2 And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.
(Moroni 2:2)
In Moroni chapters 2-6, the prophet Moroni provides important information about how to establish the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth. In the passage above, he shares the words of the Savior as He laid His hands on the head of each of the twelve disciples and authorized them to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost on other people. As of that moment, they had received authority. I think it’s significant, however, that He instructed them to do something in order to obtain power: “Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power.”
Priesthood is the power and authority of God delegated to man. Boyd K. Packer differentiated between the authority of the priesthood and the power of the priesthood when he made the following observation:
We have done very well at distributing the authority of the priesthood. We have priesthood authority planted nearly everywhere. We have quorums of elders and high priests worldwide. But distributing the authority of the priesthood has raced, I think, ahead of distributing the power of the priesthood (“The Power of the Priesthood,” General Conference, April 2010).
Two years later, Elder David A. Bednar made a similar distinction in the form of a warning:
Brethren, for a boy or a man to receive priesthood authority but neglect to do what is necessary to qualify for priesthood power is unacceptable to the Lord. Priesthood holders young and old need both authority and power—the necessary permission and the spiritual capacity to represent God in the work of salvation (“The Powers of Heaven,” General Conference, April 2012).
Today, I will remember that, in all of my priesthood responsibilities including my roles of husband and father, I need God’s power. Authority alone is not enough. I will follow the counsel of the Savior and call on the Father in mighty prayer, so that I can fulfill my responsibilities with priesthood power.
Excellent point. I realized that the Nephite apostles had the authority but not the power to confer the Gift of the Holy Ghost. In order to obtain this they needed to pray mightily.
Thanks for your comment. I think it’s a universal principle: authority does not automatically produce power. Particularly when we are talking about the power of God, we have to do the work to seek and receive it every time we need it. I’m glad this post resonated with you.