
• Priesthood holders are always priesthood holders, not just while at church, and should conduct themselves accordingly. Similarly, women in the Church who are disciples of Christ just as the priesthood holders are, should represent Christ in every aspect of their lives. This was compared to the 2013 Youth Theme of Stand Ye in Holy Places. 
• Men are not "the priesthood", rather they hold the priesthood. Men need women and women need men. Both the powers of procreation and the full blessings of the priesthood require both roles. 

And, finally, the challenge...

Challenge: (from Connor) Name one way that you overcome the wicked ways of the world each day.