One of the blessings that the righteous are promised in the afterlife is POWER. We read of it in our scriptures, and we hear of it in our temple ordinances. Even children want to have more power over their lives. Your daughter’s “Terrible Twos” is basically your child deciding that she wants more control over her own life. As teenagers, the power struggles worsen. The best example of the “unpopular-kid-who-gets-superpowers” storyline are found in the books and movies about a young man named Harry Potter. I interview my two granddaughters so they can explain Harry and Hermione's powers. We are promised more power in the afterlife, and we can learn about those powers from what the apostles of the New Testament were given.
Email - ScottRFrazer@gmail.com
Website - ScottRFrazer.com
S2E16 – The Promise of Power
This is the podcast Science and Scriptures, Season 2, Episode 16, or “The Promise of Power”
Hello everyone. This is Scott Frazer, of the podcast Science and Scriptures. One of the blessings that the righteous are promised in the afterlife is POWER. We read of it in our scriptures, and we hear of it in our temple ordinances. With obedience in this life, we are promised that we will become “kings and priests” in the next. In Revelation 5:10 we read,
“And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. “
Kings and Priests – that sounds a bit daunting, but what does that really mean exactly?
To my female listeners, you are promised the opportunity to become queens and priestesses. I could give you a number of quotes, but Elder Bruce R. McConkie in Mormon Doctrine states it most simply.
“Those women who go on to their exaltation, ruling and reigning with husbands who are kings and priests, will themselves be queens and priestesses. They will hold positions of power, authority, and preferment in eternity.”
So, sisters, please don’t think this episode is only for brethren. You too will have to understand powers that you will be given in the next life to be successful queens and priestesses.
Offering power to faithful church members is a little strange. As a people, we are taught to be humble. At the same time, we desperately seek to have power over our lives. Yet to have such power is rare. As Henry David Thoreau put it, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation…” We frequently feel that we have no power over our lives.We find ourselves at the mercy of our employer, our mortgage lender, and our government. We want enough power and money to guarantee security for our families, but we know that world events can easily displace that security.
Not surprisingly, POWER is the backdrop theme for thousands of stories and movies. For example, in Marvel superhero movies, POWER shifts back and forth throughout the whole movie between the good guys and the bad guys. We can be fairly certain that the good guys will end up winning in the end, unless the movie studio plans to shoot a sequel.
Even children want to have more power over their lives. For a year, maybe two, your baby girl is mostly content with you making her decisions. Your daughter’s “Terrible Twos” is basically your child deciding that she wants more control over her own life. Eventually, children outgrow their tantrums, but they still want power over their lives at home, at school, and at play. Teenage hormones kick in and the power struggles worsen. The rebelliousness of youth may explain why there are so many fictional stories of a normal youth in a boring life who finds a source of unexpected power. For example, Spiderman was a dweeby youth who got bitten by a radioactive spider and gained spider powers. Disney has produced countless movies in which a teenage princess discovers a threat to her people and, against the wishes of her parents, bravely and naively leaves home to confront the danger. But the best example by far of the “poor-unpopular-kid-who-gets-superpowers” storyline are found in the books and movies about a young man named Harry Potter.
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young orphan named Harry Potter, who lives in a closet of his aunt and uncle’s house.Harry is miserable – until the day he learns he is a wizard and is offered a spot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He makes two friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and the adventure begins. The books were published in the decade from 1997 to 2007. Eight movies were made from those books, which came out between 2001 and 2011. The last movie premiered over a decade ago, but the staying power of this franchise has been incredible. Disney World just opened a new theme park dedicated to Harry Potter. A couple of spin-off movies have also been produced.
My grandchildren are enthralled with this story. My two granddaughters Claire and Eleanor Frazer (9 and 7 years old respectively) are especially knowledgeable about Harry Potter.Their family each owns a wand displayed in a special case. I decided to interview Claire and Eleanor about a confusing part of Harry Potter that has to do with power. It will be a good introduction to my next point. The following recording was made of that interview.
Interview of Claire and Eleanor
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“Claire and Eleanor, welcome to my podcast and thanks for agreeing to this interview. Why don’t you introduce yourselves?”
(Girls answer)
“Thank you. So, Claire, are you ready for my first question?”
“Why was Harry Potter such a powerful sorcerer?
(Claire answers. (from his parents, right?)
“So, if Harry Potter had magic in him, why did he need a wand?”
(Claire answers)
There was a magically powerful “House Elf” in the story. What was his name and why did he have magic power?
“Now for the confusing part. Eleanor, why was Harry Potter’s friend Hermione Granger a powerful witch? Did she have magically powerful parents too?”
(Eleanor answers)
“What’s a Muggle?”
