PRIESTHOOD

TWO WORTHY SONS
March 2013

At church today, I beheld a site that was so beautiful!  In fact, I had to lean over to John and have him witness what I was seeing. Up at the front (before church started) there was August and Seth - both so handsome in their crisp white shirts and ties - respectfully preparing the Sacrament table. I was so filled with love and happiness that both of the boys are worthy to hold the Priesthood and that they are willing to carry out their duties. I reflected back to when the boys were just little and now they are preparing the Sacrament together!  I sure do love them!!

BEN RECEIVES THE PRIESTHOOD

March 2014

Something really neat about this stage in our Family's life is that we have a Deacon, Teacher, Priest and Elder! Dad was able to ordain Ben today after church and it was pretty neat to see August standing in on the ordination with Dad as the spokesperson! We now have FOUR Priesthood holders in the home! How cool is that!!

 

SETH ADVANCES TO A PRIEST

MINOT, ND

June 2014

BEN GETS SET APART AS 2ND COUNSELOR
Minot 1st Ward
Jan 2015

Ben was set apart as the 2nd Counselor by Brother Joe Costabile. Here are some of the things I remember from the blessing:
     * Ben has been blessed with the gift & talent of Talking and being able to engage others when he speaks
     * He knows when to have fun, but he was also blessed to be able to know when to show reverence for spiritual things. He will be the first to show that reverence and encourage those around him to do the same.
     * He will take an interest in the boys in his Quorum and help them feel involved
     * He'll be a  great support for the President (which is Teagan)
     * As he works and serves, his skills will be increased
     * He will do lots of service 

SETH'S PATRIARCHAL BLESSING

August 2015

Since Seth recently received his Patriarchal Blessing, we wanted to have him share some of his thoughts and feelings about it for this weeks Spiritually Speaking.

So this past week I had the opportunity to receive my Patriarchal Blessing, as you all probably already know from reading the previous short paragraph. So I got it, and while receiving it, the spirit could really be felt strongly, and that it really spoke out to me. A few things stuck out, and I realized that the Patriarch couldn't have known about, and that it could have only been given by divine inspiration from our Heavenly Father. I feel so blessed, and happy that I had the opportunity to receive this great guidance and counsel from heaven. I will continue to cherish and value the words written in it, and be grateful that we have a loving Heavenly Father who cares enough about each one of us, to be able to give us the guidance that we need.  

AUGUST RECEIVES THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD

October 2015

Today was a very special day for our family... August received the Melchizedek Priesthood and was ordained to the office of an Elder by dad (Bishop Lund and Bro. Schneider from the Stake) also stood in). Some of the points made in his blessing:
     * Heavenly Father is pleased with his desire to serve a mission
     * Make daily scripture study a part of his daily routine
     * There are many people around him (in the ward) that are ready and willing to help him on his journey

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Written from August:

Well, mom wants me to write about getting getting the Melchizedek Priesthood. It was a good experience and I could feel the spirit pretty strong while getting it, and dad keeps saying he was stumbling on words because of the ruckus around us, but I really think it was more of him fighting back emotions because he isn't ready to be as old as he is. I find it ironic though, that I've been going to Elders Quorum for a while now, but now that I'm finally getting ordained an elder, I won't be able to go any more because of my new calling - a Primary teacher!

SETH RECEIVES THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD

July 2016

Written by Dad... Last week, I had said that I wanted to do the spiritually speaking portion of the blog.  Here we are a week later and I can't remember what I wanted to write about. I know there was something but I can't remember it for the life of me.  This past week has had a great experience with Seth receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood and being ordained to the office of Elder.  I'm so proud of him. It was a real honor to be able to give the Priesthood to him.  There are some blessings that you give that you really struggle with pronouncing the words of the Lord, this was not one of those times.  I had such an overwhelming feeling and knowledge that Heavenly Father was so pleased with him. The words flowed as fast as I could pronounce them.

Last weekend, we also had the passing of Grandma as she left this mortal earth.  She was such a kind and loving grandmother who really made you feel special. I am so grateful that families can be forever and glad that she has left behind the pain she experienced in her last years for life eternal.

A BLESSING IN THE NIGHT

June 2017

Another blessing that was given this week was one dad gave to Lexi. I'll let dad tell this sweet story in his own words...
Our sweet little LuLu had come down with an earache on Friday night. She asked to sleep with Shandy and I so we made room for her to cuddle up. Previously, we had tried one of Granny Anne's home remedies of putting vinegar in the ear for twenty minutes but that hadn't done much. Lexi was really in a lot of pain through the night. I gave her some ibuprofen at one point but she was still hurting and spent most of the night quietly crying while I held her. I drifted in and out of sleep and was awoken at around 4:00am by Lexi's crying. I rolled over to comfort her and through her tears she asked, "Daddy, can you give me a blessing?" It melted my heart to see how earnest she was and how much faith that she had. I was so touched that she thought to reach out to have the Priesthood help her in her time of need. I got up and laid hands upon her head and pronounced a blessing upon her.  When it was done, she curled up on my shoulder and slept soundly for the first time that night. I was grateful to be able to help her and be an instrument in the hands of God.

