Priesthood Preview

Many of you who read this blog are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So, as an introduction to this post…

When young men turn 12 years old, they are ordained with the Priesthood. They are given responsibilities, such as passing the sacrament in our main Sunday services, collecting Fast Offerings (voluntary donations to the less fortunate) from members of the congregation, and taking those donations to the local church leadership. In preparation for this, there is a Priesthood Preview – an introduction of the blessings and responsibilities of the Priesthood for the young men.

Sunday, November 13, was the Priesthood Preview for our stake. All boys who will be turning 12 during 2012 met together with their families, the ward and stake Primary leaders, bishops, and stake presidency. There were a couple of talks and a couple of musical numbers, but the majority of the time was each ward’s Primary president introducing the young men from their respective wards.

I was so touched by the things that our Primary president said about Ryan. The first thing she said was, “Ryan is a ray of light.” She talked about how much she relies on him as the oldest boy in the Primary to set a good example for the younger kids, and how many younger kids look up to him. She then said, “Ryan will bring the Priesthood into his home. I know his mother is looking forward to this blessing. Ryan has a great responsibility to honor the Priesthood as the Priesthood holder in his home.” She was emotional as she shared this, which in turn made me emotional! We love her, and think she is just awesome. We appreciate her knowing Ryan well enough to share that with the rest of the congregation.