Today is a significant day for young men in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For Mormons, it is the anniversary of the day in 1829 when John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.
This priesthood is now held by hundreds of thousands of young Latter-day Saint males around the world. It provides Mormon young men opportunities to serve other members of their congregation. Perhaps principal among these ways is preparing, blessing and passing the sacrament, which is similar to communion in other Christian churches.
The Aaronic Priesthood also helps young L.D.S. men know who they are, set standards for their behaviour, and make good choices for now and the future.
Denison, Jonathan and Ryan are three Auckland Latter-day Saint teenagers. Each week they make it possible for other members of their congregation to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. In order to do this, they say that they feel a strong responsibility to “live right” during the week. Some of their thoughts on how they approach this service as well how they face up to the challenges of being a teenager follow:
As I was going through Intermediate School I started to notice that my friends and I started to have different interests in life whereas before we all seemed to enjoy the same things. Most of my friends started to use bad language and many of my friends were more interested in being alone with girls than in having fun with their friends. As we got older I noted that some also started to experiment with things like alcohol and smoking and some even tried drugs.
These were good friends of mine that I had grown up with and I never thought I would see them try these kinds of things but others our same age made out that trying these things were cool. If there was a guy at school that others thought was cool then so many people would follow his example. If he wore loud coloured clothing then so would others. If he had a girlfriend then others thought they also needed a girlfriend.
It seems that most teenagers my age think it is cool to drink because it is fun but I can’t see the fun in it. I would rather look at the consequences that follow. I believe that if I hadn’t set standards for myself a long time ago that I too may have been off doing things that may have led to bad consequences for me. I may have even found myself addicted to things that controlled my mind and body and took my freedom to choose from me.
The Church helped me to make good decisions and to stand up for what “I” believe is right. It’s good being “me” and not someone who feels they have to follow the crowd. Being a member of the Church is the best thing that has ever happened to me because I feel in control of my life. I can truly say that if I didn’t have the Church I would not be the same person I am today.
Jonathan, 17:
The greatest blessing [associated with the Aaronic Priesthood] is to be able to represent Jesus Christ and to have the authority to act in His name. I am able to be an example to those around me, in choosing the right. I am able to prepare to receive the blessings of the temple, serve a full-time mission and be a worthy husband and father.
Ryan, 17:
The Aaronic Priesthood has been a blessing in my life. It’s allowed me to reach a higher potential. It’s brought out the best in me. People see my obedience to the word of wisdom or law of chastity as very restricting from the joys of the world. But I’ve found that they are there for my safety, and I find blessings that come from being a faithful Aaronic Priesthood holder are always helping me on life’s journey from making good friends to improving my knowledge. I learn wisdom from being righteous rather than having to experience the trial for myself.
