Introduction

Good Morning brothers and sisters, my name is Gabriel Heaton and I was called to the
Chicago Illinois Spanish Speaking Mission last month on Valentines Day, and I report to the
MTC in 10 days, so its coming up fast.
Hands on Authority
I was watching a youtube video recently of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaking to Harvard
Law Students about our religion, He said Our most distinguishing feature, is divine priesthood
authority to provide the saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus ChristIn the church we can
answer the question who laid hands on him? all the way back to Christ himself (END QUOTE)
this is our great message to the world, that angels have returned and bestowed upon us the
sacred power of the priesthood.
This ties in really well with my topic: Only Upon the Principles of Righteousness, because it
refers directly to the Priesthood.
With this Priesthood we can baptize, perform the laying on of hands, perform the
blessing of the sacrament, blessing and healing of the sick, and the sealing power to bind
families together forever. In addition, this priesthood authority allows us to draw upon the
powers of heaven. These powers can be used to bless Heavenly Fathers Children, which is
what I want to be doing for the next 2 years in Chicago.
The priesthood allows us to draw upon the Powers of Heaven, but with it comes great
responsibility, In D&C 121:34-36
34 Behold, there are many acalled, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
35 Because their ahearts are set so much upon the things of thisbworld, and caspire to
the dhonors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson
36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and
that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of
righteousness.
In order for my priesthood power to be useful and beneficial in my life and to those
around me, I must be righteous. It also says that many are called but few are chosen, it means
many have received the gift of the priesthood but some dont understand that they must be fully
committed to the gospel or they will lose their power.
Oliver Cowdrey experienced and testified of many angelic events, he experienced the laying on
of hands of Peter, James, and John, He was one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon
who heard gods voice, and he was also asked to help seek out the first quorum of the Twelve
Apostles. This was a man who had experienced much of the powers of heaven The same Oliver
Cowdery lost his power when he let trivial things get in the way, Wilford Woodruf said this of
Oliver Cowdery I have seen Oliver Cowdery when it seemed as though the earth trembled
under his feet. I never heard a man bear a stronger testimony than he did when under the
influence of the Spirit. But the moment he left the kingdom of God, that moment his power fell
like lightning from Heaven. [End Quote]
Many men have lost their priesthood power, Oliver Cowdery is just one example. Because of
pride, vain ambitions, and unrighteousness these men have lost the ability to draw upon the
powers of heaven, or to use their priesthood authority effectively. The Lord has said amen to
the priesthood or authority of that man. (D&C 121:37)
We know that Obedience to the laws of the gospel leads to blessings, and as a result
Happiness or Joy follows. My Cousin Trevor, just got back from Mexico on his mission. I really
enjoyed reading his letters, in the last few letters of his mission he talked about Joy, he noticed
that in the scriptures, the prophets, missionaries, leaders, and even Jesus Christ almost never
used the word Happy, they never said they were happy or filled with happiness. He said they
always use the word Joy, and Jesus in his ever so humble expression: said "My joy is
complete." My cousin also said that he found in the scripture dictionary: that joy is a special type
of happiness that comes through obedience to the gospel. And that mans purpose here on
earth is to find joy. I know that I will experience much joy on my mission, and I know we can all
feel pure Joy if we obey the commandments.
As a Missionary I need to make sure I never lose my connection with Heaven. It is so important
to those I teach to have them feel the spirit. And the only way they can feel that, is, if my
companion and me are righteous and can fully connect to the powers of heaven. Obedience to
the rules of this mission are extremely important to that connection and to have the blessing of
the spirit as we teach. The world needs light, we need to be that light by living the gospel.
One of the rules for my mission is to only have 2 phone calls a year to my family, they explain
that the reason for that is so we as missionaries can learn to rely on our connection with
Heavenly Father rather than relying on family members or friends.
This reminded me of a quote by Brigham Young who said our first and foremost duty [is] to
seek the Lord until we open the path of communication from God to our own soul.
(endquote) We must seek God continually until our connection with him is strong and sure. By
obeying this rule, I can work on the path of communication with God and my own soul.