“So, final question, to be a wizard of a witch, you can be born into the power like Harry Potter and magical creatures, or you can work and study hard like Hermione Granger?”
(Girls answer)
***********
It seems that author J. K. Rowling did not want her young readers to think they had to have powerful wizarding parents to become wizards themselves. As Eleanor mentioned, Hermione Granger was not born into power – she had to develop it herself. She had to study longer and practice her magic more than her friends who had been born with magic in their genes. So, the question remains – “To hold power, must a person be born into it? Or do those people who work harder and longer than their associates gain power?”
The answer is “Both” of course. For centuries past, countries throughout Europe and Asia were ruled by kings and queens. Such kingships were passed down through birthright, so yes, many people have been, and still are, born into power. Some of the greatest wars in Europe were fought over who should be the king over a country. In the United States, we don’t have kings, but we do have wealthy families. People are still born into power, but that societal power usually comes in the form of money and inheritance.
In our own Church history, we find the question of whether one is born to have power - into the church organization. With the death of Joseph Smith Jr., a significant number of church members formed the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (RLDS Church), now called the Community of Christ church. The leadership of this breakoff group eventually went to Joseph Smith’s son, Joseph Smith III, under the assumption that the mantle of president and prophet should go from father to son.
To Govern in the Church
Today, power in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very precisely defined. We have a hierarchy in the church, and there is a purpose to that. The power of each leader in the church is overseen by other, usually more experienced, church leaders. Decisions come down from general authorities in Salt Lake City. Appeals go up that same ladder. If you don’t like the decision of your bishop, you can appeal to your stake president. Power in the church is highly regulated, because the Lord has made it clear that power corrupts. The classic verse used to make this point is, of course, the “We have learned by sad experience” verse found in D&C 121:39. We read,
“We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.”
Ouch. I would call that a harsh judgement if it hadn’t been proven over and over again throughout earth’s history. What it should teach us is that each of us has a pre-disposition to abuse power – so we need to be alert for the signs we are being domineering.
Church callings have a dual purpose in the church. First, we need people to run the programs of the church – Primary, youth, single adults, Relief Society, Priesthood, etc. Secondly, members learn from the church callings they are given. In a calling in the nursery, I learned how to deal with toddlers who were not my own. In the youth program, I learned to instruct and friendship youth. I have learned to help the elderly in my ministering assignments. As the saying goes, Knowledge is Power. Ask me to teach or fellowship toddlers or the elderly, I feel confident I could do that.
The Aaronic Priesthood is called the Preparatory Priesthood for a reason. Deacons learn to be deacons, teachers learn to be teachers, and priests learn to be priests. I’m not just talking about preparing, blessing, and passing the sacrament here. That is actually a fairly easy chore. Serving in presidencies, like the corresponding organizations of the Young Women, is where our church youth learn the first lessons of having the responsibility and authority. The instruction continues into adulthood.
This same cycle – being given a calling that includes directing others and learning to do that well – continues through a church member’s life. We cede unto our bishops and stake presidents the power to give us callings and assignments. I’m going to call this Cooperative Power. I will accept a calling in the ward, because I have agreed to let my bishop make the decision as to what I might best do for the ward. I have voluntarily given him that power over me. My boss at work also has Cooperative Power over me. Because my employer pays me, I will allow my boss to tell me what I must do.
Cooperative Power in the Afterlife
I predict that there will be many opportunities in the afterlife to hold positions of administrative power. There will be many, many of God’s children who will have to be judged and assigned to their kingdoms. There are going to be thousands of jobs to organized and oversee this work. These will be critical positions of responsibility.Hopefully we have learned how to govern without exercising unrighteous dominion during earth life.
Other Powers in the Afterlife
Usually, we think of power as having authority over other people. We are very familiar with hierarchies at work and in the church. Let’s consider for a moment some other forms of power that we might be given, possibly in this life, but probably in the next one.
You see, generally, we associate the word “Power” with “Priesthood”. This association rather limits the concept of Priesthood Power in our minds - we think of it as only giving blessings, ordinations, and settings apart. Let’s face it, in this life at least, Priesthood is more of an organizational tool to help keep offices and responsibilities straight. I want to consider what powers, other than cooperative, administrative power we might be given. When have we seen the use on earth of power over evil spirits, power to heal, power to command the elements, etc.?
I’d like to turn to the New Testament for examples of the POWER that we rarely discuss in church meetings. Luke provides us some interesting observations. In Luke 9:6, Jesus Christ provided his disciples with a specific power.
“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.”
We generally take this verse to mean that Jesus gave his apostles the Priesthood. This is almost certainly true, since to cast out evil spirits would require the authority of the Priesthood. But there is much more going on here. The Lord gave His priesthood to other disciples as well – about 70 of them. We read in the first verse of Luke chapter 10.
