Living Up to My Priesthood Potential

It’s great to have Becky back. She’s been gone for 4 days to Girl’s Camp and it hasn’t been easy. I had a small relapse two nights ago and feel I’m not living up to my priesthood potential.

I want to make July a great month where I prioritize and put first things first.

To to this, I want to start days with some spiritual reflection, whether that’s reading the scriptures or voice of the prophets, praying, meditating, waking up earlier and exercising, or all of the above.

I found a great conference article today by President Uchtdorf titled “Your Potential, Your Privilege” which talks a lot about the potential we have as priesthood holders.

One of my favorite quotes so far is this:

Don’t let a day go by without doing something to act on the promptings of the Spirit.

President Uchtdorf even maps out how to do this:

1. Let us commit to reading the scriptures and handbooks with more purpose and more focus.
   1. Let us begin by rereading sections 20, 84, 107, and 121 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
   2. The more we study the purpose, potential, and practical use of the priesthood, the more we will be amazed by its power, and the Spirit will teach us how to access and use that power to bless our families, our communities, and the Church.
   3. …it is our privilege and duty, and it is our responsibility to reach out and grasp their teachings.
   4. The more we study the doctrine and potential and apply the practical purpose of the priesthood, the more our souls will be expanded and our understanding enlarged, and we will see what the Lord has in store for us.
2. Seek revelations of the Spirit.
   1. It is our privilege and opportunity as bearers of the priesthood to seek personal revelation and to learn how to know the truth for ourselves through the sure witness of the Holy Spirit.
   2. Let us earnestly seek the light of personal inspiration. Let us plead with the Lord to endow our mind and soul with the spark of faith that will enable us to receive and recognize the divine ministering of the Holy Spirit for our specific life situations and for our challenges and priesthood duties.
3. Find joy in priesthood service.
   1. We live beneath our privileges when we allow worldly anchors to keep us away from the abundant joy that comes from faithful and dedicated priesthood service, especially within the walls of our own homes.
   2. When you grasp the divine potential of your priesthood service, the Spirit of God will fill your hearts and minds; it will shine in your eyes and faces.

I know I can be better.

I know I can be more committed.

I know I need to get back to working the steps of the program.

I’ve found that one of my challenges is to keep personal commitments. If I know someone is watching, I tend to step up; but if it’s just me, I can slack pretty easily.

I really want to stop “browsing” Facebook pictures, as I feel that’s a big trigger to get into worse stuff for me.

I really want to submit my will over completely to Heavenly Father and have the faith necessary to trust in Him and know that He’ll direct me down the best path for me and my family. At times I feel I’m there and then I do something of my own will and lose that Spirit.

It’s not really complicated, it’s just about DOING!

Too often we attend meetings and nod our heads; we might even smile knowingly and agree. We jot down some action points, and we may say to ourselves, “That is something I will do.” But somewhere between the hearing, the writing of a reminder on our smartphone, and the actual doing, our “do it” switch gets rotated to the “later” position. Brethren, let’s make sure to set our “do it” switch always to the “now” position!

As you read the scriptures and listen to the words of the prophets with all your heart and mind, the Lord will tell you how to live up to your priesthood privileges. – President Uchtdorf

I’m grateful to have taken this time today to remind myself of what’s most important. It’s really all about REMEMBERING!

Nate