Elder James M. Dunn, a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught Brigham Young University-Idaho students about the priesthood in a devotional address given Tuesday, March 25.

Before his remarks, Elder Dunn's wife, Sister Penny Dunn, briefly addressed students. She first spoke of adversity, teaching them that in every crisis comes an opportunity that will strengthen the lives of those who faithfully submit to the Lord's will. "In Chinese, I understand, the character for crisis also includes opportunity. Each chapter of challenge presents an opportunity," she said.

Emphasizing the importance of knowing who they are and understanding their divine purpose, Sister Dunn then left students with a warning to never allow a casual lifestyle to affect their appearance and demeanor. "The Church and the world have placed great hope in you. You are the generation that will build the kingdom; you are the hope of Israel. Casual is great, it's fun. As long as casual doesn't become sloppy. I hope ladies and gentlemen don't disappear from our culture," she said.

Elder Dunn then addressed students about the power and authority of the priesthood, reminding students that the authority comes from the laying on of hands, but the power comes from worthiness. "We obtain the power by doing the things that we do because we're us. Not because it's Easter or Sunday, or some other special occasion, but being good people and perfecting our daily worship," Elder Dunn said.

He taught students that priesthood power must be looked upon with reverence and awe. Brethren of the Church should be more ready and willing to use the priesthood to bless the lives of others. "We do not use our priesthood enough to bless the lives of others. We should use our priesthood more, perfecting our ability to administer in the name of the Savior," he said.

To administer in the priesthood, Elder Dunn said, brethren should spend a significant amount of time learning and understanding the will of God, calling it "foolhardy" to pronounce a blessing without obtaining the will of the Lord. "A proper blessing requires prayer and meditation in obtaining the will of the Lord, then acting courageously in pronouncing the will of God upon the individual," he said.

He closed with his testimony of the power of the priesthood and the reality of miracles. He exhorted the brethren to come to gain their own testimony of the priesthood power that can be found in their own lives.  "Think more, I beg you, about how you use your priesthood," Elder Dunn said.

Next week's devotional speaker will be Max Checketts, academic vice president at BYU-Idaho. This will be the concluding devotional address of Winter Semester 2008. Devotionals are held every Tuesday at 2 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium with additional seating in the Hinckley Chapel, Taylor Chapel and Kirkham Auditorium.  Devotionals are broadcast on KBYI-FM 100.5 at 2 p.m. and rebroadcast Tuesday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.