Behold the Man

"Our vision of you and your work looks beyond the outward appearance of a boy and sees instead a bearer of the holy priesthood outfitted with its attendant powers, duties, and blessings."

-Keith B. McMullin, “‘Behold the Man’,” Ensign, Nov 1997, 40

From this same article by Keith B. McMullin:

"The world uses age as a means of defining one’s readiness for manhood. For example, age is used to determine when a young person is sufficiently mature and responsible to drive an automobile. To youth, the long-awaited time arrives. To their parents, it is a time of sheer terror.

The world also uses age to establish when a man is sufficiently wise and responsible to vote, to make contracts, to be held fully and legally accountable. We call this the age of majority, the time when one ceases to be a minor.

Because youth and age are so visible in the Aaronic Priesthood, we could mistakenly assume they somehow determine the powers and effectiveness of this priesthood. Remember, please remember:

In the Church, it is worthiness and the power of God that qualify men for the work.

Expectation, opportunity, and service contribute more to one’s growth than do birthdays. In the kingdom of God, the age of majority begins with ordination.Think about the mighty works of Samuel, John the Baptist, Mormon, and Joseph Smith. Each was called while in his youth; each was qualified by God for the great tasks at hand; each performed his duties to the everlasting blessing of us all.

Such works can be the hallmark of the Aaronic Priesthood today. It is, in some measure, a matter of perspective. As we look upon a young Aaronic Priesthood bearer, do we see a boy, or a man “called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands”?

How we view him has a bearing on how he views himself. "

My nephew received the priesthood while we were up at Camp Joseph.

I see a man.