“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.”
As these 70 disciples returned from their missions, they reported success in using the power given them. We read,
“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.”
Theoretically, since I hold the priesthood, I have the same power as the seventy missionaries and the twelve apostles. Yet, though I have given blessings of health, I cannot say that I have ever cured a disease.I have never had the opportunity to cast out an evil spirit, so I don’t know if I would be successful at doing that.But the apostles and the seventy missionaries did well in their attempts.
We might think that was the end of it. However, a little later, in Matthew 17:15, a man asks Jesus to cast a devil out of his son.This good father explains that he had taken his son to the disciples and they could not cure him. What’s going on here? The Priesthood didn’t work?? From the Savior’s next words, it appears He is unhappy with either His disciples or people in general. We read,
“O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.”
Confused, the disciples pull Jesus away from the crowd and ask, “Why could not we cast him out?”The Savior answers, “Because of your unbelief.”, and then He gives them the talk on “with the faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could remove that mountain”. However, at the end, in a short aside, the Savior admits,
“Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Now this is interesting. This particular devil was apparently stronger than those the disciples had successfully cast out before. The Savior was not saying that HE needed to fast and pray. He cured the child almost immediately. So, Jesus must have been saying that His disciples needed to pray and fast to cast out this devil. He knew the disciples had priesthood power, and he knew their level of faith. He realized that for them to successfully cast out this particular devil, they would have had to fast and pray (a process that would have taken several hours at least) to increase the power of their faith.
So priesthood power is not absolute. We cannot think that if we have the priesthood that all evil spirits will be subject to our will. Exorcizing some evil spirits will be more difficult than others. Some miracles are going to require more faith – or more healing power – than others.
Sometimes in the Church, we distinguish a Prayer of Faith as being different… and maybe not quite as good as… a Priesthood blessing. In truth, if I am sick, I think I would rather receive a heart-felt Prayer of Faith than a rote Priesthood blessing. The ideal situation is to have both of course.
But there is more.Power, like keys of the Priesthood can come with fairly specific boundaries. Right after the seventy returned from their missions and had successfully cast out devils, Jesus gave them a new power. We read in Luke 10:19, as Jesus says,
“Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Well, this is a little confusing. Jesus gave his missionaries the Priesthood before they went on their missions, so what power is the Savior granting to them now that they have returned? Before, Jesus had given His disciples “power and authority over all devils”, or spiritual entities. This time He gives them power over physical entities, such as serpents, scorpions, and enemies. The keys of the Priesthood that you hold specify your authority. Perhaps keys of power work the same way and specify your powers. Jesus gave His apostles two keys of power at two separate times.
But even this latter power over their enemies was temporary. After the Savior was crucified, many of His apostles were killed.James was killed by Herod Agrippa in about 44 AD, an event that is recorded in Acts 12. Peter was reportedly crucified in Rome in 67 AD.It is believed that Andrew was killed in Patras in 69 AD. There are legends of the demise of the other apostles, which cannot be verified. The point is that the power that Jesus gave His apostles over their enemies did not endure after His crucifixion. Like Joseph Smith, after their missions ended, several of the ancient apostles were martyred. The Power over their enemies had ended.
The point of this observation is that power is often temporary. In the afterlife, one may be given powers to accomplish a task. Just like a new bishop is watched over by his stake president, you will probably have to prove yourself trustworthy of this power. When the task is complete, the power to do that task may well be taken from you.But with time and experience, those powers may remain with you as you prove yourself capable of using them wisely.
In the world of fantasy, like Harry Potter, wizards and witches, warlocks and demons, dragons, fairies, elves, and sorcerers can all have magic. Magic can be found in rings, oil lamps, hats, wands, staffs, swords, trees, and crystal balls. The popularity of fantasy reflects that we are all fascinated by magic - or better said – power. We want to be like Harry Potter and step out of our humdrum life into a magical realm of excitement and fighting the powers of evil.
Fantasy is fiction.But as members of the Church or Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we can still look forward to the day we will have more power – power to heal the sick, to teach with the Spirit, and even to cast out evil spirits when necessary. If you desire to have power in order to do good (and not just to impress your friends), then you desire a good thing. I pray that my listeners will have the patience to be faithful such we can gain such power and have the wisdom to use it well.
So, that is all I have for you today. Thank you for listening to my podcast. Power is a huge debate right now and underlies most of the political issues with which we deal today. What powers should individuals have and what powers should belong to the government?We need to understand power in this life and prepare ourselves to be worthy of greater powers in the next. If you enjoyed today’s topic, please share this episode with them. This is Scott Frazer from the podcast Science and Scriptures. Take care and have a good week.