I have come to Bremerton, Washington to ordain my son a high priest.  He has received a calling which necessitates it.  Getting here has involved a long road trip over dangerous, wintertime highways, but this is where I want to be.

The Priesthood is intended to be handed from father to son.  That is the ideal way for it to be passed.  I am grateful that I’m worthy to perform this ordination, and that thus far all of my sons have received their baptisms and all of their ordinations under my hand.

The Priesthood cannot be mailed in an envelope, nor conferred over the telephone.  It can’t be merely assumed by one who wants it, and who begins to act like he holds it.  It can only be conferred by the laying on of hands by one who has been properly ordained himself.  Worthiness is required of both the giver and of the recipient.

Throughout the history of the world the Priesthood has only been available to a limited number of men in fairly isolated pockets around the globe.  There have been times when the Priesthood hasn’t been on the earth at all, as far as we know.  From the time of Moroni’s death, around 421 A.D., to Joseph’s and Oliver’s ordination in 1829, the Priesthood was absent from the earth.  That’s a period of 1408 years, known as the Dark Ages and the Great Apostasy.

In ages past, certain bloodlines were denied the priesthood.  Cain’s descendants couldn’t have it.  Neither could any of the tribes of Israel, except Levi.

Suddenly, however, after nearly six millennia, and as the winding-up scene approaches, the Priesthood is now available to all men, of all bloodlines, everywhere.  There are legal holders of the priesthood in every land, and in every remote corner of the world.

The prerequisite for receiving and holding the Priesthood is worthiness—the keeping of God’s commandments, and the faithful observance of covenants made.

Because of the stringent requirements of worthiness, comparatively few men hold the Priesthood.  The ones that do are a light and a leaven to the world.  As the world sinks deeper and deeper into the mire, the contrast between men of the Priesthood and men of the world becomes starker and starker.

Good men stand out.  Good men are sought after.  Good men must maintain their light so that others will see them and desire to seek and obtain what they have.