Another rule is we have to be in bed by 10:30 and up in the morning by 6:30am, which only
allows for 8 hours of sleep. Im not sure how they can expect me to do anything without a tight
12 hours of sleep. At the same time, Im sure that obedience to this rule and others will help us
teach with the spirit.
There is a such a strong power to Righteousness, it blesses our lives in so many ways, it builds
up our confidence, and it strengthens trust. Righteousness brings blessings, we are Assured the
help of God, we are able to bless many lives, our own life will be blessed with many rewards.
Richard G. Scott said "You will have a future glorious beyond your dreams."
With a Righteous life, you need discipline. Gordon B. Hinckley said THE CAUSE OF MOST OF
MANS UNHAPPINESS IS SACRIFICING WHAT HE WANTS MOST FOR WHAT HE WANTS
NOW. Discipline is a really big challenge for most of us, but if we take a step back and look at
the big picture and keep our faith rooted in Jesus Christ, Discipline can come a whole lot easier.
When I was in Scouts, one of the things the leaders always made sure to have us do on
overnight campouts was to wake us all up at 7:30 in the morning to get started on our day. They
didnt care too much about how late we stayed up, but they made sure to let us know, that they
would be waking us up bright and early, so we tried to go to sleep as early as we could. Corbin
Desantis a great friend of mine, and has a great testimony. But he is one of the deepest
sleepers I know One Early morning up at the Andersons Cabin, a few of us had a hard time
waking up including Corbin, we were able to sharpie his face and stack a few books on his head
before he finally woke up. I think Hunter woke up with a mustache and a unibrow also.
I really believe that many of the things I learned in Scouting will be a great blessing to me on my
mission. Im so grateful for my scout leaders and all the time and energy they spent helping me
earn merit badges, teaching me how to survive in the outdoors, and waking me up at 7:30 in the
morning on overnighters, These leaders were a great example of Priesthood Righteousness to
me, and there example has helped me be a better person, and future missionary.
One great example of a lesson learned was when I went hiking with the Priests up to Kings
Peak two summers ago. We were going to hike 38 miles into the Uintas and when we arrived at
the trail head and started hiking we were full of energy and even though our packs felt crazy
heavy we knew that it was necessary baggage to last the week. About 5 miles into the hike we
stopped by a lake and Brother Christensen and Brother Carlisle asked us to look in our packs,
when we looked we each found a large rock that Brother Carlilse had snuck in there before we
left. He explained to us how this rock represented sin, and how when we sin, we carry around
the weight of the sin in everything we do. Repentance allows us to unburden ourselves from the
weight of our sins so we can be free of them. He then told us we could now repent and throw
the rocks in the lake, us scouts wanted to throw brother Carlisle in the lake instead, but then he
reminded us that he was a marine, and it wouldnt end well for us. But it was Great object lesson
none the less, and one I will remember for years to come.
One of the great blessings of serving a mission is the opportunity to serve, Ammon was a great
example of service, he focused his energy on serving King Lamoni and was able to gain King
Lamoni's trust and his conversion followed. Ammon had such great success from his service
that when he was done, he began to talk about the success of his mission, his brother Aaron
cautioned him not to boast, and this was Ammons reply:
Alma 26:12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not
boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold,
many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
I know that with Gods strength I can do all things, and find ways to serve Chicagoans on my
mission, and by serving them, I will be doing the ords work.
!rap up topic....only upon the principles
I have loved this Ward, and I love Farmington! Its one of the best places in the world. I have
many fond memories. One memory I have is camping out up at flag rock with the scouts, and
scout leaders Brother Toone and Brother Brown, I remember looking out at all the lights that
night, and being so grateful for the wonderful gospel and life I was born into. Im so grateful for
all of my many opportunities I've had to learn and grow in this ward. I love the Many wonderful
examples to me of people who truly live their religion and magnify their callings and the
Priesthood. So I just want to say thank you and I'll miss you, I'll miss this ward very much.
In closing, I would like to bear my testimony: Im excited to share my testimony on a full time
basis. I know God lives, I know He loves me, I know He loves each one of you. I know Christ
lives....