Men of Valor

I absolutely LOVED Men of Valor by Robert L. Millet. Every holder of the priesthood needs to read this book. This is certainly one I will be reading again and again. This book is a call for the men of God to rise up and fulfill their commission as priesthood holders. When we are converted, we are to strengthen our brethren. This we cannot do until conversion happens. For example, an Elders Quorum president can never inspire his quorum to fulfill their home teaching responsibilities if he himself is not converted.

One part of the book really hit home to me. As you can tell from this blog, I have done a LOT of reading this year. At one point, Millet is talking about doing away with "lesser thing" and said that occasionally, when he is immersed in a book and neglecting his family, his wife will remind him, "You know, if you aren't careful, you're going to be one smart ministering angel." This implies that, although learning through books is good, if he neglects his duty as a priesthood holder, and his duty to his family, he will not be permitted to be with them through all eternity. That really hit home and I felt reprimanded.

Another part that hit me hard was where he taught that it is necessary that sometimes God withholds His Spirit from us, even when we are doing nothing wrong. If we always had the Spirit to guide us immediately in every decision, there would be no trials. Without trials, there would be no growth. That was an interesting point I hadn't considered before.

The author talks a lot about the difference between power of the priesthood and power in the priesthood. Satan cannot do anything about the power of the priesthood, so he attacks our power in the priesthood by getting us to pollute our thoughts, words, and actions. But if we hold strong and withstand the adversary's temptations, our power in the priesthood is marvelous. To illustrate that all priesthood is the same, Millet tells of a time he was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack. President Gordon B. Hinckley sent two apostles (Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin) to see him. When they inquired whether or not he had received a blessing, he replied that his sons had given him one. Elder Oaks replied that they (the apostles) did not have any more priesthood than his sons did, and so it was not necessary to give another blessing. That really opened my eyes.

Like I said, this book is one worth reading over and over. Millet has a second book to go with this called Men of Influence. I guarantee that I will be purchasing that book.