RISE FROM YOUR BED OF AFFLICTION

April 2018

The following account is written by Ben
So, I had some Pizza Ranch on Thursday right before my therapist appointment. It was a good meal, it really was. . . well, until that night at least. It started around 11:00 pm, and my stomach was feeling really upset- and I mean REALLY upset- like so upset that I forced myself to throw up. After painting the bathroom sink with my lunch from that day, I felt somewhat better, but not quite- I could definitely tell that it wasn't because of the pizza.

Well, throwing up soon turned into severe diarrhea that was pretty disgusting and awful, and I got about MAYBE five minutes of sleep that night. Regardless, I still went to seminary, and on splits later that afternoon I told the Elders of my story and shared a couple laughs with them, but then one of them (A Tongan guy; Elder V) offered up a prayer for me because I told him how important the date I was having that night was going to be (I was going out to dinner and then to a stake dance with my girlfriend, Ashley). Well, near the end of the prayer, he says, "And if Brother Vogt is still sick by this evening, let him know it's because he might not supposed to be somewhere."

After saying Amen, we all kinda glanced at each other, and he told us that he didn't know why he said that, and how it kinda just came out; he also urged me to pray about going on my date that evening and try to receive some personal revelation about it.

Well, the rest of splits went great, and on the way home I started feeling a bit better. Upon walking in through the front door, I instantly went to go find my mother, and once I did, I recalled the events of Elder V's prayer, to which she advised we go pray about me going that evening.

So, we went upstairs and prayed, and I instantly began to feel even more sick than I had been the past 24 hours, and during the prayer I just didn't feel right about it, but I eagerly awaited my mom's answer to the prayer she offered up. She walks in and, long story short, said she got the answer that I shouldn't go, and as she told me this, I felt even sicker, and my face started to feel feverish. She came and felt my cheeks and forehead, and exclaimed that I had a fever, and that I needed to rest.
Well, me being me, I asked her to pray about it again, and she did (She's a great mother) but received the same answer. So, I hesitantly called my girlfriend and told her the bad news, which resulted in a lot of crying on her part and me feeling awful inside and out.

Well, afterward, I told myself I was going to take a nap, and that's when I got the chills that came along with the fever, and I'm not gonna lie, I cried like a five year old who didn't get the last lollipop (the stomach pain and chills combined with the fact that I crushed Ashley's dreams all contributed to my manly tears of manliness). I fell asleep with about eight blankets on, and when I woke up, I asked my mom to ask my dad for a blessing (forgot to add that I had been asking for one since I got the chills, but my dad was at work still). She said that he would do it, and then I fell back to sleep while praying that the blessing would work.

See, I had some serious faith here. I mean, if that guy, Zeezrom, who tried to trick Alma and Amulek could be healed instantly, why couldn't I? I mean, the Priesthood is on this Earth for a reason, and healing the sick and afflicted is a big part of it's purpose.
Anyway, my dad came in with oil and no companion (it was late at night, and he didn't want to bother anyone). He told me to sit up, and I did in a dizzy manner which left my head swimming in sick. Anyway, he put the oil upon my head, blessed it, then gave me the blessing where he commanded the sickness out of me and told me to rise from my bed of affliction! He also ordered me to get a great night's sleep, and how I wouldn't show any symptoms in the morning

We were all amazed after he finished, and I remember instantly feeling a bit better. My parents exchanged looks in awe, and we all were overcame with the Spirit. My dad told me how he has never done that before (commanded an illness to leave and to rise from my bed of affliction), and my mom said she hadn't seen him do it before either. After all this, they switched off my lights and told me to get some good rest, which I did immediately.
Well, morning came, and the blessing came true; I showed no symptoms and felt absolutely refreshed and healthy. I went on with the day: had Ashley over for the day, went on errands with both parents, and was active the entire time. Even as I write this five days later, I still haven't showed any symptoms and I feel amazing.

I bare my testimony that the Priesthood is the most powerful thing on this Earth and truly is the power to act in God's name. With your faith, anything can be accomplished with it as long as it is His will, and I leave that with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

- Ben (16) 

NATHAN GETS ORDAINED A DEACON

September 2018

Sunday, September 16th was a highlight for us all as Nathan was sustained and ordained as a Deacon and received the Aaronic Priesthood! Dad performed the ordination and Seth, Ben, Brent Coburn and a couple members from our ward stood in. He has been preparing for this and we are so super proud of him and the great young man he is growing up to be! The following week, he passed the Sacrament for the first time and even though he was a bit nervous, he did a perfect job!